Orthodox Easter In Russia

Kristos Voskres! Vo Istinu Voskres!

How to  celebrate Russian Easter

It’s time for the Easter Bunny! This Spring millions of people across the globe will be celebrating Easter in their own ways. Christians in Russia have been celebrating this holiday since the time of Christ with public gatherings and feasts.

Russia is traditionally an Eastern Orthodox country, as opposed to the Western Christianity of the United States that is predominantly composed of Protestants and Roman Catholics. These different sects of Christianity are all celebrating the same thing, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but they often do it on different days. The Eastern Orthodox church keeps a different calendar than the Western Church does, and therefore Easter is often celebrated at different times of the year depending on which calendar you follow.

This Spring, people all around the world and in Russia, who celebrate Eastern Orthodox Easter will be spending their family time dying and painting eggs, baking Paska and Kulich, thus continuing an age-old tradition. The most popular color to dye eggs is the red color, which  is meant to symbolize the blood of Christ. By Russian tradition, instead of hiding eggs like we do here in America, many homes in Russia will have eggs on display all year around. That’s why the wooden hand-painted Pisanky eggs were created. Russia has long revered the egg as an eternal symbol of life.

Pisanki eggs are very popular in Russian homes. Even the royal family of Russia celebrated the holiday with elaborate egg displays. First Faberge imperial Easter egg presented by Emperor Alexander III to his wife the empress Maria Feodorovna at Easter 1885.

This Spring, people all around the world and in Russia, who celebrate Eastern Orthodox Easter will be dying their eggs red,  And just like here in America, Easter in Russia is always accompanied by a large feast where family and friends come together to appreciate one another and celebrate life. Happy Easter! 

Happy Russian Old New Year!

It may sound strange to some Americans… “happy old new year,” but it makes a lot of sense to Russians. In Russia today, January 13th 2012, many will celebrate the new year with friends, family, presents, and vodka. The new year came to be one of the best holidays ever for Russians because of the meaning and history behind it.

Before Communists took power, Russian Orthodox Christmas was a very important and sacred Russian holiday. However, Communists banned all religious holidays as they banned religion in the country, so Christmas became less and less popular with years passing by. New Year replaced Christmas in the hearts of people, thus the Christmas tree became the New Year tree.

The Russians party all night long on Old New Year’s Eve night. They make sure to have a table full of delicious food and they try to stay up as late as possible, if not the entire night, including children.

The Russian Old New Year came to be on the 13th-14th because of the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. The Russian Old New Year is not an official holiday, but many still celebrate it, especially with friends.

So whether you’re Russian or not, I’d like to say Happy Old New Year (Счастливый Старый Новый год!) to ya!

June 12: Russia Day!

Here in America, we just finished celebrating Memorial Day, and soon we will be firing up those backyard grills to celebrate another Independence Day, or as some call it: the 4^th of July. In Russia, the struggle for independence was not as clear cut as it was here in America, but there is still one day each year for Russians of every age to come together to celebrate their past. Each year on June 12^th since 1992 Russia has officially been celebrating it’s own independence day, more commonly referred to as Russia Day. On this day in 1990, the Russian parliament officially declared sovereignty from the USSR, thus creating the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation is, in effect, a democratic republic very similar in many ways to the government of the United States. In addition to Russia Day, this occasion and the transition of political power was marked by a new Russian constitution, a new Russian flag, and a new Russian national anthem.

Initially, not everyone was happy about this change, and even more were confused about who exactly Russia was declaring independence from. For many, the end of the Soviet Union was followed by years of economic and social hardships. For this reason, Russia Day was not very popular when it was first introduced. Over the years, however, as social and economic conditions gradually improved, Russia day came to mean more than just another day off work.

Today, people all over Russia celebrate this official holiday in their own way. The holiday has taken on a new life of it’s own as people find new ways to celebrate their heritage. Government offices, banks, and schools are closed for the day, and many employers give their workers the day off as well. There are many concerts and firework celebrations all throughout Russia, very similar to the tradition of fireworks on the 4^th of July here. In some parts of the country you may even see parades with massive floats, and people dancing in traditional costumes. The holiday is less about the Soviet Union today and more about national pride; about connecting past, present, and future generations with everything that Russia has to offer. So, when this June 12^th rolls around celebrate in your own style. Drink a cup of tea from your Russian tea glass holder. Wear your favorite Russian wool shawl. Open your favorite nesting doll. Crack your favorite fabrege egg. Pray to your patron saint. Or tilt back that bottle of vodka, because Sunday June 12^th 2011 is Russia Day!

Google Honors Yuri Gargarin

Today, April 12, 2011 marks a historic event for humanity. 50 years ago today, the former Soviet Union sent the first human being beyond the Earth’s atmosphere into space. After the fall of Nazi Germany and the end of WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union remained as the world’s most powerful nations. The two countries entered into fierce competition with each other in order to obtain the rank of world’s most powerful nation. The Cold War began, and with it so too did the first international space race. The Soviets were first in space, but America was first on the moon. Yuri Gagarin was the lucky cosmonaut to make the truly historic flight. He spent nearly two full hours in orbit around the Earth, and then returned safely to solid ground, much to the delight of people watching around the world.

Yuri was born in the village of Klushino which was then part of the U.S.S.R. He wore the official CCCP logo on all of his cosmonaut gear as he dared to travel where no man has traveled before. His call sign on the radio was Kedr, which is a Siberian Pine tree. The spacecraft that carried Yuri around the globe was named the Vostok 1. This was Yuri’s first and last flight into space. He later served as an alternate for another Soviet space mission, but never made it back into space. Yuri was hailed as an international celebrity until his tragic death in 1968 as the result of a jet-plane crash.

Today, people still pay homage to Yuri in different ways. His face appeared on a commemorative coin in Russia in 2001. There are many status all around Russia that depict Yuri. Here at The Russian Store, we carry a special Yuri t-shirt to honor his memory and lasting legacy. Even Google got in on the fun today with one of there signature Google Doodles for Yuri. Yuri is loved throughout the world, and he will remain an inspiration to people of all ages; always reminding them that they can achieve the impossible.

The History of Russian Pisanki Eggs

Throughout cultures far separated by geography, climate, and time, the egg has been a symbol of life only rivaled in use by the sun. The emergence of life from a seemingly inanimate, white, featureless object soon became naturally associated with the bounties of spring emerging from the hardships, and cold, of the winter. Not only was the egg tied to the dawn of spring, it was also, for obvious reasons, a metaphor for the emergence of life itself. The egg was seen as something to be revered, and beliefs eventually formed that to decorate, and protect an object of such sacredness, an object containing life itself, would bring good fortune and protection into ones own life.

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Happy (possible) birthday to Nikolai Gogol!

His exact date of birth varies from March 19th to April 1st, so on, or around, today’s date Nikolai Gogol, one of Russia’s greatest artists, was born. So, happy 200th birthday to you Mr. Gogol!

Like all great artists, what makes Gogol so popular is his timelessness, his style was original when it debuted, and his voice remains as unique and refreshing now.

Gogol wrote that famed storyteller Alexander Pushkin said of him “…no other writer before me possessed the gift to expose so brightly life’s poshlust, to depict so powerfully the poshlust of a poshlusty man in such a way that everybody’s eyes would be opened wide to all the petty trivia that often escape our attention.”

The Russian word poshlust is not directly translatable to English, but it can be loosely defined as a self-satisified inferiority, or self-satisfied vulgarness. You’ll have to read some of Gogol’s works for yourself to get a true meaning of the word, and lucky for you they are available here in English, and here in Russian.

Russia has big plans to Americanize!?

From our friends over at Windows to Russia

Russian Culture in Arizona

We get a lot of calls, and inquiries about Russian life in Arizona. Questions about a good Russian translator, or a Russian speaking dentist, or most commonly, “Are there any Russian grocery stores or markets in Arizona.” Luckily for us, and more importantly, the people asking the questions, there’s a resource for all that information that we use constantly:

The directory over at www.russianaz.org!

The other day, when asked whether or not we knew of any Russian Language Christian Groups, we were able to give an answer thanks to this directory, and we know we’ll be prepared if we get a question about any Jewish services targeted towards immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

We thought this was definitely a directory worth sharing, so if you’re interested in Russian Martial Arts and looking for an instructor in Arizona, interested in learning some Russian Folk Music, if you’re looking for a Russian speaking notary or lawyer (just don’t sue us! ) or a Russian Restaurant, or a … well you get the idea, it’s a great resource. So check out the RussianAZ directory. We hope it helps you, as much as it helped us.

Russian Tea Time

Our Russian Tea Glass Holders, showcased above, have been one of our most popular items, making tea as stylish as it is healthy. As our friend Svadilfari said on Flickr, “Food tastes better with the correct table setting.” We’re inclined to agree, but maybe we’re a little biased.

Also, we’re now on twitter! So be sure to follow us!

Fyodor Dostoevsky eBooks

Adelaide University in Austrailia features free english language eBooks of one of Russia’s most famous authors, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

My Personal Favorite is Notes From The Underground.

They also feature an eBook of The Brothers Karamazov, which is great if you’ve always wanted to read it, but haven’t built up the strength to carry it home from the bookstore yet.

Check out more of Dostoyevsky’s work here.