Timing was such that my visa is only up for renewal in February, which meant that I would be spending the Christmas holidays in Russia. Seeing as Russia is primarily Orthodox, the holidays are different than back home. The last day of work is December 31st and then most offices are closed from January 1st to the 10th, with Christmas being celebrated on January 7.
The Hermitage was all decorated and there was music with a light show. Such a shame that it was so cold or I could have watched it all night!
Some things are the same - there was lots of snow, so at least it was a "white Christmas"! St-Petersburg is well decorated, with lights on many of the major streets and some landmarks as well.
What's interesting is how New Year's Eve is more celebrated that Christmas. For me, Christmas (December 25th) has always been about spending time with family and New Year's has been about celebrating with friends. In Russia, New Year's is an important event and Christmas much less so. Why? That's where history comes into play.
Up until the 90's when Communism fell in Russia, it was illegal to practice any form of religion. So Christmas wasn't celebrated - if you were caught doing so, you would be sent to jail, which is why Christmas holiday traditions are fairly new.
So we were a little off (compared to everyone else around us)... We were the first ones to buy our Christmas tree, since we were determined to have it up and decorated by the 20th. We kept seeing people walking out of the metro with a wrapped Christmas tree even after the New Year, which just seemed odd. We had planned a great supper for the 24th, to keep the réveillion tradition alive as much as possible, but when we got to the apartment we had the lovely surprise of not having propane available. No gas = no heat, which is ok since the fireplace comes in handy at times like this. The problem was that no gas = no cooking! Our propane stove was useless under the circumstances, that meant that Christmas dinner was reduced to smoked salmon and caviar, which wasn't so bad in the end!
I've been very lucky to have met such great people in St-Petersburg, one of which has been doing a great job of organizing great outings. So we toughed the cold weather and took advantage of all the snow we'd received in December and went cross-country skiing.
The day started with a ride on the metro and an hour trip on the train. We rented out gear, got suited up and hit the trails. The tall snow-covered trees at the start were quite impressive! As I mentioned in a previous blog, this is the most snow that this area has seen in over a century.
When the Russian skiers are bundling up, you know it's cold...
It was so cold that my eyelashes even froze!
How did I celebrate Russian Christmas on January 7th? By landing in a warm and sunny place - Santa was even there to greet me! But that's story will have to wait until my next blog...
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