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Author Topic: Understanding her holidays  (Read 37371 times)

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Offline mendeleyev

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Understanding her holidays
« on: December 20, 2014, 01:48:58 PM »
I placed this in the Starting Out area because it will be most helpful to newer members. One of the best things a new person to the adventure can do is begin to learn about some of the ways her life might be somewhat different from yours.

We'll start with a simple guide to the upcoming holidays.

New Year: 01 January.

Christmas: 07 January.

Old New Year: 14 January.

Epiphany: 19 January.


Hard to believe, but the new year is just 11 days away!



The single biggest holiday, celebrated on a massive scale, is the New Year.

Perhaps one of the most important things for a new reader to remember is that Christmas Day is not on 25 December, and it is not the most important holiday of the year. It isn't even the second most important--it is a religious holiday, and is celebrated by a feast. Prior to that feast, most Orthodox Christians have observed the 40 day "Nativity Fast" with a diet that excludes meat, oil, dairy and alcohol. Most took a brief break from that fast to celebrate the New Year, then resume the fast after 01 January.



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Offline jone

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2014, 02:10:00 PM »
If your woman is in the States, have an epiphany yourself.  Celebrate our Christmas and then party and celebrate for the New Year. 
Kissing girls is a goodness.  It beats the hell out of card games.  - Robert Heinlein

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2014, 02:19:09 PM »
If you ask your friend, "What do you want for Christmas?" do not be surprised at a bit of hesitation. Christmas is not when she gives or receives gifts, and in fact the term "Christmas gift" is not something in her normal vocabulary even though she knows what it means in the West. What she wants for Christmas is a nice family meal (Feast) with loved ones and friends at hand.

New vocabulary:

Gift giving, and gift receiving, is more typically done at the New Year and thus they are New Year gifts.

Just a few days or the week prior to December 31, she and her family went out and purchased a New Year tree. The Russian language term is "yolka" (ёлка) which means a fir tree that is decorated for the New Year celebration. There are even popular songs about the "yolka."





Not only will you find New Year trees in homes, but each town typically places a large decorated tree in the main square. Families make a big deal of attending the annual lighting of their town's New Year tree. In smaller apartments one can sometimes find a branch of a fir tree decorated for the holiday.






« Last Edit: December 20, 2014, 03:54:48 PM by mendeleyev »
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Offline Doll

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2014, 02:23:06 PM »
Most  people from former SU celebrate Christmas on December , 25 th TOGETHER with Americans..
They do expect and love gifts.

« Last Edit: December 20, 2014, 02:25:19 PM by Doll »

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2014, 02:48:35 PM »
Quote
Most  people from former SU celebrate Christmas on December , 25 th TOGETHER with Americans..
They do expect and love gifts.

Naturally, they've adopted or blended the customs of their new country in the West. When in the USA we celebrate both dates for Christmas, but in Russia we keep it simple and celebrate Christmas day on 7 January.


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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2014, 02:52:05 PM »
So, who is the guy in the blue suit?

 GF frost and SM height=324


Who is the babe next to him?


GF and SM i height=589

Please allow us to introduce you to Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter the Snow Maiden. No, he isn't just a Russian version of the Western Santa, although I asked him once and he revealed that he and Santa are cousins. The similarities pretty much end there as Santa, jolly old Saint Nick in the West, probably does not guzzle the vodka as frequently, nor does Santa smoke, well at least not that we know.

Grandfather Frost can be whatever you want him to be, at a price of course, and many families contract with Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden to come to their apartment on the New Year morning with gifts. They were going to stop by anyway, usually to place gifts under the New Year tree while children were still asleep, but you can make arrangements for them to come when the children are awake. Unless busy at another apartment, the Snow Maiden will come along as it is she who often hands out the gifts to children.

In regards to colour, do not be surprised to catch Grandfather Frost dressed up in red. Hey, a man needs some variety. The Snow Maiden can sometimes be decked out in white, too.
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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2014, 03:01:29 PM »
Vocabulary for you to understand:



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Offline Doll

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2014, 03:03:33 PM »
Naturally, they've adopted or blended the customs of their new country in the West. When in the USA we celebrate both dates for Christmas, but in Russia we keep it simple and celebrate Christmas day on 7 January.
You said," Her life will be different" ( we mean holidays). I know that most of FSU people in the US celebrate Christmas on DEcember, 25 th AND expect gifts.
I thought you were talking of FSU wonen when already here.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2014, 03:11:50 PM »
Doll, no offense taken, nor meant. The post is directed more to new readers in the adventure--those who may not have yet traveled to Russia. Their ladies do not yet live in the West.   :)

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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2014, 03:12:09 PM »
Grandfather Frost is not confined to the North Pole, in fact he does not live there at all. No, he is a civilized man, a man of the world, a man somewhat like the rest of us. He lives in this town in northern Russia.


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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2014, 04:04:20 PM »
Surprisingly, Grandfather Frost raises reindeer at his estate (yes, really!) shown in the video above, but he does not travel with them. Nor does he enter homes via the chimney. Most Russian homes in cities use steam for heat, and except out in the country, having a chimney is not as common a feature as one might imagine.

Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden use the traditional Ukrainian/Russian "troika" which is a sleigh pulled by three horses. In some cases, as shown below, one horse is sufficient in some rural areas where roads are narrow. That naturally allows the other two horses to take a brief rest.  :D



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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2014, 04:13:40 PM »
There is one other very important reason why Grandfather Frost will never enter via a chimney: he knows what happened to his cousin Santa last year. You remember the news reports...right?



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Offline jone

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2014, 04:18:00 PM »
Mende.  Keep up the good work.  And don't forget the Irony of Fate.
Kissing girls is a goodness.  It beats the hell out of card games.  - Robert Heinlein

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #13 on: December 20, 2014, 05:06:28 PM »
Quote
And don't forget the Irony of Fate.

Ah, special thanks to Jone! There are a couple of traditions that I forgot to mention.

First one is as Jone reminded me, the tradition to watch a movie entitled, "The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!" This is a still very popular movie, and a newer modern version was released a few years back (I am emotionally attached to the original) that was a spoof on the sameness from region to region in the Soviet style of apartment construction. The bath part is in the title because what happens is all because the lead character visited the Banya (steam bath) and got drunk with several of his friends at New Year's Eve.

Some of the funniest scenes, in my estimation, are when the boyfriend arrives to find our two main characters in her apartment.


Irony_of_Fate_poster height=480


Millions, and I definitely mean millions, of families watch this movie on the New Year's Eve/New Year holiday. If you are visiting the FSU, it will seem like a billion channels are airing the same movie--you will not be able to avoid it.

Part One, with English subtitles:


Part Two, with English subtitles:


Mosfilm, the producer of the movie is kind of protective so if the links above tell you to watch on YouTube, then follow the link and enjoy! In fact, toggle for the full screen for an even better viewing experience.

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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #14 on: December 20, 2014, 05:44:56 PM »
Just before midnight, every radio station, every television network, every eye will turn toward the Kremlin clock tower. The name of this tower, one of 20 towers along the Kremlin walls, is the Saviour tower. It was named this in honour of the Orthodox icons placed in the walls during the construction of this tower in 1491.


Saviour Tower 8-11-11 Moscow 1272 ed med height=1052


The Saviour tower is the most popular tower facing Red Square is the ceremonial entrance to the Kremlin, through which foreign dignitaries enter on official state visits to Moscow. The Russian name, meaning Saviour, is "Spasskaya." The four-dial clock was added in the 17th Century. Dutch chimes were added in 1707. The chimes we hear today were made installed in 1852.


Saviour Tower Moscow 1281 ed clock height=1145


Just before midnight on New Year's Eve, an anthem will play to signal that the President of the Russian Federation will speak. His message will be brief and then the clock will ring in the New Year.

Just as the Kilomoter Zero marker, just steps outside of Red Square at the Iberian Gates is the central distance marker for all of Russia (and therefore the "cenre" of Russia although it isn't the geographical centre), the Saviour Clock is the universal timepiece for all of Russia. When it chimes, the New Year has officially arrived!





(I am fully aware that Dmitry Medvedev is no longer president of the Russian Federation. I count it a privilege to have covered his administration. Most importantly is the reality that forums like this can become quickly political, and feeling that such is not appropriate for such a thread, I purposely chose not to use a video of the current president. No more, no less than that.)




« Last Edit: December 20, 2014, 05:55:02 PM by mendeleyev »
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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #15 on: December 20, 2014, 06:15:39 PM »
Footnote on the stars atop certain Kremlin towers. These were added during the earlier Soviet period. There are five in total: five on Kremlin wall towers. The stars have the hammer and sickle, but the design of the stars themselves date from Imperial Russia. They are constructed of copper and faceted with rubies.

Two double headed eagles from the Imperial period were mounted on the Iberian Gates when the gates were reinstalled to the Kremlin entrance next to the State Historical museum. The Iberian Gate features a chapel that is often open for prayer and there are icons above each gated entrance, also dating back to Imperial times. The main icon at this entrance is of Saint George, the patron saint of Moscow, slaying the dragon.


Iberian Gates 8-24-11 Moscow 1205 ed med height=615


Just before the chapel you see a circle in the grey brick (alas, Red Square is neither square, nor red), and that is the "Kilometer Zero" marker from which all distances in Russia are measured. It is popular to stand on the marker and then toss a coin behind your back for good luck. Sadly, elderly widows often gather there to pick up the coins as they live on such small pensions.

It is a popular tradition for many Moscow residents to walk on Red Square on New Years Day--also considered by many to bring good luck.

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Offline jone

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #16 on: December 20, 2014, 09:41:30 PM »
I wonder if they will have thousand ruble coins in the future?
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Offline Shadow

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #17 on: December 21, 2014, 06:35:50 AM »
In the US people with Russian roots get just one extra holiday, however for us Shadows this month is filled with some more celebrations.

December 5
Those who know a little bit about the origins of Santa Claus will be aware that his birthday it still celebrated in the Netherlands with him traveling around the country giving gifts under the name of Sinterklaas. Contrary to his relatives that are living in the cold, Sinterklaas lives in Spain on a huge estate from where he travels by steamboat. He is reported to take naughty children with him, though nobody can confirm this happens.
This year his helper Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) was in the news a lot, as people who are unaware of the tradition accused this of being related to blackface and slavery. As the Netherlands never had the racist laws with regard to black people, these accusations are unfounded.
While traditionally Sinterklaas is celebrated more as the other holidays, we keep gifts limited so far to minor gifts and candy. In the coming years due to school influences this may change. Some of the traditions include making ´surprise´ gifts that are minor works of art containing a gift, and creating poems that point out some flaws of a person in a comical way.

December 25/26
Christmas is celebrted of course and has also a tradition of gifts. In the Netherlands the fight between the ´Kerstman´(Santa Claus) and Sinterklaas is a yearly item in the press. Who will spend the most money, who will give the most gifts. This year due to all the media attention it is expected that the Kerstman will be able to increase his stake.
At our residence we keep the gifts moderate, and give some attention to the background story that December 25 and December 26 are two very important birthdays.

December 31
Due to my personal connection with Christmas and Sinterklaas being for children, I have been celebrating New Year as a bigger holiday before there was a connection to Russia. Where most people send out ard around Christmas, mine were sent around New Year, and I managed to spread out this tradition long before meeting MrsShadow.
As a result there was no issue in making New Year the biggest celebration of the season. We celebrate it with the usual salads as well as the Dutch tradition of ´oliebollen´. Russian party tv has become a tradition, as well as watching the Kremlin.
Due to contact to our relatives, we celebrate at least twice.
This year the amount of gifts may be a bit less due to the rumoured arrival of a new addition to the Shadows.

January 7 and 14
These are kept minor, we will use it to clear the last of the extra food shoppings and bring down our stock of alcoholic beverages to a more decent level. Our traditions include that our Christmas Tree is never put up before December 6 (as Sintrerklaas hates those trees) and kept until after January 14, making the children enjoy it for a good time.


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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #18 on: December 22, 2014, 02:52:36 AM »
Shadow, do you ever get to spend time spent in Hilversum (North Holland for the geographically challenged)? As you probably already know, Edwin Evers has been hosting the mornings on Radio 538 for ions and a recent survey I read said that 12% of radio listeners in the Netherlands listen to his morning show.

Listeners enjoy the live musical performances in the studio. This performance of "Last Christmas" is performed by his house band, the guys and gals who perform backup for his daily guests.






 
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Offline Shadow

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #19 on: December 22, 2014, 04:00:19 AM »
Shadow, do you ever get to spend time spent in Hilversum (North Holland for the geographically challenged)? As you probably already know, Edwin Evers has been hosting the mornings on Radio 538 for ions and a recent survey I read said that 12% of radio listeners in the Netherlands listen to his morning show.

Listeners enjoy the live musical performances in the studio. This performance of "Last Christmas" is performed by his house band, the guys and gals who perform backup for his daily guests.
Last time I was in Hilversum is some time ago, apart from its fame due to the ´Media park´ which houses most of the broadcasting studios the town itself is pretty small.
As of Edwin Evers, like other DJ´s in the end he prefers to hear himself talk a lot, which means to me his shows get boring after a while. During my frequent long trips (I currently drive 1000 miles a week) I either run the NPO 1 (news radio) or Sky Radio a non-stop music channel.

Speaking of radio with live performances, on of the other large stations 3FM is holding its annual ´Serious Request´ event where DJ´s are living in a glass house for one week without solid food in order to raise money for charity.
This years edition is dedicated to stop sexual violence in war zones.
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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #20 on: December 22, 2014, 04:16:53 AM »
Every children's garden and just about every school will have a party for the children prior to the New Year. Of course Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden will just happen to be in the neighborhood with gifts.









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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #21 on: December 22, 2014, 04:29:47 AM »
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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #22 on: December 23, 2014, 02:46:56 AM »
Eastern Europe is home to not only Slavs, but several other cultures as well. We thought that you might enjoy some videos of Assyrian New Year parties, like these in Moscow. Assyrians are historic Christian peoples who have been driven out of the Middle East. Many are in Russia but the USA and Canada has Assyrian groups as well.





Being an ancient people, the Assyrians still use their old calendar and so this year is not 2014, rather it is 6764. The Assyrian language is considered to be one of the extant languages in the world.







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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #23 on: December 23, 2014, 03:19:41 AM »
We would also like to wish our Jewish members a Happy Hanukkah which began on 16 December this year and will end on 24 December!






Learn more about Hanukkah here: http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm




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Re: Understanding her holidays
« Reply #24 on: December 24, 2014, 02:04:34 AM »
Grandfather Frost at a children's garden appearance in Kazan:



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