January 1-5. New Year (Новый Год) (days off)

The holiday so popular they celebrate it twice. The Russian New Year has a long and interesting history. In 1917, after the October Revolution, Christmas was officially banned in Russia and was not to return until 1992 (Marxism is officially an Atheist philosophy). Therefore, the New Year celebration usurped the traditions of a Christmas tree (Ёлка), Santa (“Grand-dad Frost” Дед Mopoз), and presents. In the Russian tradition, Grand-dad Frost’s granddaughter, the Snow Maiden (Снегурочка) always accompanies him to help distribute the gifts. Grand-dad Frost has likely never seen an elf. In 1918, Russia changed their calendar system, resulting in a discrepancy in the date of this important holiday. Perhaps not to miss a good opportunity, or perhaps because they were superstitious of not celebrating the New Year on the correct date, Russians started celebrating it twice: once on the first, and again on the 14th (Старый Новый Год). The holiday is celebrated with an exchange of gifts, fireworks, food, and drink. Often, days off for this holiday include the evening of the 31st and all day on the 1st and 2nd.

January 7. Christmas / Рождество (day off)

The Russian Orthodox Church recognizes this day as the day Jesus was born. It’s actually not so strange: the Romans celebrated Christmas on January 6th up until the year 354, when the bishop of Rome changed it. The holiday has not gained much in popularity since its official reinstitution in 1992. Some Russians do not celebrate the day at all, while some have a family dinner, and a very few exchange gifts. Russians with western friends will often think to congratulate or call on these friends on Dec. 25th.

January 14. Old New Year / Старый Новый Год (weekday)

In one of history’s quirkier notes, the Soviets actually changed the Russian calendar four times. In 1918, at the bequest of Lenin, Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar (the one that Western Europe and the U.S. use). The Russian Orthodox Church, however, long clung to the old Julian calendar and, in fact, is still debating whether to fully accept the change. The two calendars disagree by about two weeks. Perhaps to resolve the discrepancy between the religious and secular, Russians started celebrating both dates. The holiday is celebrated with food and drink and sometimes, small gifts.

Incidentally, the other calendar changes are as follows:  In 1929, the Soviets adopted the “Eternal Calendar,” which featured 12 months, each with six 5-day weeks. There were five national holidays, which were days off, but other days off were staggered. The system was implemented to increase factory production, but was so confusing and disruptive that in 1932, a new calendar with months of five six-day weeks was implemented to give regular days off. This system still caused more trouble then well, however, and in 1940 the seven-day week and the Georgian calendar were brought back in full.

February 14. St. Valentine's Day / День Святого Валентина (weekday)

St. Valentine’s Day, in its modern form, was actually invented by the Americans. The Russians, who take love and friendship quite seriously, recently adopted the holiday. It is celebrated much as in America, with cards, candy, and small favors.

February 23. Defenders of the Motherland Day / День Защитника Отечества (day off)

Since all Russian men are supposed to serve in the Army, this day is technically the day of all men (although it is possible not to serve). Known as “The Day of the Soviet Army” until the fall of the USSR, this is still one of Russia’s biggest holidays. Men are congratulated, given cards, flowers, and gifts.

March 8. International Women's Day / Восьмое марта (day off)

It's very similar to mother’s day in America, except all women are celebrated. Be prepared on this day with flowers and possibly candy, a card, etc. for the important women in your life.

Orthodox Easter / Православная Пасха (always on Sunday)

According to the Orthodox Church, Easter is held on the first Sunday after the date of the first full moon that occurs on or after March 21. This holiday is traditionally celebrated with church attendance, incense, and traditional foods such as cirniky and bliny. People great each other with “Khristos voskres” (Christ is risen), to which the reply is “Voistine voskres” (Truly risen). Church services led by the Patriarch are broadcast on national TV and public transport runs til the wee hours to accommodate the late mass.

May 1. The Day of Spring and Labor / Первое мая (day off)

Formerly International Worker’s Solidarity Day under the old Communist system, it seems that everyone calls this one something different now. May Day, Labor Day, and Worker’s Day all seem to be used, but everyone at least uses the same date. It is celebrated with parades, concerts, food, and drink and traditionally kicks off the dacha season.

May 9. Victory Day / День Победы (day off)

This day celebrates the end of WWII (The Great Patriotic War, as Russians know it), in which Russia lost some 20 million people. Understandably, the Russians take this day quite seriously; imagine Memorial Day and the Fourth of July in America combined to get some indication of its scope. It is celebrated by parades, concerts, fireworks, recognition of veterans (who usually dress up for the occasion) and, of course, food and drink. As it is quite close to the May 1-2 holidays, many Russians take some extra time off to escape to their dachas for nearly two weeks so as to "open" it for the summer season.

June 12. Independence Day / День Независимости (day off)

One of Russia's newest holidays, it commemorates the adoption of the 1991 Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation. The declaration declared the Federation's "independence" from the USSR, in interesting way to put it, but in effect, this dissolved the Soviet Union and established the Russian Federation in its place. Though smaller in scope, it’s celebrated similarly to Victory Day, with fireworks set off at 10 p.m.

Nov 4. People's Unity Day / День Единство (day off)

Russia's absolute newest holiday, created in 2004, celebrates the liberation of Moscow from Polish troops in 1612 and the subsequent end of the "time of troubles." This is the first time in nearly 400 years, however, that an official state holiday has marked the occasion, leading many Russians to ask why it was created. It's very possible that when the Duma abolished Nov 7th (formerly Revolution Day) from the national calendar, they felt a holiday was needed in November so that people would not have to go from June to January without one. Nov 4 was sufficiently important.  As it has yet to be celebrated, many Russians don't even know it exists yet, much less how to appropriately celebrate it. But one can bet that the standard fireworks, food, and drink will mark the new, ancient holiday.

Some other holidays:

City Day / День города

Each city in Russia celebrates its official founding date with fireworks, concerts, speeches by local politicians and other figures, food, drink, and other city-specific festivities. City day for Moscow is the 31st of August and, for St. Petersburg, the 27th of May.

Maslenitsa / Масленица

This full week of celebration is Orthodox Christianity’s version of Mardi Gras. Technically, the name means “butter week,” as it is the week in which Russians feast on eggs, butter, cheese, and milk (and abstain from meat). The week is also steeped in Pagan tradition, when Russia’s ancient ancestor’s worshiped the sun, and thus bliny (a kind of buttery pancake, baked as symbol of the sun, or perhaps of Christ) are baked and eaten, usually in large quantities. As a sun holiday, it also (usually) marks the end of the Russian winter, which is known for its severity and duration. The holiday is also sometimes traditionally celebrated with music, bonfires, a stuffed “Lady Maslenitsa,” and, if there is still sufficient snow, sledding and snowball fights.

Ex-Holidays:

The Russian Duma passed a bill on Dec 24th, 2004 changing Russia's official holidays. Two Soviet Era holidays were eliminated:

November 7. Day of Accord and Reconciliation / День Согласия и Примирения (day off)

The 1917 Russian Revolution occurred in October according to the Julian calendar. Although the Russians quickly changed the calendar, the name “October Revolution” stuck, despite the fact that it occurred on Nov 7th according to the new, Gregorian calendar. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the name of the day was changed from “The Day of the Great Revolution of October 1917,” and its official purpose changed to celebrate the unity of Russia. However, in a recent poll some 50% of Russians stated that they didn’t know why they celebrate the day anymore. Some said that they celebrate it to celebrate not having to celebrate the Revolution anymore! Given the fact that the "Day of Accord and Reconciliation" was so short-lived, perhaps that was it's actual purpose, in retrospect.

December 12. Constitution Day / День Конституции (day off)

The date of this holiday changed several times over the course of history, with each new Russian constitution from Lenin to Stalin to Brezhnev to Yeltsin. It celebrated with fireworks, food, and drink.

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