3. DecemberJanuaryFebruary 31-New Year’s Eve1-New Year’s Day 7-Christmas 13-Old New Year’s Eve 19-Epiphany 14-St. Valentines Day Late February-early March- Shrovetide

4. New Year’s Eve People prepare for it beforehand. They decorate The New Year Tree with ornaments and lights. They go shopping and buy presents to exchange with relatives and friends.

5. New Year’s Day In Russia the New Year is widely celebrated. It is a state holiday. It is a non working day.

6. Christmas It is a Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. For this holiday Orthodox people prepared themselves by Christmas Fast.

7. Christmas-tide The days from Christmas to the Epiphany are called Christmas-tide. In this time young women and girls tell fortunes. All people ride troika.

8. Old New Year’s Eve It is purely a Russian holiday. Foreigners do not understand the meaning of it.

9. Epiphany It is religious holiday in Russia. People celebrate it in one way or another: religious people go to church, another still follow the tradition, the rest simply ignore it.

10. St. Valentines Day The day of love. It is an opticular date when birds choose their mates

11. Shrovetide This day festivities devoted to wire the winter and meeting of spring. Pancakes are traditional eating of the day. On this day effigy symbolizing winter is burnt.

12. Welcome to the Russian winter festivals!!!