The New Year is, without doubt, the most important holiday on the Russian calendar. It equates if not outstrips the importance of Christmas in the western world, if to compare the two holidays in the two cultures. New Year in Russia is a time to be together with family and friends, for gift giving, major consumer spending, decorating trees, and even watching and setting off fireworks. Midnight is, by tradition, marked by listening to the Kremlin bells chime (either as broadcast by most major television channels or by actually standing on Red Square). Russian folk belief, still seen as tradition by many, holds that one must toast when the bells begin to chime and that those with whom you toast will be near you for the rest of the next year. Most of the celebrations occur on New Year's Eve (on December 31) while the holiday day itself is largely a time for relaxing.
Some of the food celebrated at Russian New Year includes tangerines, famous salads such as Olivier which is a type of beetroot salad, red or black caviar, pickled cucumbers (snacks that go with vodka), suckling pig, vinaigrette (another beetroot salad), and Russian vegetables and mushrooms salted and fermented, known as kvashennie. These are just a few of the foods which could be used on this occasion.
If you would like to learn more about Russian culture contact VLLC.
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