Russians have 2 New Years (official and unofficial): on the 1st of January (from 1918),according to the Gregorian calendar and again & on the 14th of January (which is 1st January according to the Julian calendar), Christmas follows later, on the 7th of Jan. Russian Santa is Ded Moroz (Father Frost): -He arrives on troika -He doesn't say "Ho, ho, ho" -He is usually accompanied by his fairy granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), who helps him to play with kids and present gifts
We decorate Novogodnyaya Elka ( New Year’s Fir-Tree)with wooden toys, fruits, nuts and sweets, glass balls and toys, garlands and tinsels, etc. Under the New Year's Fir-Tree we put figures of father Frost and Snow Maid. The most famous saying asserts: “As you meet the New Year, so you will spend it”, so everyone does their best to celebrate this decisive holiday merrily).
Christmas Russian Orthodox Christmas is on January 7th. It is the day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Nothing is eaten or drunk on Christmas Eve until the first star appears in the sky (In reality nothing is eaten until Divine Liturgy ends). The star is a symbol of the great star that led the Magi to the newly born Christ. So after the Divine Liturgy the festivities begin. Most people visit their relatives and friends to congratulate them. The main dish is roast fowl. Christmas fir-tree is a symbol of happiness and luck, that came when baby Christ was born. Presents are hidden under the Christmas fir-tree.
Probably the best Christmas poem is Boris Pasternak's "The Star of the Nativity".
Some Christmas postcards published before the revolution!
Central Moscow Hippodrome is the largest horse racing track and horse breeding research facility in Russia. It was founded in 1834, but the last variant of Hippodrome was made by Ivan Vladislavovich Zholtovsky in 1951. I think this building resembles architecture of ancient Greece.
One new amusing book, especially for those who are interested in fashion. Alexandre Vassiliev "Fashion Fates"/Александр Васильев "Судьбы моды"
The author Alexandre Vassiliev is the world famous fashion historian, theatrical artist (he designed 100 ballets and operas in 25 countries), passionate vintage art collector and very intelligent person. I like his sarcastic style of writing.
Here are some pictures:
First photo shows Alexandre Vassiliev, the photo is made by Andreas Auf Der Maur , in Paris, 1991. Second photo is made by the Princess Ekaterina Golittsina and also shows Alexandre Vassiliev. We can see Vassiliev’s dress collection in the third one.
This is Vassiliev's sketch for the Nutcracker ballet.
It's raining … And I LIKE IT!) I like the sound of rain it reminds me of so many happy moments of my life: when I was drinking warm cocoa and my mother taught me how to play cards, or the day when it started raining unexpectedly and I was running home without an umbrella, it was so funny, and it reminds me of... my first love).
Sun Salutation is a sequence of twelve yoga positions, each of the twelve positions contributes to stretching a different part of the body and different muscle groups.
Fr. Jerome Cummings A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.
Oscar Wilde Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.
Helen Rowland To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.
Several days ago I saw the meteor shower! It was wonderful, astronomers say it was one of the biggest this year! So we made a lot of wishes, while watching it))). Tried to make some photos, but only the moon came out. Enjoy).
My Opera
When I was taking a short medical course at the university, I never thought I'd need this knowledge in practice. 
