January. Under Communism there was no belief in God promoted, but Christmas was there among the Christians. The Russian Orthodox Church has a Christmas service and the New Years tree is put up in the home for those who want to do so. I believe I saw more trees and decorations this year than I did last year. Many people have more disposable income than they used to, though its not as much as most Westerners have.It’s a day to celebrate with family being together.
The Christian community celebrates Christmas with most of the world on Dec. 25 with a Christmas service and fellowship with one another. It is more of a true emphasis on Christ Jesus' birth than giving of gifts to one another. The understanding I have is that there are gifts given when the family meets together to celebrate. It could be any of those days.
My husband had an opportunity to play "Santa Claus that had come from USA especially to be at their party" for a language school. I had always wanted an opportunity to kiss Santa, so I took it. For the party, the children dressed up in costumes and they were really cute. The traditional figure people recognize is Father Frost. He is dressed all in blue and you can see him everywhere. Because the school is about foreign languages, they thought it would be nice to include a Santa Claus this year.
New Years Eve is the big holiday here. Its celebrated January 1-9. It's much more noisy with parties and fireworks. We have drought conditions in Texas and the use of fireworks is outlawed within certain limits. We haven't seen much of them in the last years, so we have delighted in the fireworks show we have seen. Our own family takes time for communion and a moment of prayer together as we go into the new year. And after midnight we were grateful for the quiet in our building so that we could rest.
