Yesterday was Christmas day across most of the world.\u00a0 It wasn’t in Russia.\u00a0 Russian Christmas follows the Orthodox calendar and falls on 7th January, and this is celebrated to a certain extent.\u00a0 But the big event is New Year, and this is celebrated in the same way as it is in the West: by the entire population going out and getting completely hammered.<\/p>\n
But whereas in the West the New Year party marks the end of the festive holidays and everyone returns to work with sore heads and utterly depressed on the 2nd January, in Russia the party is only just starting.\u00a0 Or at least, it is officially.\u00a0 The public holidays in Russia run from 1st to 8th January, but as of today getting any cooperation out of a public body or ministry is nigh on impossible.\u00a0 Even in the private sector, productivity is falling rapidly as eyes focus not on their work but on the looming festivities.\u00a0 And from what I hear, the New Year holidays in Russia are as much a matter or survival as they are of celebration.\u00a0 For not only do the Russians continue their New Year celebrations well into the morning of the 1st, they often carry on until the 2nd and sometimes even the 3rd.\u00a0\u00a0Then as the New Year parties fade into the background, other parties spring up for no other reason than everyone is off from work and they might as well get drunk.\u00a0 Usually this involves the people who you were not able to spend New Year with, and then once this <\/em>party is over, you meet up with the lot you spent New Year with and raise a glass or two to the\u00a0occasion once again.\u00a0<\/p>\n The holidays might officially last only until 8th January, but the party spirit goes further.\u00a0 Not ones to usually bother seeking an excuse to drink and party, Russians have seized on the concept of Old New Year, which falls on 14th January,\u00a0as\u00a0justification for extending the festivities for another week.\u00a0 So the wisdom imparted by\u00a0Russians is don’t expect anything to get done in the time\u00a0between 28th December and 15th January, as the entire country will be completely drunk and in no mood to do anything which might\u00a0resemble work.\u00a0 Apparently, this includes such activities as filling up ATM machines with cash, meaning\u00a0you have to hoard it all under your mattress before the revelling starts lest you find yourself short and – horror! – unable to buy more drink.<\/p>\n My wife and I have not planned anything for the holidays aside from committing to be at an all-you-can-eat-and-drink party in the local Indian restaurant (yeah, I know, but it was cheap and the food is great) for a few hours on New Year’s Eve.\u00a0 I am bringing a warm coat and hat in\u00a0the certaintly that\u00a0everyone will stagger onto the street to watch fireworks and yell at each other in congratulation.\u00a0 Other than that, nothing is planned, and as you’d probably expect from the Russians, nobody else seems to have planned anything either.\u00a0 But rest assured there have been plenty of promises, which could sound like dark threats to the untrained ear, that “we will drink together” over the next week or two.\u00a0 This could be my toughest Christmas yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday was Christmas day across most of the world.\u00a0 It wasn’t in Russia.\u00a0 Russian Christmas follows the Orthodox calendar and falls on 7th January, and this is celebrated to a certain extent.\u00a0 But the big event is New Year, and … Continue reading