HOLIDAYS

Published by the Russian News & Information Agency Novosti, November 26, 2004

RUSSIAN HOLIDAYS, OLD AND NEW

MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti political commentator Yuri Philippov) - How are the beginning of a new year, the birth of Christ, the solidarity of women, the solidarity of workers, the birth of the Army and the Navy, state sovereignty, victory over Nazi Germany and Russia's liberation from Polish invaders connected? The average Russian knows that these events are official state holidays in Russia.

At the end of November, the State Duma adopted in the first reading a draft law that introduces new holidays and eliminates some old ones. After parliament adopts the law and the president signs it, Russia will have its first official New Year holiday - 11 days including Christmas and weekends.

In addition to New Year's Day and Christmas, which are family holidays, Russia celebrates socially significant holidays like International Women's Day on March 8 and the Day of International Solidarity of Workers on May 1. For many Russian men, March 8 is the only day they have to wash dishes, clean the house and buy groceries. In contrast, worker solidarity has lost almost all of its meaning in Russia because the number of industrial workers has been steadily declining and the new working class, administrative workers and managers, regards the old May 1 as an additional day off.

The Day of the Defender of the Fatherland on February 23 recently became an official holiday, but despite high expectations, it failed to increase patriotism and quickly turned into a male version of International Women's Day. Russians have not really embraced Russia Day, June 12, either. On June 12, 1990, the Russian parliament formally declared Russia's sovereignty, which is considered the beginning of the post-Soviet era in Russia.

Victory Day, May 9, is one of the most popular holidays in Russia. Only New Year's Eve is more popular. During the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union's victory in World War II (often referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) was propagandized in hundreds of movies and books. Annual commemorative events and celebrations in honor of war veterans created a victory cult which is still strong today. Surprisingly, this tearful holiday never had any anti-German overtones even though the Soviet Union lost 27 million people during the war.

Similarly, Russians believe that National Unity Day on November 4, a holiday recently created by the Duma, will not have any anti-Polish overtones. On November 4, 1612, a people's army consisting of all classes of society including ethnic Slavs and Turks liberated Moscow from the Polish invaders and was the beginning of the Romanov dynasty's 300-year reign.

The Romanov dynasty fell in February 1917, and several months later on November 7, Lenin led the Bolsheviks to power. For a long time, November 7 marked the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, which was even more widely celebrated than Victory Day. Red October was associated with great achievement in science, decades of modernization, high living standards and the victory in World War II.

Now, November 7 is no longer an official holiday in Russia because the coming of socialism was accompanied by many deaths. The memories of the violent civil war, the mass relocations during the collectivization of agriculture, and especially the political repressions of the 1930s destroyed the aura of holiness, which surrounded the October Revolution after the Communist Party finally lost power and disintegrated in 1991. For several years, Russia continued to celebrate the November 7 holiday as the Day of Accord and Reconciliation. Nothing good came from this idea; the Communists continued to organize demonstrations, carry portraits of Stalin and shout anti-government slogans, and the relatives of people killed by the Soviet authorities remained isolated from and refused to reconcile with their former affronters.

These are the old and new official holidays in Russia. Many celebrate historical events that are symbolical for people and which provide a vision for the future. The most popular holiday in Russia is not symbolic, though. New Year's is absolutely real. After all, it has and will always occur every year.



Volume 6 Number 48 - Tuesday, November 30th, 2004	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY