Russian Winter Holidays
1. Match the words and their transcription. Practice reading the new
words:
2. Read and translate the words:
1. field (n) – an area of land used for keeping animals or growing food
2. decree (n) – an official decision or order made by a leader or government
3. establish (v) – to make smth start to exist or start to happen
4. be bound – to be related, closely connected
5. heathen (adj) – related to neither Christianity nor any other religion
6. ritual (adj) – done as a part of a ceremony (e.g. a ritual dance)
7. fierce (adj) – involving a lot of energy or force
8. worship (v) – to feel or show respect and love for a god
9. anew (adv) – again, often in a new or different way
10. sled (n) – a vehicle that you sit on to travel over snow
11. laud (v) – to praise someone or something
12. slide (v) (slid) – to move smoothly and quickly across a surface
13. mummer (n) – an actor in a traditional type of play without words
14. ancestor (n) – someone who is related to you who lived a long time ago
15. congeal (v) – to freeze
16. naivete (adj) – a naive person lacks experience of life and tends to trust
other people and believe things too easily
17. prophesy (v) – to describe a future event using religious or magic powers
18. stratum (n) (pl strata) – a group or class in society
19. toe (n) – the part of a shoe that covers your toes
20. don (v) – to put on a piece of clothing
3. Find nouns in the list of the given words:
field, decree, establish, worship, slid, ancestor, congeal, count,
naivete, prophesy, mummer, kick, fantastic, short, custom, ritual, anew, fierce
4. Find the words with the same stem and try to translate:
1. field: fiendish, fierce, fiery, fielder, fieldmouse, fieldsman.
2. establish: essential, east, establishment, estate.
3. heathen: heath, heater, heather.
4. ancestor: anchor, anchorage, ancestry.
5. lengthen: lengthways, lenient, length.
6. prophesy: prophet, property, prophetic.
5. Make sentences using the mixed words:
1. In, to, the, times, custom, early, start, New, was, the, in, Year,
spring.
2. sleds, Children, on, down, slid, hills.
3. sun, were, on, of, the, Campfires, in, lit, that, honour, day.
4. Eve, One, the, fortune-telling, old, on, Christmas, customs, is, of.
5. merry, The, and, noisy, was, second, especially, half, of, “svyatki”, the.
6. Read the first passage and say what questions will be discussed in
the text.
7. Read the last passage and say what information can be mentioned
above.
In early times the custom was to start the New Year in the
spring, when field work began. This existed for a long time in Russia. Only by a decree of
Peter I in the year 1700 was it established to begin the year from the first of January,
as was done in other European countries. However, the Christian customs in Russia were
very closely bound with the customs of the heathens, where the festivals, which were
called “svyatki” (Christmas-tide), preserved elements of the heathen rituals.
What is this “svyatki”? It’s the time between Christmas and the
Epiphany, when winter comes into its own. The frost grows stronger, snowstorms are fierce,
and the days continue to be short. But from the 25th of December – from Christmas Day
– the most worshipped chief of the heathen gods, the Sun, seemed to be born anew, and
begins by seconds and by minutes to lengthen the day, to bring spring closer. It was said
that the sun dons a new gown on that day, gets into a sled and sets off for warmer
climates.
According to an ancient custom, campfires were lit on that day in
honour of the sun, and songs were sung, lauding it. Children slid down hills on sleds,
snowmen were made and snowball fights took place. Domestic celebrations, feastings, and
fortune telling were held. The hostess baked pies, and suckling pigs were roasted in ovens
– this was considered the main festive food. Mummers strolled about the cities
and villages, games with singing and dancing were organized, bears were led along streets
on chains, and theatrical performances were given.
People wished each other success, happiness and good health.
One of the old customs that still remain today is fortune-telling on
Christmas Eve. Of all the forms our ancestors used there was one of special interest –
the pouring of wax. A candle was melted in a spoon over a flame, then swiftly poured into
a dish with cold water. The congealed figure in the water would “tell” everything: one
would see the face of a beloved one, a horrible fantastic mask, or something that
suggested a distant journey.
What naivete and touching purity there was in such prophecies: a girl
would kick off a shoe, and where the toe of the shoe pointed was where she would wait for
her bridegroom to arrive. In those days, there were “Marriage Fairs’’ everywhere,
where prospective couples met and that is why the second half of the “svyatki” was
especially noisy and merry.
Folk customs, festive costumes and rituals going back to ancient
times – this is a mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture.
8. Answer the questions:
1. What other Russian holidays do you know?
2. Is it necessary to know the history of Old Russian holidays?
3. What are the most popular Russian winter holidays which are celebrated today?
9. Write down all the names from the text. Consult the dictionary and
read.
10. In each paragraph find the key-sentences which can be used as a
plan.
11. Put the sentences into the logical order according to the text:
1. People wished each other success, happiness and good health.
2. Mummers strolled about the cities and villages, games with singing and dancing were
organized.
3. Peter I established to count the year from the first of January.
4. The congealed figure in the water would “tell” everything.
5. The frost grows stronger, snowstorms are fierce and the days continue to be short.
6. Folk customs and rituals going back to ancient times are a mighty stratum of Russian
spiritual culture.
7. It was said that the sun dons a new gown on that day, gets into a sled and sets off for
warmer climates.
8. Of all the forms our ancestors used there was one of special interest – the pouring
of wax.
9. In those days there were “Marriage Fairs” everywhere.
12. Make your own sentences with the key words:
1. The start of the New Year;
2. The custom of the heathens;
3. The chief heathen god, Sun;
4. Campfires;
5. Domestic celebrations,
6. Fortune-telling, the pouring of wax;
7. Prophecies;
8. Marriage Fairs;
9. A mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture.
13. Summarize each passage in one sentence.
14. Finish the sentences:
1. In early times the custom was…
2. However, the Christian customs in Russia…
3. Svyatki is the time…
4. The sun seemed to be born anew…
5. According to an ancient custom…
6. The hostess baked pies…
7. A candle was melted in a spoon…
8. A girl would kick off a shoe…
9. In those days there were “Marriage Fairs”…
10. Folk customs, festive costumes…
15. Answer the questions:
1. When did people celebrate the New Year in early times?
2. When and who established the new starting date of the New Year?
3. What were the Christian customs in Russia bound with?
4. What is this “svyatki”?
5. It’s very hot on Svyatki, isn’t it? Describe the weather on these days.
6. What did the chief god do in winter, according to an ancient custom?
7. How did people mark these days?
8. What tradition still remains nowadays? Do young men observe it?
9. What does the custom of pouring wax mean?
10. What other customs does “svaytki” include?
11. What is a mighty stratum of Russian spiritual culture?
16. Express your attitude towards the text. What was especially
interesting for you to learn? What facts were new for you? What facts did you already
know?
17. Comment on the most interesting part of the text to your mind.
18. Say how you could use the information in the text in the future.
By Svetlana Ilyukina,
Moscow Region
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