People in Russia keep their old customs and traditions and are very proud of them. Customs are changing more often than traditions. Today the most widely spread are the following ones:

Russian people usually give up their seats to the elderly or to other people who need it;

When you meet your friend you may kiss him or her or shake hands;

We usually visit our friends not only on holidays and week-ends. We can do it without any warning and it’s quite common to bring some tasty things to tea;

Russian people usually go to bed late in the evening especially at weekends. They enjoy drinking tea with their relatives or friends in the kitchen and having long chats;

The Russians are known to be a hospitable and open-hearted people. They like to invite guests to their places, they like to give traditional souvenirs to their foreign friends as Matryoshka dolls, beautiful mugs, plates and spoons from the village of Khokhloma and Palekh boxes, Zhostovo tea-trays, Gzhel dishes, Pavlovo headscarves;

Russian people like having parties and receiving guests. It’s common to propose the head of the house’s health;

According to an old tradition a very important guest should be welcomed with the symbol of life giving food – bread and salt;

Also when the newly husband and wife come to the groom parents’ house, his mother meets molodykh with the bread and salt. All guests watch attentively who takes a bigger piece of the wedding caravay. He or she is supposed to be at the head of the family;

Russian people enjoy reading very much. It’s not surprising at all to see reading people in transport, especially on the underground;

The Russians are known as pet lovers. Many families keep different pets at home. They take care of their pets and train them. Cats, dogs, guinea pigs, parrots and fish are the most common pets in Russia;

Until the beginning of the 20^th century Russian bath had been the first necessity of home life. People often went to bathhouses. Today it is rather an entertainment or a part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s one of the best ways to communicate with friends. The main attributes of Russian baths are birch and oak brooms, steam, sweet tea with herbs, kvass or other drinks. Russian people believe in the healing force of baths, it’s very effective for the prevention of cold diseases and a nice way of relaxation;

Many Russians are religious people. When a new baby is born in Russia he or she is usually christened in a church. Christening is an ancient ceremony during which a new baby is dipped 3 times in to the water. After a baby has been christened we usually say: "He or she is a man of God”. It’s common to invite relatives and guests after this ceremony and to have a festive dinner;

Russian people celebrate religious holidays such as Easter, Christmas, Christmas-tide, Shrovetide (or Maslenitsa) and others. Easter is one of the most favourite holidays in Russia. It has no the fixed date. It’s celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring new moon. It usually falls on April. Easter is the day of memory of Jesus Christ: his life, death and resurrection. The holiday has some ceremonies: the all-night vigil and the religious procession. On the Easter day we greet each other by the words: "Christ is risen!” And the expected answer is: "He is risen indeed!” The traditional Easter food is kulich and coloured hard-boiled eggs;

The 6^th of January is Christmas Eve according to the Orthodox Church. It was said on that day: "It’s good to have kutya (ritual boiled rice) on Christmas Eve”. If the kutya was good it was believed that the coming year would be a happy one. The 7^th of January is Christmas day by the Julinian calendar. The sun was expected to appear on that day. "On this day the Earth will hear you”, – old people used to say. This holiday is celebrated with all-night services in churches. Nowadays more and more people observe and enjoy the day;

The days from Christmas to the Epiphany are called Christmas tide. Earlier people had carnivals, told fortunes, made snowman, rode troikas, played snowballs, wore fancy costumes and sang carols during this days. At present many people, especially young girls enjoy telling fortunes. The simpliest way is to write down the name of the sweetheart on a sheet of paper, to put it on the plate and to burn it. If the sheet is not burned to ashes, the sweetheart will marry her;

Almost all Russians observe Old New Year which falls on the 13^th of January. Until 1918 Russia had used the Julinian calendar which was 13 days behind the European (or Gregorian) one. In 1918 Russia accepted the Gregorian calendar but the tradition to celebrate Old New Year remained. Many Russians stay at home on this day. They invite friends and relatives, have a festive supper, have fun and set off fireworks;

Maslenitsa came to Russia from the pagan Slavs. The most important god in the pagan times was Yarilo, the God of the Sun and Fertility. The Slavs believed that the change of seasons was the struggle between Yarilo and the evil spirits of cold and darkness. According to the ancient beliefs it was necessary to help Yarilo in his fight against winter. And that’s why the main element of Shrovetide (or Maslenitsa) was pancake eating. Pancakes symbolized Yarilo, the God of the Sun. The Slavs believed that by eating pancakes they received the vital power, light and warmth of the sun. Today the Russians eat them with honey, red and black caviar, mushrooms, soured cream or jam – to any taste;

We celebrate Shrovetide for seven days. The whole week is filled with fun and games. Every day of the week has its special name and rituals. The last day of Maslenitsa is called the Forgiveness Day. Everybody ask one another for forgiveness in order to redeem themselves from their sins. We bow to one another and say: "God will forgive you”. On the last day of the week we burn the scarecrow of Maslenitsa. It means we say good bye to winter and welcome spring;

Now we would like to show you a short presentation of Shrovetide. Of course, it is not full but we are sure you will get the idea of this wonderful holiday.