New Year is a big holiday in Russia. Families gather for a big feast and a celebration. Christmas is celebrated on January 7, but usually it is just a quiet family evening.

The celebration usually begins in the evening because December 31 is not a holiday. Families get together and around 9:00 pm when the feast begins. Many people believe that the tables must be overloaded with food so that the New Year will be rich and fruitful. The main dishes on the table are salads, potatoes, meat, often red caviar, and champagne. There is a belief that the better you “greet” the New Year, the better it will “treat” you. So, people dress up in their best outfits, throw away old and broken things, and try not to borrow or return money around the holidays.

It is a tradition to watch “The Irony of Fate” (a popular movie made in 1975). Just before midnight all TV channels broadcast the President’s speech. Then the countdown begins, the glasses of champagne are raised and at 12 am sharp you can here nothing but the clinking glasses and the fireworks. A little later children go to bed to give Ded Moroz (Russian Santa, literally: Grandfather Cold) a chance to deliver presents. The unwrapping starts in the morning.

However not only Ded Moroz brings the holiday cheer. Rotarians are also doing an incredible job. Many Rotary Clubs have New Year parties where they raise money for The Rotary Foundation. Some do service projects. For example, the RC of Saratov and the RC of Ulyanovsk decorate Christmas trees with pictures of children from orphanages. People bring presents for these children and can sign a Christmas card to go with it. The kids write back to the Rotarians. Thanks to the project four children were adopted. Isn’t this a holiday miracle?

Photos: Lida and her sisters Anita and Alisa preparing for the holidays.