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Christmas comes late for Russians

Alyona, a little girl from Moscow, has to wait longer for her presents than her friends from the nursery.

Because the six-year-old with blond pigtails comes from a religious family, she doesn't get her presents on the morning of New Year's Day like other people, but has to wait until the Russian-Orthodox Christmas celebration Jan 7.

Before she can unwrap her presents, Alyona goes to the Christmas service with her three elder siblings and her parents. In Russia, the service takes all night. The smallest children therefore get their own beds in the church.

Under the atheist Soviet regime, the Communist Party wanted to take away the people's faith, but it was clever enough to maintain the holiday tradition. So two famous fairytale heroes were transformed into Christmas characters.

For decades the Russian version of Father Christmas, Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz), and his granddaughter Snowmaiden (Snegurotshka), have been bringing the presents on the morning of New Year's Day.

Even though millions of Russians have returned to the Church since the end of the communist era, the tradition of presents on New Year's Day has survived in most families until the present day.

As in the West, the children find their parcels under the colourfully decorated Christmas tree, the Russian Yolka.

The fact that millions of people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus don't celebrate Christmas Eve on Dec 24 like many other Europeans is due to a different calendar.

The Orthodox Church continues to follow the old Julian calendar, while Russia - like other Western countries - started using the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the 20th century. There's a 13-day difference between the two.

Alyona's family has to rely on their car on Christmas Eve. In their own quarter - Strogino, a high-rise estate in the western suburbs - too many believers crowd into the few churches.

So Alyona's family travels into the city centre, where the density of churches is much higher, to attend the Christmas service.

The ritual, which ends a 40-day fasting period, lasts till 5 o'clock in the morning. The biggest Christmas service is celebrated near the Kremlin in the Redeemer Cathedral with its giant golden dome.

Each year the patriarch of the Russian-Orthodox Church, Alexi II, reads the Gospel to thousands of faithful.

Tired, but excited at the same time, Alyona will return home with her parents after the service in the early morning hours. Parents tell their children to rest for a few hours.

But the children can only see the presents under the Christmas tree. Alyona will get a doll this year, a little zoo and a hairdressing kit will also be under the Yolka.

According to the Orthodox calendar, the faithful are meant to celebrate Christmas for a whole week after the long fasting period. However, the constitution objects. Everybody has to return to work on Jan 9.

At least the large empire is allowed to start the New Year traditionally with a week of holidays. Many families take the opportunity to celebrate extensively with friends and relatives.

The country's increasing wealth allows more and more Russians to fly to Turkey, Egypt or Thailand over the holidays.

Meanwhile, thanks to the differing calendars, the long-term crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS) celebrates Christmas twice. US astronauts Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani have already unwrapped their Christmas presents. And Jan 7 it will finally be the turn of Russian cosmonaut Juri Malentshenko to unwrap his Christmas presents.

Source: http://story.russiaherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/723971d98160d438/id/315390/cs/1/





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