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Learn when and what gifts to
present to a Russian.
So do you actually think that gift giving traditions might differ from
one country to another or are they pretty much the same? Before we look
at it any further, let’s have a small test.
- Pupils
in Russia usually bring gifts: candies, books, etc. for their teacher
on the first day of school, September-1. – Yes/No
- Family
members exchange valuable gifts during Christmas celebration.
– Yes/No
- It is
normal to celebrate your one’s birthday both at home and with
colleagues in the office. – Yes/No
- When
meeting close friends or relatives in the airport or at a railway
station, Russians bring flowers. – Yes/No
- Men
present gifts to women both at work and at home for the 8th of March,
International Women’s Day. – Yes/No
- The
number of flowers presented to a Russian for a special occasion is
inconsequential. – Yes/No
So what is it to
present and when is the right time to do so?
8th of March, International Women’s Day is very special for
any Russian woman. Men are presenting women with gifts of all types;
however, flowers are almost always obligatory. As a rule, not
a single lady leaves without a gift as men at work organize small gifts
for all ladies in the office, dads buy something special for their
daughters, husbands for the wives, etc. Having lived in North
America for 7 years now, I still anxiously await this day and always
look for a surprise from my sweetheart (I’ll be sure to have
him read this article).
New Years along with Christmas are among the most favorite of holidays,
but there is no real tradition to exchange valuable gifts. Children are
the ones to receive gifts and there are many services with
dressed Ded Moroz – Grandfather Frost, Russian Santa Claus,
and his granddaughter Snegurochka – Snow Maiden visiting home
on New Year’s Eve and congratulating kids.
Recently it became ordinary to give a young couple money in an envelope
as a wedding gift. Just keep in mind that when going to a
wedding, one needs to think about the gift seriously and make it
substantial. The gift registry concept is non-existent in
Russia, so talking with newly weds relatives will help to make a more
educated decision. Bed linen, silverware sets, dishes, etc.
will be some of the appropriate examples for wedding gifts.
As anywhere else, gifts are presented on a birthday, which is often
celebrated not only with the family but with colleagues as
well. The birthday boy or girl are the ones bringing some
teats, wine, appetizers, while others usually collect money and get one
substantial gift from the whole group and, as always, flowers!
Russians attitude towards flowers is very special. You might
already know that only live flowers can be presented. It is
not acceptable to give only one flower, regardless of how beautiful it
may be. And always make sure to have an odd number of flowers
– usually 3, 5 or 7. Even number of flowers
bouquets are taken to funerals only. And don’t
forget about the color! Russians are a sentimental and
symbolic people: white represents innocence while red symbolizes
victory. Yellow flowers are not often to be presented due to
the color associated with separation and betrayal.
On the very first day of school, September 01, all pupils in Russia
bring flowers for their teachers, which has been a long standing
tradition. My friend here in the US had a similar question
when sending her 7-year old to school: Do they bring flowers to
teachers in the US for the first day of school? She decided
to stay away from this Russian tradition and would have stood out to
the others as someone attempting to gain influence.
Now let’s look at what can be presented as a gift. Remember a
Russian saying "The gift is small, but love is
all” meaning that it is not about the value of the gift, but
about love, attention, time spent for finding the right gift.
Presenting a gift we often say: “I know that you like this
particular chocolate/wine/perfume so I decided to get
it…” or “I notice how flattering this
color is for you, so…” Each gift to a
Russian is symbolic and should have some meaning. If you pay
attention and continue to think about the person for whom you are
buying it, it’ll be perfect whether big or small. Love,
attention and warmth from your heart will be the most cherished
memory about any gift. Hmmm, perhaps we are all more similar
than I first thought…
 Tamara
von Schmidt-Pauli is a native of St.
Petersburg Russia
who has been visiting, and living in, the United States and Canada
since 2002. She holds bachelors and masters
degrees, with honors, covering teaching of language and
translation and
currently resides in the greater Minneapolis
area. Tamara is affiliated with Prime Language Services (www.primelanguageservices.com)
Tribute to RWD Married Members
The Numbers Continue to Grow
I updated our
topic for raising a tribute to our Married RWD Members today. The
numbers are growing, and I know I have missed a great many members who
are married. Our current listing shows nearly 100 married members, and
I encourage those of you whom I have missed, to please send me a PM or
post in the Tribute topic (HERE), to allow me to include you.
Also, please welcome our NEWEST addition to the Married ranks - SeriouslyJaded - who may soon need to change
his moniker to something more optimistic (and less "jaded"). Here is
the list:
Married
RWD Members:
* AJ (Tanya)
* AkMike
* AnastassiaAsh
(Tim)
* AnnaFBA
* apple47
* BC
* bgreed
* BlueBell
* boaterguy
*
Bob&Inna
* bobcat
* Bruce
* CaptB
* Captmonk1
* catzenmouse
* ccarten
(Tanya)
* coco
* ConnerVT
* David1963
(Lida)
* Donna_Pedro
* ekeswick
(Elena)
* Elen
* gabaub
* GoodOlBoy
* Goombah
* jb (Etna)
* Jet (Lilia)
* jen
* John K
(Marina)
* JPjr (Luda)
* KenC (Lena)
* krimster
* Leslie
* MandM
* mischief
* Muckraker
* Oooops
* Patrick
* Phil dAmore
* philb
* planner
* RacerX
* Rags II
* Ronnie
* Rvrwind
(Valya)
* Sailor291
* ScottinCrimea
* Simoni
* Son of Clyde
(Irina)
* START2
(Valentina)
* Ste (Nadia)
* Stirlitz
* Sylan
(Natasha)
* TheOldMan
*
TheOneWeekWonder
* TigerPaws
(Victoria)
* tim 360
* Vaughn
(Elvira)
* Wild Orchid*
RWD
Members Married Since Joining RWD:
* aikorob
* beachcomber556
* Blues Fairy
* carlt99
* docetae
* Erwin
* Gator (Sabina)
* groovlstk
* HiTech
* I/O
* JazzyClassy
* jj (Marina)
* Kuna
* lindochka
* MaxxumUSA
* Muj (Zhena)
* Ravens9273
(Karina)
* SeriouslyJaded
* Shadow (Mila)
* Thor
* Todd (pitbull)
* Turboguy
(VWRW)
* ukguy1977
* Voyageur
(Victoria)
* xStevenx
(LadyX)
Once again, I am
absolutely certain that I missed many of our married members when I
compiled this list, and it is difficult (if not impossible) to keep up
with the many new members who have joined, some of whom are also
married. When I created this list more than a year ago, I inadvertently
managed to miss a few long-term members of RWD and some of them felt
very 'hurt' at my failure to recognize them. I still feel bad about
that, and ask for all your assistance in making certain that I keep the
list up-to-date with new additions.
RWD
Moderation Model
Many of you who have been
members of RWD for a while recognize we have utilized a slightly
different moderation model than earlier forum sites such as RWGuide. We
relied heavily on our tenets of self-moderation and individual
accountability, and encouraged members to resolve disputes amicably
between themselves. Much of the time this moderation model worked well,
but occasionally it fell short and left some members feeling offended
and/or vulnerable.
In consideration of our growth and building on our strengths, RWD has
now implemented a change in our moderation model to improve our
member's experience. We created a topic announcing this change, which
may be found at THIS LINK.
Please join me in welcoming our team of Moderators, listed below in
alphabetic order:
- Daveman
- Jet
- Lily
- SANDRO43
- Taz
- Vaughn
It is
likely we will need to make adjustments as we implement this new
approach for RWD, but I feel confident this team will bring energy and
enthusiasm along with wisdom and experience to the roles they will play
in continuing to create and build the most influential and informative
source that has ever existed in our topical area.
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