Celebrations and traditions in Russia
Christmas in Russia
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Official name
| Рождество Христово
(
Rozhdestvo Khristovo
)
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Observed by
| Christians, many non-Christians
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Significance
| Commemoration of the
Nativity of Jesus
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Celebrations
| Christmas tree
decorations, gift-giving, family and other social gatherings, feasting, etc.
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Observances
| Church services
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Date
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Frequency
| annual
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Related to
| Nativity Fast
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Christmas in Russia
(Russian:
Рождество Христово
,
Rozhdestvo Khristovo
), called
Е?же по пло?ти Рождество Господа Бога и Спа?са нашего Иисуса Христа
(
Yezhe po ploti Rozhdestvo Gospoda Boga i Spasa nashego Yisusa Khrista
) in the
Russian Orthodox Church
, is a holiday commemorating the birth of
Jesus Christ
. It is celebrated on the 25th of December on the
Julian calendar
, which corresponds to 7th of January on the
Gregorian calendar
(the calendar that is mostly used in Western society). It is considered a high holiday by the church, one of the
12 Great Feasts
, and one of only four of which are preceded by a period of fasting. Traditional
Russian Christmas
festivities start on Christmas Eve, which is celebrated on 6 January [
O.S.
24 December].
Christmas was largely erased from the Russian calendar for much of the 20th century due to the
Soviet Union's anti-religious policies
, but many of its traditions survived, having been transplanted to
New Year's Day
.
[4]
Although Christmas was re-established as a holiday in the 1990s after
the collapse of the Soviet Union
, it is still eclipsed by New Year's Day, which remains the most important Russian holiday.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
In Russia, the Christmas holiday became the official celebration with the
baptism of Rus'
ordered by
Prince Vladimir
in the late 10th century. However, given the early Christian community of
Kievan Rus'
, the celebration may have a longer history.
In the 19th century, a lavishly decorated Christmas tree became central to the holiday, a tradition originally imported by
Nicholas I
's wife,
Alexandra Feodorovna
, from her native
Prussia
. The tradition of giving gifts to children on Christmas took root around the same time.
[6]
Christmas gifts were traditionally brought by
Ded Moroz
(
Russian
:
Дед Моро?з
,
lit.
'Grandfather Frost'), the Russian counterpart of
Saint Nicholas
or
Father Christmas
, albeit a little taller and less stout. Rooted in Slavic folklore, Ded Moroz is accompanied by his beautiful granddaughter,
Snegurochka
(Russian:
Снегу?рочка
,
lit.
'The Snow Maiden'), who rides with him on a sleigh pulled by a trio of horses.
[6]
During the early
Soviet period
, all religious celebrations were discouraged under the official state policy of
atheism
. The
Bolsheviks
argued that Christmas was a
pagan
sun-worshipping
ritual
[
citation needed
]
with no basis in scientific fact and denounced the
Christmas tree
as a
bourgeois
German import.
[6]
In 1929, all religious holidays, including Christmas, were abolished by a decree of the
Stalinist regime
.
[7]
[8]
However, in a surprising turn of state politics in 1935, many Russian Christmas traditions were revived as part of a secular
New Year's
celebration after
Joseph Stalin
's advisers convinced the
Vozhd
of the
proletarians
' need for a break from their hard work in the middle of a long, cold winter.
[7]
The Christmas tree was repurposed as a "New Year's fir tree" (
Russian
:
Нового?дняя ёлка
,
romanized
:
Novogodnyaya yolka
) to be admired by all children throughout the
Soviet Union
, including those in republics that had not historically celebrated Christmas due to their different religious traditions, such as the
Central Asian ones
. Other Russian Christmas attributes and traditions, such as
gift-giving
, Ded Moroz's visits and Christmas decorations, lost their religious significance and became associated with New Year's celebrations, which were secular in nature.
[6]
In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Christmas was reinstated alongside other religious holidays.
[6]
Religious services
[
edit
]
On Christmas Eve (6 January), there are several long church services, including the
Royal Hours
and
Vespers
combined with the
Divine Liturgy
- serving as the end of the long Nativity Fast. The family will then return home for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner (
Holy Supper
), which consists of 12 dishes, one to honour each of the Twelve Apostles - but has no meat as it is a mandatory paramony or fasting day.
[
citation needed
]
Devout families will then return to church for the
All Night Vigil
followed by Midnight Divine Liturgy, which for those who cannot attend, is broadcast on television nationally from
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
- with the Patriach of Moscow and All Russia presiding - and regionally from major cathedrals. Then again, on Christmas Morning, they return to attend the Morning Divine Liturgy of the Nativity. Since 1992, Christmas has become a
national holiday in Russia
as part of the ten-day holidays at the start of the new year.
Traditional festive cuisine
[
edit
]
Principal dishes on the Christmas table in old Russia included roasted pig, stuffed pig's head, roasted meat chunks, jelly (
kholodets
), and
aspic
. Christmas dinner also included many other meats: goose with apples, sour cream hare, venison, lamb, whole fish, etc. The abundance of fried and baked meats, whole baked chicken, and fish on the festive table was associated with features of the
Russian oven
, which allowed successful preparation of large portions.
[9]
Finely sliced meat and pork was cooked in pots with semi-traditional porridge. Pies were indispensable dishes for Christmas, as well as other holidays, and included both closed and open style
pirogi
(
pirozhki
,
vatrushkas
,
coulibiacs
, kurnik, saechki, shangi),
kalachi
, cooked casseroles, and
blini
. Fillings of every flavor were included (herbal, vegetable, fruit, mushrooms, meat, fish, cheese, mixed).
[9]
Sweet dishes served on the Russian Christmas table included berries, fruit, candy, cakes,
angel wings
, biscuits, honey. Beverages included drinking broths (
kompot
and sweet soups,
sbiten
),
kissel
, and, from the beginning of the 18th century,
Chinese tea
.
[9]
Complaints over government recognition
[
edit
]
In 1999, the atheist
MV Agbunov
requested that the
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
test the constitutionality of decrees on the recognition of 7 January as a federal holiday. This request was denied by the court, based on the argument that "the specified statutory provisions apply to the law on public holidays days ..., and do not contain provisions indicating the violation of constitutional rights and freedoms referred to by the applicant. (Articles 14, 19, 28 and 29 (part 2) of the
Constitution of Russia
)".
In 2008, a
Russian neo-pagan
group filed a similar complaint. The group argued that recognition of the Orthodox Christmas as an official holiday is contrary to the Constitution of Russia, according to which "no religion can be established as state and obligatory". After having considered the complaint, the court rejected it on the grounds that decisions about public holidays are within the competence of the
Russian Parliament
and are not a constitutional matter.
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Martindale, Cyril Charles (1908). "Christmas".
The Catholic Encyclopedia
. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^
Gwynne, Paul (2011).
World Religions in Practice
. John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN
978-1-4443-6005-9
.
- ^
Ramzy, John.
"The Glorious Feast of Nativity: 7 January? 29 Kiahk? 25 December?"
. Coptic Orthodox Church Network.
Archived
from the original on 28 December 2010
. Retrieved
17 January
2011
.
- ^
Tamkin, Emily.
"How Soviets Came to Celebrate New Year's Like Christmas (and Why Russians Still Do)"
.
Foreign Policy
. Retrieved
13 January
2022
.
- ^
Shute, Nancy (27 December 2011).
"For Russians, New Year's Eve Remains The Superholiday"
.
NPR
. Retrieved
12 June
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Weber, Hannah (25 December 2020).
"Yolka: the story of Russia's 'New Year tree', from pagan origins to Soviet celebrations"
.
The Calvert Journal
.
Archived
from the original on 13 January 2018
. Retrieved
12 June
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"How New Year was celebrated in the USSR (PHOTOS)"
.
Beyond Russia
. 29 December 2019.
Archived
from the original on 29 December 2019
. Retrieved
12 June
2021
.
- ^
"Постановление СНК СССР от 24.09.1929"
.
www.libussr.ru
(in Russian).
Archived
from the original on 29 December 2016
. Retrieved
12 June
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
Энциклопедия обрядов и обычаев, ? СПб.: Респекс, 1996, С. 11?55, 80?88
ISBN
5-7345-0063-1
- ^
"В суд на Рождество"
. Archived from
the original
on 17 December 2013
. Retrieved
17 December
2013
.
Christmas in Europe
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Sovereign states
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States with limited
recognition
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Dependencies and
other entities
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