Come to visit!

In Russia people enjoy getting together at each other homes. Friends and relatives visit each other a lot. It is a long-standing Russian tradition to get together at home instead of in a cafe or restaraunt. At home the atmosphere is relaxed, it is cozy and warm, and the lady of the house can show off her culinary talents. Besides, during the Soviet time cafes were unattractive, and the restaurants were very expensive.

There are a lot of occasions to be invited to one's party: it may be a holiday (the New Year, Christmas, Masleniza, Easter, the 1st of May, the Victory Day), one's birthday or just a simple desire to meet and to spend time together. Especially in summer!

To have a good time for many Russians is first of all to chat with friends and family at the table. In Russia the tradition to feed the guests well has always been taken seriously. A lot of people lived rather poorly and weren't able to buy good food every day. It is the reason why a well laid table with plenty of delicious food to eat was the sign of hospitality, friendship and appreciation that the hosts showed to their guests. The time of hunger has long passed, but the tradition remains: the hosts - usually the woman, the lady of the house - tries to prepare as many tasty and different dishes as possible. The best wine and vodka is served - to demonstrate that the best is kept for the dear gusests! It is not a councidence that the custom of presenting the dear guests with the loaf of bread and salt - "khleb-sol'" is still repsected. Bread was the most important product for the centuries in Russia and salt was a rarity and used to be very expensive. This is the background of the Russian word "khlebosolniy", the synonim of "shedriy" - generous.

Russian women cook, lay the table, clean after the patry. You might ask why she still likes to invite guests if it is so tiring. Of course, it is! But in Russian tradition the woman is the one who does everything around the house. Moreover guests praise her for her beauty, her nice and cosy home, delicious meal. Women like compliments, and so she feels proud for herself and her family and that gives her strength.

Usually guests come in the evening, but not too late - at around 6 or 7. Men usually bring small gifts. It may be a box of chocolates, a cake, flowers or a bottle of wine. It is a gift to the hostess for her hospitality. Most Russians live in rather small or very small flats. That is why it is difficult to organize a standing reception - there is simply no space to move around. So when guests come they sit straight at the table. The table is the main and the most important place in the house during such visits.

When the guests sit down the hostess urges to try her dishes. Russians are not used to have an appetizer drink before the main meal as in Europe. They simply grab food and put it to their plate, then they pour wine or vodka and wait.

They wait when a toastmaster (a tamada) will be chosen. A tamada is the guest who leads the party. Tamada is a Georgian word, the tradition to choose the tamada came to Russia from Georgia and got widely spread during the Soviet period. One of the guests or the host himself could be chosen as the tamada, the leader. He or she should be a good organizer and a merry person who knows all the guests well. Tamada proposes the first toast and then asks every guest to say a word. That's how the party turns into a funny and lively event. Guests usually drink to every person invited and at the end of the party to the host. If the guests gathered to celebrate one's birthday, each one says something good about the person whose birthday it is. They say what they like most in this person and what they consider to be most important to say on such an occasion. In Russia people do not pour alcohol to themselves and drink on their own. Usually guests clink glasses after the toast and then drink all together.

Naturally the tradition of such feasts is fading away nowadays. More and more people go to restaurants and cafes to have some rest or to celebrate a birthday. Fewer young women want (or have time and strength) to host a party at home. However it is happening only in large cities, smaller cities and towns still follow the traditions of Russian hospitality.

Russian holidays

In Russia people like to relax and to celebrate holidays. Russians are not different from the other world, are they? However Russians are still different at least in one thing: they like to celebrate every kind of holiday - old, new, pagan, orthodox, traditionally Russian or even foreign. Don't be surprised!

The New Year

The New Year is the holiday that starts the year. This popular holiay is rather new. In Russia people started to celebrate it according to the decree of а Russian Emperor Peter the Great in 1700. That was the time when the New Year trees were first brought into homes and decorated and when New Year feasts were first arranged.

The New Year is a winter holiday that concurs with Orthodox Cristmas and Christmastide. Orthodox Christmas was the main holiday before the October revolution. The period from Christmas till Epiphany (January 19th) - "Svyatki" (Christmastide) was the liveliest and most enchanting time during the winter. Kids adored that period most because of the christmas trees, gifts and guests.

There are no official Christmas holidays in Russia nowadays. However this period is still the time of recreation and light duties. People go out, pay visits, travel to the country or abroad, go to the theatres and cinemas.

We celebrate Orthodox Christmas on January 7th because of the calendar alterations. A lot of Russians also celebrate Christmas on January 25th together with the Catholic world. Then the whole country celebrates the New Year (December 31st - January 1st, 2nd) and then Orthodox Christmas on January 7th. Do not plan anything serious at the beginning of January - Russia is on holiday!

February 23rd, March 8th and... February 14th.

During the Soviet times two interesting and popular holidays were introduced. These are the 8th of March and the 23rd of February. At first these holidays kept a political taste: the 8th of March was called the International Women Day. It was established in honour of the women fighting for their civil rights.

The 23rd of February was established as the birthday of the Red Army.

Little by little the 8th of March became the holiday of all women. It is the holiday of mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, the holiday of the beloved Woman in general. Women are usually given flowers and gifts, paid compliments at home and at work. Russian loving and caring women decided that it is unfair that their men do not have such a wonderfu holiday. That is how the official birthday of the Red Army turned into the Men's Day - the day when women give presents to their fathers, husbands, brothers and colleagues. These truly popular holidays outlived the Sloviet state and still make us happy.

A new holiday that came from the USA - the St.Valentine's Day on February 14th, the day of everyone in love - is joining those holidays. It appeared in Russia not a long time ago but young people take an active part in it. They send valentines, give presents to each other.

Easter

It is well known that the Soviet Union was an atheist country. Soviet citizens celebrated neither Christmas nor Easter - the main Orthodox holiday. Nowadays things changed. Easter became an official holiday. Surely not all Russians are believers, but almost everyone celebrates Easter due to the long tradition of this holiday. The whole family meets at the festive table. The table features obligatory ritual dishes such as Easter cake, coloured eggs and paschal cheesecake.

Maslenitsa

40 days before Easter Russians celebrate one of the most ancient holidays - Maslenitsa. It is a pagan holiday that existed long before Rus' was converted to Christianity (10th century). This holiday is devoted to the end of winter and the coming spring.

Russian Maslenitsa traditions and rituals resemble European carnival - people sing, dance, wear funny clothes, cook ritual dishes, make funny puppets. In Russia nowadays people celebrate Maslenitsa by mainly cooking and eating ritual dishes (you can learn more about them in Russian cuisine section), though you still see street festivities here and there as well. Certainly, Maslenitsa is not an official holiday but people like it because it is vivid and natural.

1st of May

The merriest spring holiday is the 1st of May. This holiday was also inherited from the Soviet epoch. It used to be the holiday of the International Solidarity of the working people. There were demonstrations of the working under the slogans "Peace, Labour, May!" or "Glory to labour!" on them.

The Soviet epoch ended but this popular spring holiday remained having changed its name to the Holiday of Spring and Labour. In May the real spring begins, the first leaves appear, the sun is shining in the blue sky (if it is not snowing, that might also happen...). Many Russians go to their dachas for the first time after winter - the place where they can not onle have some rest but also work. So the holiday now has an absolutely appropriate name.

The 9th of May. The Victory Day.

The main nationwide holiday is the 9th of May, the Victory Day. It is the day when the unconditional surrender of fascist Germany was announced. It was a hard victory for the country that had lost over 27 million people in the war we call the Great Patriotic. It makes the Vistory Day so important. The Red Square in Moscow and main squares of other Russian cities host solemn and spectacular military parades.

When the veterans of the war were alive they gathered in front of the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow every year to meet each other. In different cities and towns the veterans took part in Victory parades. Time goes by and very few of them are still alive...