Holidays and Traditions

   People always look forward to holidays to enjoy themselves, especially children. And I must admit that I’m not an exception. What I like most is getting and giving presents, congratulations, and of course, happy smiles these days.

  As we live in Russia, we have our own customs and traditions, holidays and festivals. The most important and widely celebrated are: New Year Holiday celebrated on the 31^st of December, Christmas marked on the 7^th of January, the 8^th of March or Women’s Day, Easter- the holiday of celebrating Christ’s rising from the dead, Victory Day on the 9^th of May.

   My favourite holiday is Christmas as it is the most cheerful festival and is of religious origin. Its main feature is Holy Supper consisting of 12 dishes, when the family gathers around the dining table. The first dish is “kutya”. The beginning of the holy supper is signaled by the first star. There is also a custom for the Ukrainian children to go from house to house on Christmas to proclaim “Christ is born” and to sing Christmas carols. They expect some money or candies in return for their musical efforts. Everybody likes Christmas, but a folk proverb says: “Christmas comes but once a year”.