Russian Kafe

February 16th, 2007

This week is Maslenitsa or “Pancake week” in Russia. Maslenitsa is one of the oldest holidays in Russia, dating back to pagan times. It was originally a sun festival, celebrating the imminent end of winter. The holiday survived both the Christianization of Russia as well as the atheist Soviet rule. Maslenitsa is marked with celebrations and lots of Russian bliny (a type of pancake or crepe).

Link: Wikipedia article on Maslenitsa

• culture , food , holidays , winter

January 10th, 2007

Here’s some footage from the New Year holidays on Red Square. Downtown Moscow was full of Russian tourists over the holidays. You can see the temporary ice skating rink that was built on Red Square (with the orange roof), the Kremlin and other famous sites.

This video thanks to Moskau Blog (German language blog about Moscow)

• holidays , moscow , video

January 7th, 2007

It’s Christmas in Russia today. While most countries celebrate Christmas on December 25th, Russia celebrates on January 7th. Why?

“Well, the reason is that the Russian Orthodox Church still lives according to the old Julian Calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar, which is adopted by most countries in the world (and by the Russian government). ”

Link: Russian Christmas: Why do Russians Celebrate Christmas on January 7th?

• church , culture , holidays