We are back to school

Hello friends,

We are back to school again after summer holidays and have already been studying for a month. The weather this Autumn is fine and we had two trips to the countyside.

Our summer vocations have come!

Dear friends!
Our school year has finished and we are having vocations now. We shall start school again on the 1st of September.

We were very glad to communicate with you this year. We hope to continue sharing our cultures next year.

We wish you to have a good time in summer!

This is our class choir at the traditional party at the end of the school year.

Russian Crafts

The doll “Matryoshka is a popular Russian souvenir. It is beautiful. It is made of wood. In one “Matryoshka” you can find from 2 up to 24 dolls. Each doll is opened and stacked inside one another. Then you can see only one doll. When tourists come to Russia they always buy this Russian souvenir.
“Matroyshka” has come to us from the world of legends and fairy tales. Actually this wooden doll is about hundred years.
Why is it called “Matryoshka?” In old Russia the name Matryona or Matriosha was a very popular female name. Scholars say this name has a Latin root "mater". That means "Mother". This name was associated with the image of a mother of a big family who was very healthy and had a portly figure.

Written by Tanya, Ann, Olga.

Hello Friends!
Sorry for keeping silence. We were on holidays for 2 weeks. Now were are back at school again.

First of all, many thanks for your comments about "Maslenitsa". You asked some questions about its traditions.
Here are our answers. Many of you asked about the "present" inside the bag on the pole. The main prize was a "Cock"! (alive). Some other gifts were a set of cups and plates, different souvenirs. The pole was really tall and not everydody could reach the top of it but there were some young men who were the winners. And the weather was rather cool.

Here are some Russian souvenirs which are colourful. They are made of wood. One can keep them in the kitchen for salt, sugar and so on.

Your friends
Ann, Tanya, Olga, Alina

Maslenitsa

There are a lot of traditional holidays in Russia. “Maslenitsa” is one of them. It marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring and Lent before Easter.

There was a celebration of Maslenitsa in our town on Sunday, March 1.
Many people came to the central square to listen to the national songs and play national games. On this day people cook pancakes with sour cream, honey, butter or caviar.
During the festival people usually burn a scarecrow of winter. You can see a young man in a national Russian dress with a red bag collecting “bad things” which the people want to be burned together with the scarecrow. People usually write on a small piece of paper “bad things” and put them into the bag. Then the bag is usually burned in the fire.

After that there are all kinds of competitions and games. On of them is to get a present which is high on the tall pole. Young men have to climb up the pole to reach the bag with the present.

A Romantic Day

My name is Alyona.

First of all, as I know this modern-day holiday is a celebration of love, which gets its name from a Roman priest, Valentine, who secretly performed wedding ceremonies for Christian couples in the 3rd century!

In Russia weeks before the 14th of February, shop windows are decorated with red paper hearts, red streamers and boxes of chocolates.
On Valentine’s Day, many people wear something red, since it is considered to be the colour of love. Gifts, wrapped in shiny paper and red ribbons, are exchanged, women receive bouquets of flowers and people express their love to the persons they admire. At schools there are parties with music and dancing.

We didn’t have a school party this Saturday as we are having very frosty days this week and the school is closed.

I think Valentine’s Day is a time to let people know how much you love and appreciate them! It is a day that makes everyone feel romantic and happy.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day is becoming popular in Russia, but we still have our own way of doing things!

Writing a love letter or a postcard is essential. You can see a lot of nice heart-shaped cards, nicknamed “valentinkis” in the shops. Funny soft toys are also popular.
Red roses are a good present for a beloved girl. Roses are rather expensive on this day!
No Valentine’s Day is complete without chocolate!
For an afternoon break some young people visit a cafe and enjoy light snacks. After dark, local show or music concerts -jazz and rock- are very popular on Valentine’s Day.
Some young people consider it to be a Catholic holiday and don’t celebrate this day.
Anyway it has come to us from Europe and young people don’t think much about its origin but just celebrate!