Russian Holidays and Traditions

Mardi Gras, March 8, Easter, Trinity, Ivan Kupala, September 1, Christmas, Yule — we celebrate these holidays year after year, often without thinking about the history of their origins, meanings and rituals associated with them.

What was spring called and how was winter seen off? What rituals accompanied the harvest? Why is it forbidden to swim during the Rusalka week? What are Februarys? Who are the masqueraders? Why do we dye eggs for Easter, while tangerines are eaten on New Year's? And where did the tradition of sending letters to Ded Moroz come from?

All this and much more is told in her book by Candidate of Philological Sciences, folklorist-anthropologist, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Theoretical Folkloristics of the School of Current Humanitarian Studies of the RANEPA, responsible secretary of the journal "Folklore: Structure, Typology, Semiotics", co-host of the fifth season of the podcast "Gloomy Tales" Nadezhda Rychkova.