And now for something completely different…
As you know, the main theme of this blog is personal finance and relating with money. But sometimes I get questions sent to me about something completely different. For example, the other day somebody emailed me and asked if people celebrated Christmas in Soviet Russia.
While I’m not an expert on Soviet Union, I was born in Soviet Union and lived in Soviet Union till my teenage years until the country fell apart and became Russian Federation (or Russia for short). Few years later, our family decided to move to Canada where I lived ever since then. But I still remember my Soviet Union childhood rather vividly, and sometimes it’s fun to sit around and talk about how things used to be. So, why not?
Did people celebrate Christmas in Soviet Union?
Not quite. As you may or may not know, Soviet Russia wasn’t a religious country. While nobody would send you to jail for believing in God, it was regarded as something outdated and silly. Churches had their fair share of parishioners, mainly senior citizens. But younger people for the most part were non-believers. For example, I grew up in a atheistic family. Neither my mom nor my dad ever mentioned God to us outside of saying “Oh dear god, what have he done this time?” while talking to my school teacher.
Instead, celebrating New Year on December 31st was promoted. By far it was everyone’s favorite holiday. New Years holidays usually meant time off school and time off work. New Year celebration also meant eating a lot of food and spending time with your family and friends.
New Year is all about saying goodbye to the past year and the welcoming of a new one. It’s focused on celebrating happiness, love, prosperity, relationships.