Russian Winter Holidays
Match the words and their transcription.
Practice reading the new words:
filed [f i ə s]
decree [‘w ə: ∫ i p]
heathen [ l o: d]
ritual [‘p r of ə s а i]
fierce [ h i ð n ]
worship [ d i 'k r i: ]
laud [n a: ‘i: v i t i: ]
ancestor [k ə n ‘d3 i: l ]
congeal [‘r i t j u ə l ]
naivety ['s t r a: t ə m]
prophesy [‘æ n s e s t ə]
stratum [f i: l d]
toe [‘p r ə ‘s p e k t i v]
prospective [təu ]
don [d o n]
2. Read and translate the words:
1. Field (n) – an area of land used for keeping animals of growing food
2. Decree (n) – an official decision or order made by a leader or government
3. Establish (v) – to make smth. start to exist or start to happen
4. Be bound – to be related, closely connected
5. Heathen (adj.) – related to neither Christianity nor any other religion
6. Ritual (adj.) – done as a part of a ceremony (e.g. a ritual dance)
7. Fierce (adj.) – involving a lot of energy of force
8. Worship (v) – to feel or show respect and love for a god
9. Anew (adv) – again, often in a new or different way
10. Sled (n) – a vehicle that you sit on to travel over show
11. Laud (v) – to praise someone or something
12. Slide (v) (slid) – to move smoothly and quickly across a surface
13. Mummer (n) – an actor in a traditional type of play without words
14. Ancestor (n) – someone who is related to you who lived a long time ago
15. Congeal (v) – to freeze
16. Naivete (adj) – a naïve person lacks experience of life and tends to trust other people and believe things too easily
17. Prophesy (v) – to describe a future event using religions or magic powers
18. Stratum (n) (pl strata) – a group or class in society
19. Toe (n) – the part of a shoe that covers yours toes
20. Don (v) – to put a piece of clothing
3. Find nouns in the list of the given words:
Field, decree, establish, worship, slide, ancestor, congeal, count, naivete, prophesy, mummer, kick, fantastic, short, custom, ritual, anew, fierce.
4. Find the words with the same stem and try to translate:
1. Field: fiendish, fierce, fiery, fielder, field mouse, fieldsman.
2. Establish: essential, east, establishment, estate.
3. Heathen: heath, heater, heather.
4. Ancestor: anchor, anchorage, ancestry.
5. Length: lengthways, lenient, lengthen.
6. Prophesy: prophet, property, prophetic.
Write down all the names from the text. Consult the dictionary and read.
6. Find the key-sentencesin each paragraph which can be used as a plan.
Put the sentences into the logical order according to the text
1. People wished each other success, happiness and good health.
2. Mummers strolled about the cities and villages, games with singing and dancing were organized.
3. Peter I established to count the year from the first of January.
4. The congealed figure in the water would “tell” everything.
5. The frost grows stronger, snowstorms are fierce and the days continue to be short.
6. Folk customs and rituals going back to ancient times are a mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture.
7. It was said that the sun dons a new gown on that day, gets into a sled and sets off for warmer climates.
8. Of all the forms our ancestors used there was one of special interest – the pouring of wax.
9. In those days there were “Marriage Fairs” everywhere.
Make sentences using the mixed words
1. In, to, times, custom, early, start, New, was, the, in, Year, spring.
2. Sleds, Children, on, down, slide, hills.
3. Sun, were, on, of, the, Campfires, in, lit, that, honour, day.
4. Eve, One, the, fortune-telling, old, on, Christmas, customs, is, of.
5. Merry, The, and, noisy, was, second, especially, half, of, “svyatki”, the.
9. Make your own sentences with the key words:
1. The start of the New Year;
2. The custom of the heathens;
3. The chief heathen god, Sun;
4. Campfires;
5. Domestic celebrations;
6. Fortune-telling, the pouring of wax.
7. Prophecies;
8. Marriage Fairs;
9. A mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture.
10. Finish the sentences:
1. In early times the custom was…
2. However, the Christian customs in Russia…
3. Svyatki is the time…
4. The sun seemed to be born anew…
5. According to an ancient custom…
6. The hostess baked pies…
7. A candle was melted in a spoon…
8. A girl would kick off a shoe…
9. In those days there were “Marriage Fairs”…
10. Folk customs, festive costumes…
Russian Winter Holidays
11. Answer the questions:
1. When did people celebrate the New Year in early times?
2. When and who established the new starting date of the New Year?
3. What were the Christian customs in Russia bound with?
4. What is this “svyatki”?
5. It’s very hot on Svyatki, isn’t it? Describe the weather on these days.
6. What did the chief god do in winter, according to an ancientcustom?
7. How did people mark these days?
8. What tradition still remains nowadays? Do young men observe it?
9. What does the custom of pouring wax mean?
10. What other customs does “svyatki” include?
11. What is a mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture?
Express your attitude towards the text.
1. What was especially interesting for you to learn? What facts were new for you? What facts did you already know?
2. Comment on the most interesting part of the text to your mind.
3. Say how you could use the information in the text in the future.
4. What other Russian holidays do you know?
5. Is it necessary to know the history of Old Russian holidays?
6. What are the most popular Russian winter holidays which are celebrated today?
Russian Winter Holidays
In early times the custom was to start the New Year in the spring, when field work began. This existed for a long time a Russia. Only by a decree of Peter I in the year 1700 was it established to begin the year from the first of January, as was done in other Europen countries. However, the Christian customs in Russia were very closely bound with the customs of the heathens, where the festivals, which were called “svyatki” (Christmas-tide), preserved elements of the heathen rituals.
What is this “svyatki”? It’s the time between Christmas and the Epiphany, when winter comes into its own. The frost grows stronger, snowstorms are fierce, and the days continue to be short. But from the 25th of December – from Christmas Day – the most worshipped chief of the heathen gods, the Sun, seemed to be born anew, and begins by seconds and by minutes to lengthen the day, to bring spring closer. It was said that the sun dons a new gown on that day, gets into a sled and sets off for warmer climates.
According to an ancient custom, campfires were lit on that day in honour of the sun, and songs were sung, lauding it. Children slid down hills on sleds, snowmen were made and snowball fights took place. Domestic celebrations, feastings, and fortune telling were held. The hostess baked pies, and suckling pigs were roasted in ovens – this was considered the main festive food. Mummers strolled about the cities and villages, games with singing and dancing were organized, bears were led along streets on chains, and theatrical performances were given. People wished each other success, happiness and good health.
One of the old customs that still remain today is fortune-telling on Christmas Eve. Of all the forms our ancestors used there was one of special interest – the pouring of wax. A candle was melted in a spoon over a flame, then swiftly poured into a dish with cold water. The congealed figure in the water would “tell” everything: one would see the face of a beloved one, a horrible fantastic mask, or something that suggested a distant journey.
What naivete and touching purity there was in such prophecies: a girl would kick off a shoe, and where the toe of the shoe pointed was where she would wait for her bridegroom to arrive. In those days, there were “Marriage Fairs” everywhere, where prospective couples met and that is why the second half of the “svyatki” was especially noisy and merry.
Folk customs, festive costumes and rituals going back to ancient times – this is a mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture.
Russian Winter Holidays