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Cultural Exchange
Part 10
A Holiday is a Holiday…Right?
It is late, after a long and successful day where eight of us just
finished stuffing ourselves (excuse the pun) with Turkey &
gravy,
mashed potatoes, salad and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Now that this
has passed, we begin to prepare for Christmas by decorating Christmas
trees, searching for gifts for our friends and relatives as well
thinking of something special for our dear ones from FSU.
This year my husband and I organized a Thanksgiving feast for the
entire family, and, in the process, this got me thinking about what
holiday differences and similarities exist between Russia and America.
Having grown up in Russia, I had no idea what Thanksgiving was up until
I came to work and live in Canada. While we do not have anything
similar to Thanksgiving, I find it a fascinating holiday due to the
fact that families make such an effort to get together, often traveling
many miles to share the day or weekend together. I have learned to
appreciate this holiday and the traditions that come along with it.
Taking time to read about Thanksgiving and immersing myself in the act
of finding recipes for our Thanksgiving meal which, of course, was
cooked with some Russian flavor, made it a great success.
Christmas is a common holiday celebrated in Russia, but there are major
differences one needs to remember. Russian Orthodox Church follows old
Julian calendar; hence it celebrates Christmas on January 07 instead of
December 25. For Russians December 25 is a regular working day, one of
the last left prior to holidays, so do not expect your friends from
Russia to attach the same meaning to your Christmas Day. While many
traditions are similar to those in the West, Russians save the biggest
celebration for New Years Day where we also exchange gifts. We decorate
the “Christmas tree” for the New Years and in
Russian it is
simply called “fir tree”, thus it does not have the
meaning
of being a symbol for Christmas. Christmas, however, is gaining more
popularity with each passing year due to our newly rediscovered freedom
of religion. There is one interesting holiday that has no counterpart
in the US. We call it the Old New Year. Even though it is not state
holiday, come January 13th it is widely celebrated. It is the date when
New Year starts according to Julian calendar and, for any Russian, an
excuse for an extra holiday is mandatory!
Mother’s Day in United States does roughly have its
equivalent in
Russia where we honor the so-called International Women’s Day
on
March 8th. While the American holiday pays tribute to mothers, this day
in Russia is devoted to women and girls of all ages. We all get flowers
and special gifts on this day (hint!).
Father’s Day in United States can be compared to our Day of
the
Defender of the Fatherland, celebrated on February 23rd and devoted to
all men. As military service is obligatory, every man, whether they
currently serve as an active army force or whether they pass their
military training in the course of receiving their higher education, is
honored.
Veteran’s Day in United States is very special. While
thinking of
it, I can only compare it to the 9th of May, Victory Day in Russia. We
celebrate victory of Russia in the World War II and all those who
sacrificed their lives for our freedom in course of this war, while US
commemorates veterans from various wars.
Labor Day has its equivalent in Russia, but is celebrated on May 01 and
is called the Day of Spring and Labor. It used to have a big parade
with music and balloons that I remember from my childhood. Later I
learned that my parents did not really have an option on whether to go
to this parade or stay at home. As a requirement for their jobs they
had to be active members of the Communist party and participate in the
parade. For me these are some of my fondest memories of childhood - as
a very special spring sunny day comes, mom puts bows in my
sister’s and my hair and we all march down the street with
pride…
Holidays are important in every culture. While some holidays are
similar in both Russia and United States, others are different and
require understanding of culture to gain an appreciation. It takes some
time to start having the “holiday feeling” for
Thanksgiving, for example, when one did not grow up with it. With every
year I live in the United States, though, I get more and more used to
American traditions, which slowly become part of my own
Russian-American culture and family. I urge you to make the effort to
learn about the culture and context of the holidays for your
significant friends as each of you will gain from the experience.
 Tamara von Schmidt-Pauli is a
native of St. PetersburgRussia 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)
Russian Souvenirs
You're
in Russia and
you're thinking of getting your friends back home some gifts. If your
first thoughts are vodka and nesting dolls, it's time to broaden your
knowledge a bit. Here's a description of some authentic Russian
souvenirs.
The above shirts are called
‘vweesheevanka’…though I
personally just call them, “Those Russian looking
shirts.”
These folksy, rustic designs date back hundreds of years, and
you’ll often see people wearing them, especially on national
holidays. There’s really no analogous piece of clothing in
the
U.S. Let 500 years pass, and then I suppose blue-jeans will have a
similar significance. In any case, a quality
‘vweesheevanka’ is surprisingly expensive
– you can
spend $40 easily -- but the quality is very high, and they’re
all
done by hand.
Though the scale might be hard to determine from the photo, the wooden
spoons pictured above are easily a foot long. Hand painted, they are
intended to be used and not merely hung as decorations (though if you
buy one, wash it by hand and not in the dishwasher.) Each unique, they
are things of beauty, but cost surprisingly little (especially when
compared to those shirts). Figure about $5 per spoon.
Next up, the spiked Kazakh weapon called a boolavah! Only the head
Ottoman warrior carried such a club. Though intended now just for
decoration, the tips of those spikes are sharp as pencil points!
It’s fun to hold, and you almost hope for a ruckus to break
out,
so as to find fair opportunity to wield it.
A great edible gift for someone would be a mound-shaped bread called
'karavai.' Though sometimes sweet, they are usually plain white bread.
What makes them remarkable are the elaborate decorations on top, which
are themselves edible. Karavai are consumed only at weddings, where
they are torn into chunks and handed out to guests. A fair price for a
large one is about $20.
So, forget those tacky nesting dolls, and the thoroughly predictable
bottle of vodka. When you come to Russia or Ukraine, get something more
authentic. Your friends will truly thank you.
 Mark
Thomson is an American living in Sevastopol, Ukraine with his fiance
Dasha. After his divorce at age 35, he taught himself Russian and later
moved to Sevastopol to master the language. He is the head writer and
editor for the Japanese company, Unique Digital Publishing. His newest
release, the RUSSIAN ACCELERATOR METHOD has been deemed "The ultimate
course for beginners in Russian." (www.russian-accelerator.com)
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