Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Russian Women's Biggest Days of The Year

What are the biggest days of the year for a Russian girl?

If you guessed "her birthday" and "Christmas day", you'd be part right, but mostly wrong.

Of course her birthday (and everyone else's for that matter) is a great cause for celebration, but there are other days that are also very big on the calendar!

Firstly, as I've mentioned before, "Women's Day" (March 8), is a major event!

See:

Your Russian Girlfriend and Women's Day

The Beauty of Women's Day


Christmas Day is celebrated, although on January 7th, not on December 25th as you may be accustomed to.

But it is eclipsed by another near-by event...

New Years Eve!!

There's no way to describe it as anything less than HUGE!

One thing you will notice is for "New-Years" celebrations to contain what you might see as "Christmas" traditions, including a "New Years Tree", which looks exactly like what most of you would call a "Christmas Tree" - a fur tree with colorful decorations.

How did this come about?

For Russia and the FSU republics, it comes down to the effect of the Soviet times, when religion was virtually banished, and "Christmas" traditions basically transferred to New-Years celebrations. It became entrenched, and it remains to this day.

Of course "NYE" is a big celebration around most parts of the world, but for Russian people, it is particularly special.

It's a time for seeing and congratulating (or "giving congratulations") to all your family, friends, work colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances.

It's a time for feasting, (and for the men - drinking!), and a very special time for families to get together.

It's also a time to get hold of some fireworks and "go nuts"!

NYE can go quite crazy (and resemble a war-zone!) when the fireworks really start going - and for several hours!

So remember the BIG days, celebrate, and "give congratulations"...