Happy New Year my Dear Friends & Clients!!!
Every year when we all feel the breath of the coming winter holidays, like all people in the world, I want to thank all of my friends throughout the world for our friendship, for all the minutes they’ve spent in Moscow with me this year, and for all the things we have explored together. I really appreciate our brotherhood, and hope for collaboration in the future. Here in Russia we have no such great holiday as Thanksgiving, and traditionally, the only time we can give our thanks to people we are obliged to is the New Year’s Night.
As you know, in Russia, New Year’s Eve is the great time when relatives and friends meet each other, prepare many tasty dishes, put their presents under the decorated fir tree and wait for the midnight to start a new year together. Probably this tradition helps us to believe that in all difficult situations, in gladness and in grief, we'll find support in our closest people.
The more that I think about Russian traditions of the New Year’s celebration, the better I understand that we don’t have such strong traditions as many of the European countries do. During three hundred years of celebrating New Year’s Day on the first of January, we have not accumulated clear rules of how to mark the celebration of this day. The only traditions we have are to decorate the New Year’s tree, to celebrate this holiday with close people, to prepare nice presents for them and to mark the holiday with joy, good moods, dances and fireworks.
For about seventy years people in our country were not allowed to celebrate Christmas. Maybe because of this fact, Christmas in Russia is still not as big of a holiday as New Year’s Day. But during the last several years we have restored to life many old traditions of this great holiday. In our hearts the Bethlehem star has been inflamed again. Also, all people in the West meet Christmas on December 25th, because the Catholic Church follows the Julian calendar, but the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7th, according to the Gregorian calendar.
In any case, I think we like the winter holidays as sincerely as people in all countries all over the world. So, let me from all my heart, wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
With Warmest Regards,
Your Personal Guide and Driver
Moscow, Russia
