On Christmas Eve (6 January), there are several long church services, including the Royal Hours and Vespers combined with the Divine Liturgy. The family will then return home for the traditional Christmas Eve (Holy Supper), which consists of 12 dishes, one to honour each of the Twelve Apostles.
What Do People Do? People in Russia celebrate Christmas Day with activities such as having a family dinner, attending a Christmas liturgy and visiting relatives and friends. There is a 40-day Lent preceding Christmas Day, when practicing Christians do not eat any meat.
Traditionally, Russian Christmas celebrations begin on Christmas Eve, called Сочельник (saCHYELnik). The name Сочельник comes from the word сочиво (SOHchiva), a special meal made from grains (usually wheat), seeds, nuts, honey, and sometimes dried fruit.
Christmas is preceded by 40-day Nativity Fast, which ends on Christmas Eve (January 6). Nativity Fast is the last long one of the entire year. Nativity Fast provides renewal of spiritual unity with God and is a preparation for the celebration of Christmas.
Kutya (sometimes called sochivo) is a ceremonial sweet grain dish that symbolizes unity and is often eaten around the Christmas holiday in Russia. Kutya is a pudding-like dessert made with wheat berries, poppy seeds, nuts, and dried fruit, which is then sweetened with honey.
The Supper usually consists of 12 courses, symbolic of the 12 Apostles. The twelve fasting foods usually served are: barley, honey, stewed prunes, pierogi, sauerkraut, potatoes, lima beans, garlic, Lenten bread, mushroom soup and salt.
Christmas Eve is called “sochelnik” after “sochivo”, the name of the ritual meal to be eaten on that day. Sochivo or kutya is a kind of kasha of wheat or barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, lentils, mixed with honey.
Some Orthodox Christian traditions in Russia mimic Christmas traditions in other parts of Eastern Europe. As is the custom in Poland, in Russia, people will cover their floors and tables in hay to represent baby Jesus's manger. A white tablecloth is then laid out to symbolize the clothes Jesus was swaddled in.
The Russian Orthodox Church, which claims sovereignty over Orthodoxy in Ukraine, and some other Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the ancient Julian calendar. Christmas falls 13 days later on that calendar, or Jan. 7, than it does on the Gregorian calendar used by most church and secular groups.
Although Russia follows the Gregorian calendar, like India and most of the world, the country's Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar and celebrates Christmas on January 7, which corresponds to December 25 on the Gregorian calendar.
Russians do not choose their own middle name, it is created by taking their father's name and adding the ending -ovich/-evich for boys, or -ovna/-evna for girls, the particular ending determined by the last letter of the father's name. For example, Vladimir Popov and Irina Popova are brother and sister.
During the celebration, we can still observe such ancient elements of Russian holiday as fortune-telling on Christmas Eve, koliada, and singing carols (kalyadki), while worshipers follow a strict fast, which ends when the first star appears in the sky on the night of Christmas Eve.
In Russia, the festive fir known to the world as the Christmas tree goes by another name: the New Year yolka. The history behind this tradition encompasses pagan rituals, tsars and tsarinas and Soviet anti-religious propaganda.
White is used by most churches as the color of Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).
Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost is a Russian counterpart of Santa Claus. Both bring presents and are much expected by the kids but there're a few things that make them different. 1. Ded Moroz is much taller than Santa Claus.
Russians decorate their homes with a Christmas tree and often put pine leaves on their front doors, and in the house. The Russian Christmas tree is usually taken down at the end of January after the feast day of the Baptism of Christ.
Nesting dolls, or matryoshka dolls, are favorite souvenirs from Russia and make great gifts for all ages and both genders. Nesting dolls can be elaborately decorated, represent cartoon characters or celebrities, or even carry a Christmas theme.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, people were free to celebrate Christmas again. But it's still a quieter and smaller holiday in Russia after the big New Year celebrations. The New Year is the big time for spending lots of money and eating and drinking lots. Christmas is much more religious and private.
In the past, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has celebrated Christmas at crowded gatherings outside Moscow.
Russian culture is traditionally quite collectivistic and inclusive; however, in the last 10 years, there has been a noticeable rise in materialism and individualism . This is most visible in the bigger cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Traditional Ukrainian kutia
1. Kutia is the most important dish at the Christmas dinner. It is usually prepared from boiled wheat and generously seasoned with honey, poppy seeds, nuts and dried fruits. Eating this dish on Christmas Eve programmed the following year for a good harvest, livestock and procreation.