Postcard RU-9843801

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Christmas in Russia, called Yezhe po ploti Rozhdestvo Gospoda Boga i Spasa nashego Yisusa Khrista in the Russian Orthodox Church, is a holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the 25th of December on the Julian calendar, which corresponds to 7th of January on the Gregorian calendar (the calendar that is mostly used in Western society). It is considered a high holiday by the church, one of the 12 Great Feasts, and one of only four of which are preceded by a period of fasting. Traditional Russian Christmas festivities start on Christmas Eve, which is celebrated on 6 January [O.S. 24 December].
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Christmas was largely erased from the Russian calendar for much of the 20th century due to the Soviet Union's anti-religious policies, but many of its traditions survived, having been transplanted to New Year's Day. Although Christmas was re-established as a holiday in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is still eclipsed by New Year's Day, which remains the most important Russian holiday.
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