Russian people like holidays. You can hardly find a Russian who doesn’t like them. The first great holiday is New Year, or perhaps it’s Russian Christmas. Anyway everybody starts the celebration on the 24th of December. And the party doesn’t stop until the 14th of January.
During that time business activity is paralyzed all over the country. There are only two Russians who work day and night. These are Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden.
The second holiday is still new to Russia. It is St. Valentine’s Day which is on the 14th of February. Of course we are not Catholics, but with our mass depopulation it might be quite useful. On the other hand, it gives us such a good opportunity to leave the office after lunch.
Then comes Day of the Defender of Motherland on the 23rd of February. It’s strange but young men like it immensely though they hope they’ll never join the army. Young ladies give them presents and sometimes even smile.
The 8th of March is a black page in every man’s life. On the night before it most men have dreadful nightmares: they dream of smiling mothers-in-law holding red roses with huge pricks. But the reality is even worse when they wake up in cold sweat. Try to imagine it.
You have to call your wife “honey”, ask about her mother’s health every hour and wear clean socks of one colour. And you can’t even watch football on TV. It’s terrible. Thank God this holiday falls only on one day in the year and the next day everything is as usual.
In Russia May Day starts on the first of May and goes non-stop till the 9th. According to the old Russian tradition nobody works in between. Some people go to the country to plant grass and vegetables, others stay at home receiving noisy guests. There are even some cranks who go shopping to Germany. In any case the first week of May is known for its strong patriotism.
Let’s hope that Independence Day on June the 12th will become a real holiday by the end of the century. Now it’s just a day off with nothing to watch on TV.
The 7th of November is Reconciliation Day. Our poor pensioners remember good old days waving red flags at the meetings. Young Communist league leaders promise them to bring up the new generation. Meanwhile they look sadly at their golden watches: the presentation and sauna will not wait. Some youngsters who happened to pass by are immediately surrounded by cheerful drug-dealers. So as you can see, everybody can take their own choice.