Tag Archives: Russian holiday

Russian Tradition: New Year’s Eve Cinema

Context:

Informant M is a 21 year old Cinema and Media Studies major from Upstate New York and Florida. He minors in Russian Language and Culture and is passionate about Soviet Cinema. He is a junior at USC and has been living in the area for 3 years.

Text:

“In, I think 1972… in the 1970s, a movie was released in two parts in Russia called The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath. And it was a TV movie, so it was broadcast in sections, but it’s basically about this guy, Evgeny, which is like the Russian version of being named John. Who basically gets super pissed with his buds on New Year’s Eve and ends up… his friends end up pranking him and putting him on a plane, blackout drunk, in the place of one of their other friends. And he flies from Moscow to… I think it’s St. Petersburg. And because – and it’s like a joke about the setup of Soviet cities – his address goes to an identical building with an identical lock and so he gets to what he thinks is his house. And it’s not his house, it’s a woman named Nadia’s house. And the movie is just like, the two of them – she’s got a fiance – just the two of them like gradually falling in love. But the first half of the movie is before New Year’s Eve and the second half of the movie is after New Year’s Eve, after they’ve had their moment and they’ve kissed and it’s beautiful and then there’s other problems but that’s like the middle of the movie. And so every year, on Russian state TV and also Russians will watch it on their own, they will broadcast the first half of Irony of Fate on New Year’s Eve and the second half immediately after midnight and people will watch it and it’s just a tradition because the two halves of the movie are also split by New Year’s Eve.”

Interpretation:

Upon first glance, the tradition M described seems lighthearted, perhaps lacking in depth. The concept of watching a film that takes place over New Years on New Year’s Eve and into the new year is fun and simple. It’s easily classified as a tradition. It’s something observable and in which outsiders can participate. In fact, the informant and I attempted to watch The Irony of Fate on New Year’s 2023, but fell asleep before it ended. Furthermore, I believe there to be much more cultural commentary involved in this tradition. For one thing, it’s part of a greater national identity. It’s broadcasted on public television networks and accessible to Russian people. The film includes jokes and bits that are recognizably Russian – something which helps certify identity time and again. What’s more, the film is a rom-com, perhaps the most popular genre and one which can unite viewers. Plus, there seems to be a focus on domestic values of love and friendship, something significant and worth holding onto in periods of change during life (such as New Year’s Eve).

Russian Holiday

Nationality: Russian Armenian
Age: 27
Occupation: Artist
Residence: Pasadena
Performance Date: 4/4/2020
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian, Armenian

Масленица

Transliteration: Maslenitsa

Translation: Butter Week

Description: This is a spring equinox pancake holiday. During the festival everyone eats pancakes, burns dolls made of hay (effigies). The burning of the dolls is mostly done in villages. They also jump over a pit of fire. Maslenitsa is a Pagan holiday. The holiday is a way of celebrating the coming of spring and a way to sacrifice to the gods for a fruitful spring/rest of the year.

Background Information: It is a Russian and Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday. It is celebrated the last week before Lent.

Context: The informant told me this holiday during a video call in which I asked her to tell me about a Russian holiday that she knows about.

Thoughts: As a religious holiday I think it is celebrated to prepare for lent and to get ready for the spring. Russia has had a long history of war, government overturnings, famines, etc. I think this holiday was made as a way to ensure a safe and healthy year. As a pagan tradition, I think it is interesting to observe its lasting effects to the present day. It shows that life hasn’t become simpler and that people are still trying to ask for prosperity and peace.

Russian Holiday: Ivan Kupala

Nationality: Russian
Age: 24
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale
Performance Date: 4/3/2020
Primary Language: Russian
Language: English

Иван Купала

Transliteration: Ivan Kupala

Description: This is a traditional slavic holiday. It is the celebration of the summer solstice when nights are the shortest (around June-July) although, every year is different. It is an incorporation of a number of pagan rituals. On the eve of Ivan kupala there are ceremonies conducted which symbolize elements such as fire, grass, and water. They jump over fire, circle dances around fire, swim in rivers, use grass to weave wreaths, and fortune telling. They believe that on the eve of Ivan Kupala, by swimming in the river the water will have some healing properties. On the night of Ivan Kupala people shouldn’t sleep because the evil spirits are awakened.

Background Information: A Slavic festival celebrated in parts of Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Russia.

Context: The informant told me about this festival through a video call. She told me this after I asked her about Russian festivals/holidays.

Thoughts: I believe this holiday was made a long time ago as a way to make sure that there was no evil spirits and that the rest of the year would be prosperous and fruitful. I think now it is celebrated as a way to respect old traditions and ways of living and to never forget your culture.

For another version see:

Tuite, Kevin. “Lightning, Sacrifice, and Possession in the Traditional Religions of the Caucasus” in Anthropos, 481-497. Bd. 99, H. 2, 2004.

Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40466394