Счастлйвого Рождества (Merry Christmas!) – The legends behind Russian Christmas traditions
Since its first performance in Imperial Russia in 1892, when it got its premiere in St Petersburg, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet has become entrenched as a Christmas tradition in the west – especially in America. But there are some Christmas traditions that still remain in the country and can be a feast of the senses for travellers.
If you were in an Eastern Orthodox country, you won’t find anyone celebrating on the 25 December, as the Orthodox Church uses the old Julian calendar which celebrates Christmas, or Svyatki, on 7 January. The tradition of Christmas being mainly a religious observance has gradually made a reappearance over the last two decades after years of suppression by the communist government, an officially atheist state.
Christmas cuisine in Russia
Traditionally on Christmas Eve (6 January) Russian families attend several long services including the Royal Hours, before returning home for a traditional Christmas Eve Holy Supper. You won’t find any turkey or goose here, as it is a meal consisting of twelve meatless dishes, including mushroom soup, dried fruits and nuts, red borshch and Lenten bread, to represent each of the apostles. The bread, or pagach, is broken and dipped first in honey then in chopped garlic, to represent both the sweetness and bitterness of life. The table setting may contain some hay in a bowl to remember the humble manger in the Nativity. Those that are particularly religious will even fast before returning to church for the All Night Vigil set to the music made famous by composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff.
During the Soviet period when religious celebration was discouraged, traditions were kept alive by shifting them to the more secular New Year festivities and while Christmas is of religious importance, Russians still tend to focus on celebrating the New Year. The Yolka in the form of an adorned spruce or pine tree, and St Nicholas were traditions brought to Russia by Peter the Great after his 17th century Western travels. Travellers to Moscow will see a tree standing in the Red Square during the festive period. The city is also full of seasonal ice rinks and is much more interesting for explorers in the winter than the sticky summer crowds around the Kremlin.
Christmas folk legends
The Russian Santa is Dyed Moroz, which translates to “Grandfather Frost”. The legend is that he brings presents to children under the New Year’s yolka dressed in boots known as valenki and travelling in a Russian troika. He is accompanied by Snegurochka, a character from an old folk tale. She is said to be a Snow Maiden, who is the daughter of Spring and Winter and appears to a childless couple as a winter blessing, but melts when she falls in love with a human boy.
Russian folk tales play a big part in Christmas traditions. The story of Baboushka is one that is often told to children in Russia and beyond. She was a lonely and frail old woman who was visited on a winter night by three kings who were following a star to visit a newborn king in a far eastern land. The harsh winter wind discouraged Baboushka from following the kings on their journey. The following morning in the light of the day when the air was warmer she decided to find the child, with a scarf wrapped around her head and carrying a basket full of food and gifts.
They say she still wanders the streets and fields trying to catch up with the three kings, seeking the baby and leaving a gift for each child she passes. She is depicted very similarly to a traditional matrioshka doll.
Despite Christmas being unfavoured under Soviet rule, the season has still seemed to hang on to festivities and celebration.
[Photo by archer10]