Slavic New Year

Have you ever wondered how most Eastern Europeans and Russians celebrate the holidays? Read below to learn more about the holiday season in ‘Slavic Europe’.

In Russia, the New Years holiday is celebrated more than any other winter holidays including Christmas, which takes place on January 7th. New Years is celebrated on two different days, January 1st (with the rest of the world) and January 14. The New Years on January 14 is called the “Old New Year” since it is based on the Orthodox Calendar.

The New Years holiday in Russia/ Eastern Europe resembles the typical ‘American Christmas’. A “Christmas tree” here in America, is a “New Years Tree” in Russia. The Russian Santa (pronounced as Ded Moroz in Russian) travels Russia and Europe with his female companion, Snow Maiden (pronounced as Snegurochka in Russian), to deliver presents for all of the children. The Russian Santa makes his voyage on Christmas Eve, unlike the typical American Santa.

The ‘new’ New Year (January 1st, 2019) is now the official Russian New Year since Russia switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar following the ‘western world.’ During the Soviet period, New Year was celebrated instead of Christmas. However, recently Christmas has started to gain more importance in the area.

New Years is celebrated throughout Eastern Europe and Russia in homes and public places. In most cases there is always a fireworks show at 12:00 AM resembling the start of the new year. A very popular tourist location at The Red Square in Moscow where fireworks burst above the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral.

New Years is celebrated differently all around the world, and this is just one piece of what makes every culture unique!