"The following list contains..." Traditions and Habits Tip by Herttuli

The following list contains tidbits about the traditions and customs of Russia. I could not list them all, so I have sort of skimmed the top of the most popular. A few of the customs are humorous (as they are meant to be), and others are standard etiquette when in Russia.

*Don't put your thumb between your first two fingers. It is an extremely rude gesture!

*Smoking is allowed everywhere, so be prepared to tolerate it.

*Accepting alcohol, when offered, is to be expected. When it is handed over, it will be quite a lot, and refusing to take a drink or make a toast is a serious breach of etiquette. An open bottle must be finished!

*Be prepared to give toasts at meals. But the vodka can catch up with you, so take care!

*'Maslyanitsa' is a week near the end of winter, and it is also known as 'cheese week'. It is a festival of sorts, with people wearing masks and costumes (some reverse gender 'style' goes on here, too). A man of straw is burned as the final act of saying 'goodbye' to the past winter. During the festival, locals cook pancakes served with honey, caviar, fresh butter and cream. 'Maslyanitsa' means 'butter' in English. The entire week is split into three parts - 'meeting of Maslyanitsa on Monday'; broad 'Maslyanitsa' (or the peak of the festival); and Sunday is 'goodbye to winter' day.

*'Red Hill' comes the first Sunday after Easter, and is dubbed the 'Red Hill Holiday'. According to tradition, this is the best day for weddings. Spring is also invited during this holiday, when singing and dancing in the 'round' occurs.

*'Troitsa': This folk holiday is widely celebrated in Russia. Houses are decorated with fresh green branches, and the birch-garland and flowers are put into water for fortune-telling.

RUSSIA



Savorys by Shenanchie

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JAPAN RUSSIA MEXICO IRELAND GREECE WALES MONACO CHRISTMAS 2001

Feature for June 2001:



RUSSIA

I have to admit, this was a difficult article to write. I do my research on the Internet, and the information was limited on my subject matter. There were a lot of Russian sites, but where I was looking for key topics such as table setting, etiquette and cooking tips, I found a lot of folklore, lots of vodka and some 'joke' sites. I have put together all of the information I gathered to make this article as June's ETHNIC FEATURE. It may be unusual, but it certainly won't be boring!

Russia is the largest country in Europe, and it has a wide variety of people like America does. There are at least 140 nationalities in Russia, so be alert to the fact that there are Russians, Buryats, Tadjiks, Ukranians, Siberians, Kalmyks, et al! To phrase the word 'Soviet' is a derogatory term nowadays, and is used mostly in reference to 'Soviet hospital, Soviet mail'. In other words, describing something typical of the Soviet era when individualism and style were 'unofficially' banned.

Meals in Russia:

(Left): A Russian
table setting.

For years, Russian food has had a bad reputation, and this observation is simply not accurate. This was probably because the food supply was limited for a long time. While Russian cuisine is not exotic or 'delicately' prepared, it is wholesome, and some of it is quite delicious.

Below is a description of the three meals-a-day in Russia, which we normally call 'breakfast', 'lunch' and 'dinner'.

Breakfast ('zavtrak'):

Breakfast is a big meal (like most of them are), and usually consists of eggs, sausages, deli-meat and some sort of cheese. Sometimes there is bread and butter, with tea or coffee. There is also hot oatmeal, but this is mostly for the children. Boxed cereal (cold) was only introduced to Russia in the early 1990's, and it is normally only found in specialty stores.

Lunch ('obyed'):

Lunch used to be the main meal of the day, but since the fall of communism, it has become less important than dinner. Lunch usually consists of an appetizer (soup or salad), and is followed by a meat or fish dish. The main dish is often accompanied by a starch food, such as potatoes, rice, or noodles and vegetables. Sometimes the meal is finished with coffee or tea, or ice cream and pastries.

Dinner ('uzhin'):

Dinner is a serious meal, and is usually served around seven in the evening. Again, appetizers start this event, and might include smoked fish, cold deli-meat, caviar, sandwiches and various salads. The main course is normally a meat dish, followed by coffee and dessert.

Perhaps the most popular and best-known dishes in Russia inlcude caviar (fish eggs), served with beet soup ('borshct'), pancakes ('bliny') and beef strogonoff.

A NOTE ABOUT THE 'Stroganov's':

~There was actually a 'Stroganov' family is Russia, dating back to the 1500's. They were a wealthy family of merchants, and later politicians. They were believed to have helped colonize Ural and Siberia, and they themselves were of Tatar (Mongol) descent. Of course, 'Beef Strogonoff' is spelled differently now, but the dish was created by a 'Strogonov' in a Russian palace kitchen.~

Folk Traditions and Customs:

The following list contains tidbits about the traditions and customs of Russia. I could not list them all, so I have sort of skimmed the top of the most popular. A few of the customs are humorous (as they are meant to be), and others are standard etiquette when in Russia.

*Don't put your thumb between your first two fingers. It is an extremely rude gesture!

*Smoking is allowed everywhere, so be prepared to tolerate it.

*Accepting alcohol, when offered, is to be expected. When it is handed over, it will be quite a lot, and refusing to take a drink or make a toast is a serious breach of etiquette. An open bottle must be finished!

*Be prepared to give toasts at meals. But the vodka can catch up with you, so take care!

*'Maslyanitsa' is a week near the end of winter, and it is also known as 'cheese week'. It is a festival of sorts, with people wearing masks and costumes (some reverse gender 'style' goes on here, too). A man of straw is burned as the final act of saying 'goodbye' to the past winter. During the festival, locals cook pancakes served with honey, caviar, fresh butter and cream. 'Maslyanitsa' means 'butter' in English. The entire week is split into three parts - 'meeting of Maslyanitsa on Monday'; broad 'Maslyanitsa' (or the peak of the festival); and Sunday is 'goodbye to winter' day.

*'Red Hill' comes the first Sunday after Easter, and is dubbed the 'Red Hill Holiday'. According to tradition, this is the best day for weddings. Spring is also invited during this holiday, when singing and dancing in the 'round' occurs.

*'Troitsa': This folk holiday is widely celebrated in Russia. Houses are decorated with fresh green branches, and the birch-garland and flowers are put into water for fortune-telling.

(Left): A hand-crafted Russian box, depicting a winter church scene.

Some Superstitions
(to do with folk traditions & customs):

*Single women who sit at the corner of a table will not marry for seven years.

*Never light a cigarette with a candle - this brings bad luck!

*Do not pour wine back-handed - it's rude.

*Black cats crossing your path are bad luck.

*Women who sit on cold, concrete steps will catch an internal cold.

*If you leave something behind in Russia, it means you will be back!