Russian Holidays and Traditions

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

What were spring called and how was winter bid farewell? And what rituals accompanied the harvest? Why is swimming prohibited during Rusalka week? What are February girls? Who are the dressed up? Why do we dye eggs for Easter, and why do we eat tangerines on New Year's? And where did the tradition of sending letters to Ded Moroz come from?

All this and much more is discussed in her book by a candidate of philological sciences, folklorist-anthropologist, senior researcher at the Laboratory of Theoretical Folklore at the School of Contemporary Humanitarian Studies of RANEPA, responsible secretary of the journal «Folklore: Structure, Typology, Semiotics», co-host of the fifth season of the podcast «Gloomy Tales» Nadezhda Rychkova.