Russian Festivals and Holidays
New Year – Presents, Grandfather Frost, and Fireworks!
The most popular holiday of the year in Russia is the New Year!
It’s the holiday which brings families together to eat a delicious meal, and the time of year that Russia’s Santa Claus, who is called Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz), leaves presents under the New Year tree for children. Grandfather Frost has a long white beard, wears a very long coat that is blue, red, or white, and carries a magic staff. By his side is his granddaughter and helper Snow Maiden (Snegourochka), who has a beautiful blue outfit. |
Grandfather Frost doesn’t have reindeer, but instead travels on a troika (тройка) – a carriage pulled by three horses. He leaves his home town of Velikiy Ustyug in Russia’s Vologda Oblast and travels around with Snegourochka leaving presents for all the children!
On December 31st, families gather together to wish each other a Happy New Year – S Novym Godom! (C Новым Годом!) A big meal is put together, with lots of different dishes, like a tasty potato salad called Olivye and sandwiches with red caviar. You can see a picture of the feast below. There is more information on Russian food on our Food and Drink page. |
Russia also has something called the Old New Year, which falls on the night from the 13th to the 14th of January, exactly two weeks after the official New Year. This is because for a long time, Russia followed a slightly different calendar. Today, it’s not as important a celebration as the official New Year, but some people do like to get together to mark it with a party and wish each other a Happy Old New Year – So Starym Novym Godom! (Со Старым Новым Годом!)
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa (Масленица) is celebrated to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
One of its biggest traditions is making and eating lots and lots of delicious bliny (блины), which are big, round pancakes. They are eaten with lots of different fillings, like jam, honey, or sour cream, as well as some savoury fillings. |
Another fun tradition during this festival is to hold outdoor celebrations, like the one above, even though it is still cold. To keep warm, performers sing and dance to music on stage, and there are even organised snowball fights! People also like to go sledding and enjoy sleigh rides, all while being kept warm by those delicious bliny!
A straw effigy called Maslenitsa is burned on a bonfire at the end of the celebrations, to symbolise new beginnings.
A straw effigy called Maslenitsa is burned on a bonfire at the end of the celebrations, to symbolise new beginnings.
Easter
There are several traditions associated with Easter (Пасха) in Russia. Instead of giving chocolate eggs, Russians take ordinary eggs and dye them lots of different colours, like in this picture, and give them as gifts to loved ones. People also give colourful decorated wooden eggs.
It is also traditional to give an Easter kulich (кулич), a light and sweet cake covered in icing and sprinkles. Some people also like to give small toy chicks, to represent the start of spring. |
Victory Day – 9 May
Victory Day is a very popular holiday in Russia. It’s observed on 9 May and marks the end of the Great Patriotic War, which is how World War Two is known in Russia.
Everybody has the day off school and work, and many people attend parades held in cities and towns and lay flowers at war memorial as a mark of respect for soldiers. Many war veterans also come to these events, and children often give them flowers. In the evening, there are concerts and big firework displays to celebrate the end of the war. |
Now it's your turn!
New Year: 31 Dec С Новым Годом!
Maslennitsa: Usually in February. It's like the Western Shrove Tuesday so the date changes each year depending on the date of the Russian Easter. С Масленницей!
Easter: Usually in April. The date changes each year. NB the Russian Orthodox Easter is often on a different date to the Western Catholic / Protestant Easter. С Пасхой!
Victory Day: 9 May С Днём Победы!
Maslennitsa: Usually in February. It's like the Western Shrove Tuesday so the date changes each year depending on the date of the Russian Easter. С Масленницей!
Easter: Usually in April. The date changes each year. NB the Russian Orthodox Easter is often on a different date to the Western Catholic / Protestant Easter. С Пасхой!
Victory Day: 9 May С Днём Победы!