Holidays in Russia and English-speaking countries

Holidays in Russia and English-speaking countries

Introduction

The aim of our project is to compare and describe Holidays in Russia and English speaking countries. As you know every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. It make a nation special. Some of them are old-fashioned and many people remember them, others are part of people’s life. Some British traditions are known all the world. From Britain is full of traditions. A lot of them have very long histories. Some are funny and some are strange. But they are all interesting. There is the long menu of traditional British food. There are many royal occasions. There are songs, saying and superstitions. They are all part of the British way of life.
You cannot really imagine Britain without all its traditions, this integral feature of social and private life of the people living on the British Isles that has always been an important part of their life. What about mother country. There are dates and events in the life of this our country that are memorable to every Russian citizen. The dates of this kind are: Victory Day, May Day, Constitution Day, the Women's Day, Independence Day. These are national holidays, people do not work on these days. But there are also international holidays which are celebrated in all countries world-wide. They are: Christmas, New Year, Easter and St. Valentine's day. Christmas comes but once a year. Christmas is a traditional family reunion day. On this day, many people attend a church service, open their presents and eat a Christmas dinner. In Britain, Christmas is the most important public holiday of the year. It combines the custom of giving gifts with the tradition of spending this day with the family. Every year a huge Christmas tree, the gift of the Norwegian people, graces Trafalgar square. In Russia Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January. On this day people celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. New Year is a public holiday but it is not marked with any particular custom in Britain and America, yet it has a joyful celebration in Russia. People stay awake until after midnight on December 31st to watch the Old Year out and the New Year in. Many parties are given on this night. Theatres, night clubs and streets are crowded. Easter is one of the most important Christian holiday. It is traditionally associated with Easter eggs and with the coming of spring, and most churches are specially decorated with flowers for the service held on Easter Day. There is a popular belief that wearing three new things on Easter will bring good luck. St. Valentine's day is not the official holiday in most countries. February 14 is the day of lovers. Boys and girls, sweethearts and lovers, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, and even the office staff exchange greetings of affection. Valentine's day is a whirl of hearts, candy and good wishes in the form of bright, lacy, colorful cards, with loving emblems and amorous doggerel, saying: "Be my Valentine".

There are also some special holidays which are usually celebrated in a particular country. Let's start with the traditional British holiday Pancake day. But people don't only eat pancakes on this day, they run with them. In many towns in England pancake races are held every year. These races are run by housewives.

The most American holiday is Thanksgiving day. It was first celebrated in early colonial times by Pilgrim Fathers after their first good harvest. Thanksgiving is a day when the family eats a large traditional dinner, usually with turkey and pumpkin pie.

In Russia we celebrate Women's day on the 8th of March. On this day men are supposed to do everything about the house and cook all the meals.

English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. There is a big difference of people between America and Britain. An Englishman in America is respected, Americans love his accent and his country. An American in England is thought to be a little strange because of his behavior and his language. To the English their private lives are important, their holidays are important, their garden are important, their animals are important. For American the work is the most important thing in life. And in England you can hear the most extraordinary excuse not to go to work, for example "My dog's got a cold". In Britain pets can send Christmas or birthday cards to their friends. There are special animal hotels at the airports. In English houses the fire-place has always been the centre of interest in a room. For many months of the year people like to sit round the fire and watch the dancing flames. Fire places are decorated with woodworks, there is a painting or a mirror over it. Above the fire there is usually a shelf with a clock and some photos. The English are a nation of stay-at-homes. There is no place like home. The Englishman is never tired to say "My house is my castle". The Americans are different. I think they are more open, they speak their minds, so if they don't like something, they actually tell it directly. Not like the British, who might think one thing and say another. Americans start conversations with people in the street, in the subway; they are more enthusiastic. American customs underline independence and freedom of the nation. Russia is the country of the dramatic beauty. To my mind, the main traits of the real Russia character are hospitality, "open heart", "golden hands", wise Russian fairytales reflect their wisdom. The Russians are a very talented nation. Russia gave the world beautiful names of Pushkin and Lermontov, Chaikovsky and Repin, thousands of names of world famous poets, writers, composers, scientists.

Every country is also known for its food. England is noted for its pudding, bacon, marmalade, porridge and five-o'clock-tea. America is the country of Coca-Cola, hamburgers and chewing gum. Traditional Russian cooking is world-famous for such dishes as okroshka, shi, pelmeni and kvass.

Russian Holidays and traditions

At the present moment there are 7 govermnent holidays in Russia. Among them are those left from previous historiс eras and those related to the modern day. There are more days off than there are government holidays. For eхample, Christmas is not a government holiday but it is a day off

The Russian word «праздник» comes from праздный or пустой (empty) and means a day free from work. In fact holidays in a stream of working days are a good time to rest. At the same time they are socially and culturally important allowing generations to pass on traditions.

Among Russian holidays there are official and unofficial, old and new, religious and not, professional and family-oriented ones. At this time non-working days are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th of January - so called New Year Vacation (Новогодние каникулы), 7th of January - Christmas Day (Рождество) , 23rd of February - Day of Fatherland Defender (День защитника Отечества), 8th of March - International Women's Day (Международный женский день), 1st of May - Spring and Labor Holiday (Праздник Весны и Труда), 9th of May - Victory Day (День Победы), 12th of June - Day of Russian (День России), 4th of November - Day of people's Unity (День народного единства).

New Year

The First Holiday in the calendar is New Year. There is hardly any other holiday that is anticipated this much every year. Children dream about New Year gifts, and adults about their dreams coming true and everybody wishes happiness to each other in the new year. In schools they have different performances and in offices they have New Year parties. However this holiday is very family-like that's why many people choose to celebrate it at home or with friends. They decorate a New Year tree and set up the holiday table.

The first New Year in Russia to be celebrated on the night of 31st of December was in 1700 under Piter I. Before that they celebrated New Year on the 1st of September, and even before that on the 1st of March. Just like in Europe the symbol of this holiday became a New Year tree, a spruce. First these New Year trees were decorated with nuts, candies, fruit and even vegetables, and this didn't change until the middle of 19 century By the end of the century appeared Grandpa Frost (Дед Мороз) (an analog of Santa Clause - Санта Клаус),and then his granddaughter Snegurochka ( внучка Снегурочка). In the first years the Soviet government didn't approve of this holiday with a New Year tree, thinking it is too bourgeois, although they later accepted this tradition. In the Soviet period they added these dishes to the NewYear menu: студень (jellied meat), селедка под шубой (salad with herring and beets and cheese), салат Оливье(salad Olivie), and of course the opening of a bottle of Soviet Champagne (открытие бутылки «Советского шампанского») with the sound of Kremlin clock in the background. There also appeared « New Year TV shows with pop singers and New Year movies.

Old New Year

The night from the 13th to the 14th of January is called Old New Year in Russia. Before 1918 in Russia they had Julian Calendar, which was 13 days ahead of the Gregorian calendar they used in Europe. So with time people got used to celebrating New Year according to the new calendar but the tradition to celebrate Old New Year remained. This holiday is more family-like and less solemn with no Kremlin bells or a president speech.

Christmas Day

All the Church holidays are still celebrated according to the Julian calendar. One of the most important of them is Christmas Day (Рождество Христово) celebrated on the 7th of January. In Russia like in many other countries it is the Christmas Eve that is the most important (Рождественский сочельник). Because on the Eve of Christmas is the end of the 4-day Christmas fast, in Russian they didn't eat till the end of the day "до первой звезды" (till the first star), and dinner had to be meatless( постный). After a repast they went to church for a night service, and on the first day of Christmas they had a rich banquet.

From the Christmas started Christmastide (Святки) - 12 days till the Twelth Day (Крещение Господне) on the 19th of January. Christmastide ways to have fun - masquarades (маскарады), гадания (fortune-telling), trick-ot -treating (колядование).

Shrovetide

At the end of February till the beginning of March, a week before the Lent (Великий пост), they celebrate Shrovetide (Масленица). This is the only authentic Slavic holiday that didn't get affected by anything and that still had some traits of heathendom - they cook pancakes that resemble the Sun - and tell you about the coming Summer. Among traditions of Shrovetide week - ice slides/hills going, riding colorfully decorated with carpets sledges (сани), singing songs and family partying. The culmination of the Shrovetide week is the farewell to the Shrovetide - the burning of a saw dummy of Shrovetide dressed in old clothes as a symbol of the Winter funeral of everything that has passes away and of the birth of everything new and full of strenth.

23rd of February - Day of the Fatherland Defender

23rd of February is the Day of the Fatherland Defender. This holiday appeared in 1918 to celebrate the strenth of the Red Army against the German invasion. This holiday is now celebrated as a Men's Day, who are strong and br

8th of March

Withing less that 2 weeks from the Men's Day they celebrate International Women's Day - the 8th of March. On this day mothers , wifes and daughters, and female co-workers are given flowers and gifts. This holiday was celebrated for the first time in 1913. The desicion to celebrate this International Women's Day was reached in 1910 at the 2nd International Conference of female socialists in Copenhagen proposed by K. Tsetkin. (one of the founder's of German Communist Party)

Easter

At the end of April - beginning of May they celebrate Easter (Пасха). The exact date is set each year according to certain religious tables. Easter as they said in the old times is the holiday of holidays and celebration of celebrations (праздников праздник и торжество из торжеств) - a day to remember the life, suffering and ressurection of Jesus Christ. Traditions related to Easter - Cross-bearing procedure arounf a church, painting eggs in different colors and baking round sweet roll (кулич). People kiis each other and say "Христос воскрес!"(Christ is risen!) and they othe reply "Воистину воскрес!(Truly risen!)". An essential attribute of any Easter dinner is Easter bread (пасхальный хлеб) - kulich (кулич), baked with paste yeasty dough. Кулич has got to be high and round. On top of it is a cross made of dough.

1st of May - Day of Spring and Labor

1st of May - is the Day of Spring and Labor (День Весны и Труда). This holiday was introduced in 1889 when at the Paris Congress of 2nd International they decided to celebrate the demonstration of Chicago workers on the 1st of May 1886. This holiday is always associated with large crowds and demonstrations. Today though most Russians prefer to spend this day out of town and spend time with their families.

Victory Day

9th of May - the Victory Day (День Победы) marks the victory of Soviet troops in the war with the fascist Germany in the spring of 1945 - one of the most important moments in Russia's history. At the same time it is a memory day for those tens of millions people killed in this war.On this day you will see namy veterals dressed up in military clothes with medals marching on the Red Square in Moscow and other central squares in other sities.People give flowers to the veterans and say thank you. They also lay bouquets of flowers to the tombs of fallen soldiers.

Day of Russia

12th of June - the Day of Russia (День Pоссии) is celebrated since 1991 after Russia became a sovereign state.

4th of November - the Day of People's Unity (День народного единства) is celebrated in memory of the events of the 4th of November of 1612 when the people uprising leaded by K. Minin (Козьма Минин) and Вю Pozharsky (Дмитрий Пожарский) freed Moscow from Polish invaders and put an end to the Troublesome time (Смутное время). Those events laid down the foundation for the future sovereignty of Russia.

Public holidays in the United States

The United States does not have national holidays in the sense of days on which all employees in the U.S. receive mandatory a day free from work and all business is halted by law. The U.S. federal government only recognizes national holidays that pertain to its own employees; it is at the discretion of each state or local jurisdiction to determine official holiday schedules. There are eleven federal holidays in the United States, ten annual and one quadrennial holiday (Inauguration Day).

The annual federal holidays are widely observed by state and local governments; however, they may alter the dates of observance or add or subtract holidays according to local custom. Pursuant to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 (taking effect in 1971), official holidays are observed on a Monday, except for New Year's Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There are also U.S. state holidays particular to individual U.S. states, such as Good Friday observed by 12 states.

Malls, shopping centers and most retail stores close only on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, but remain open on all other holidays (early closing on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and sometimes on other major holidays). Virtually all companies observe and close on the "major" holidays (New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day,Thanksgiving, and Christmas). Some also add the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday), most businesses also add religious holiday of Good Friday, and sometimes one or more of the other federal/state holidays.

Federal holidays in the United States

Federal holidays are designated by Congress in Title V of the United States Code (5 U.S.C. § 6103). Federal holiday is a day off for federal employees, which also means that banks and postal offices are closed. Most private companies and certain other businesses observe federal holidays as well, or the big holidays. If a holiday falls on a Saturday it is celebrated the preceding Friday; if a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. Most, but not all, states and most private businesses also observe a Sunday holiday on the following Monday.

There is no generally accepted policy, however, on whether to observe a Saturday holiday on the preceding Friday or the following Monday. Most states and private businesses may observe on the preceding Friday, some may observe it on the following Monday, and some may not observe the holiday at all in those years. In particular, banks that close on Saturdays do not observe a holiday when it falls on Saturday.

Good Friday / Easter in the United States

In the United States, Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however individual states, counties and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in Connecticut,  Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.  State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and postal offices in these states, and in those counties and municipalities where Good Friday is observed as holiday. Good Friday is also a holiday in U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Most private businesses and certain other institutions are closed on Good Friday.^] The financial market and stock market is closed on Good Friday Most retail stores remain open, or might close early. Public schools and most universities are closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or part of spring break. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.

Easter is recognized as a flag day but has not been a federal holiday due to falling always on a Sunday, which is a non-working day for federal and state employees. However, many companies, including banks, malls, shopping centers and most private retail stores normally open on Sundays are closed on Easter.

Other religious, traditional, and informal holidays celebrated in the United States

In addition to the federal/national holidays, many religious, ethnic, and other traditional holidays populate the calendar, as well as observances proclaimed by officials and lighter celebrations. These are rarely observed by businesses as holidays (Except for Easter and most often also on Good Friday); indeed, many are viewed as opportunities for commercial promotion.

Conclusion

We compare and describe Holidays in Russia and English speaking countries in our project, and we come to conclusion that, the traditions of the country play a great role in a country live.

A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.

Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history. For example, Australians celebrate Australia Day.

They vary by country and may vary by year. Russia and UK have most days of holidays per year. The public holidays are generally days of celebration, like the anniversary of a significant historical event, or can be a religious celebration like Christmas. Holidays can land on a specific day of the year, be tied to a certain day of the week in a certain month or follow other calendar systems like the Lunar Calendar.

These are holidays that are not traditionally marked on calendars. These holidays are celebrated by various groups and individuals. Some promote a cause, others recognize historical events not officially recognized, and others are "funny" holidays celebrated with humorous intent. For example, Monkey Day celebrated on December 14, International Talk Like a Pirate Day observed on September 19 and Blasphemy Day is September 30. There are a lot of the same holidays in Russia and English speaking country despite their difference in language. And there are lot of same how they celebrate this holidays.