New Year`s Traditions: Russia

The New Year is coming soon and we are continuing with introducing the New Year's customs and traditions around the world.

After 70 years of Soviet rule Russia has lost many of its old traditions. However, as people can not do without activates and celebrations together with others, or to say without some kind of traditions, they have created new ones. The nostalgia for the times prior to the revolution and nostalgia for the Soviet times have united in a completely understandable impetus for people to have something of their own that will bring them closer together. Russians like holidays in general and therefore they celebrate New Year, the 8th of March, Orthodox Christian Christmas, Halloween, St Valentine's, St. Patrick Day, and many other holidays.

For many Russian people the New Year's Eve and day is one of the biggest holidays of the year. Children attend numerous performances, so called Fir-Trees (Joločki), an equivalent of Christmas-tree, and they can visit several of such performances before, and even after the New Year's Eve. Thus they celebrate the New Year several times.

The New Year’s Eve is usually celebrated with the family members, watching films together. One of the 'must to watch' and favorite films is 'Irony of Fate' (Ironija sudbi or S legkim parom), which Russians watch every New Year’s Eve for the past 30 years. It is a romantic film, fun, innocent and moral, just like the many other films from the Soviet times.

Champaign is a must on the table. The food includes Russian salad called Olivje, fish salad ' Seledka pod shuboj' (it is salty raw fish in a 'coat' which includes boiled vegetables and beet root). Salads are in general important part of Russian holiday’s menu.

The drinks include campaign, vodka, cognac, and bear. Russians are not great wine drinkers, but vodka must be good. There are many recipes for drinks, some of which look like competitions. One of the popular is Bloody Mary for preparation of which vodka must be poured into the tomato juice down the knife. One of the funniest is 'Morning Cocktail' which is made the following morning by pouring all the remained drinks from all the glasses into one.

Ten minutes before the New Year Russians listen to the speech of their President and in the minute before the midnight they all follow the countdown by the main clock in the country – the clock on the Spaski tower of the Kremlin which for all the Russian people is the only exact criteria for the arrival of the New year.

See some popular Russian culinary recipes.

Author: jeca (jeca)
Fragrantica Member