Christmas in Russia is normally
celebrated on January 7 (only a few Catholics might celebrate it on December
25). The date is different because the Russian Orthodox Church uses the old
'Julian' calendar for religious celebration days.
Currently, the difference
between the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar is 13 days. Starting in
2100, the difference will increase to 14 days, and Russian Christmas will thus
be celebrated on January 8 from then onwards, until the next increase.
During the celebration, one can
still observe ancient elements of Russian holiday as fortune-telling on
Christmas Eve, koliada, and singing carols (kalyadki), while
worshippers follow a strict fast, which ends when the first star appears in the
sky on the night of Christmas Eve.
Traditional Russian cuisine
includes Christmas dishes like Olivier salad, Deviled eggs, Pirozhki (stuffed
buns), Dried mushroom soup, Kulebyaka (Russian salmon pie), Peljmeni (Russian
meat dumplings), Kutya/sochivo and Priyaniki (Russian
spice/gingerbread cookies).
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