The most important Russian holiday is New Year’s Day, January 1. During the Soviet era, people were not allowed to celebrate Christmas, so the New Year became the most important holiday. The New Year is a holiday, while Christmas is more of a private family holiday. Happy New Year in Russian is ‘Snovum Godom’.
Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7. This is the day equivalent to December 25 in the old Russian calendar.
Russians celebrate more holidays than Hallmark Cards. It’s just one more reason to get the cork out of the vodka bottle.
The most important holiday for Russian women is “International Women’s Day”. This is March 8. This holiday, which Americans have never heard of, is like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and your birthday all rolled into one. On this day, men do all the household chores. They treat the woman of the house like queen for a day. They buy her a nice gift and maybe flowers.
Tip: Remember this day as you would your anniversary, birthday, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day. It is so important for a Russian woman.
One big difference between Russia and America is that Russians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day. They don’t celebrate any of the ethnic holidays that America has like St. Patrick’s Day, Columbus Day, or Martin Luther King Day, although I’m sure they could support the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day one hundred percent.
Each former Soviet republic has its own Independence Day that is celebrated like Independence Day in the United States, although not to the same extent that it is celebrated in the United States. February 23 is officially Soldier’s Day and it’s like Father’s Day, where men are honored.
May 9 is Victory Day, where Russians celebrate victory in the great Patriotic War, what we call World War II. Every veteran man is treated like a general on this day. Much is drunk and celebrated to honor conquering war heroes.
November 7 is the Soviet holiday commemorating the October Revolution (which actually took place in November), when the Bolsheviks seized power from the Tsar. The reason it is called the October revolution is because it was in the month of October in the old Russian calendar.
Remember the parades in Red Square. During this holiday, Soviet leaders wore those big Russian fur hats while standing over Lenin’s grave.
Pascha is the Russian Orthodox equivalent to Catholic Easter. Easter is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (March 21).
This was the date that the Christian Church originally celebrated Easter. Passover is the Jewish religious celebration when the Lord passed over the homes of the Israelites during the plagues that Moses inflicted on the Egyptians for holding the Israelites captive. The last plague, or curse, was the death of the firstborn of all the earth.
The Israelites were to sacrifice a lamb to God and put the lamb’s blood on his doorstep. By doing so, the plague would overcome them and their firstborn would be saved.
For Christians, Jesus represented the Lamb of God. He was the Passover lamb. He was the Lamb that was slain to save the souls of all people, not just the firstborn sons of the Israelites.
Jesus came to Jerusalem during Passover and was crucified just after Passover. The Orthodox celebrate Easter (The Passion) after Easter for this reason.
