Strictly speaking, Russian children don't have a Christmas party these days. It was replaced in 1935 with a New Year party (Christmas being shunned in the atheist USSR as an "obsolete" religious holiday). The tradition stuck, and today, Russian children party and receive gifts on New Year's day, while the Russian Orthodox Christmas of January 7 (celebrated later due to the difference in church calendars) remains a strictly religious holiday, marked by an hours-long mass and a hearty feast to break the forty-days' long Christmas fast.
Still, the traditions remain the same and the Russian children sing the same songs and play the same games as they did a hundred years ago around the Christmas tree. So if you plan to organize a Russian Christmas party for kids, here are a few tips to make sure they remember it.
The Difference Between Santa Claus and Russian Father Christmas (a.k.a. Father Frost, or Ded Moroz)
Although both characters stem from the Huns' pagan god of New Year, there are certain differences. The image of Santa Claus was heavily influenced by the Dutch tradition of children's party on Nicholmas (December 6), while the Russians stuck to their own legends about the ancient Slavic god of winter, Father Frost.
Here are some differences in their appearance:
- Ded Moroz (Father Frost) wears a floor-length fur coat of red, blue or white (traditionally, it used to be red but blue and white are also very popular as they're associated with snow and frost). The coat is trimmed with white fur (or ideally, swans' down) and embroidered with ancient Russian pagan symbols: silver crosses and eight-point stars.
- Ded Moroz wears a color-coordinated winter hat trimmed with white fur or swans' down while Santa has a fur-trimmed conical cap.
- Santa has a short beard while Father Frost's beard has to be waist long.
- While Santa wears gloves, Father Frost wears very special mittens: warm and white, they are embroidered with silver and have three fingers. In pagan Russia, having three fingers was a sign of Godlike nature.
- Father Frost always appears with a magic staff in his hands. He uses it to turn into ice whatever he touches with it, so kids should steer clear from it!
- Santa has a leather belt while Father Frost has a white, silver or color-coordinated sash.
- Santa wears a pair of trousers with his short coat while Father Frost wears a linen shirt and trousers embroidered with white pagan patterns (eight-point stars, crosses, etc) under his long coat: white linen being the ancient pagan symbol for purity.
- Santa wears black boots while Father Frost wears traditional Russian felt boots in white or alternatively, medieval Russian leather boots with red heels and curling pointed toes.
- Santa is often portrayed wearing glasses while Father Frost never wears them.
- As Santa lives in Lapland, he uses reindeer to pull his sleigh. Father Frost, being Russian, uses three horses (a troika) for the same purpose, although he can travel by foot, too.
- Santa employs elves as his helpers, while Father Frost has his granddaughter, Snegurochka, to accompany him in his travels.
- Father Frost is tall and athletic while Santa is, er, Santa.
Next time: more about a Russian Christmas party for kids. In the meantime, enjoy the illustrations for some costume suggestions.
Additional Reading:
Ded Moroz, by Linda deLaine. Russian Life, March 15, 2007. (last accessed Nov 9, 2010)
Father Frost the Red Nose. Russia-Info Centre, December 13 2007. (last accessed Nov 9, 2010)
Irene Woodhead - Irene Woodhead is a bilingual English/Russian freelance writer and translator. After years of working as a professional opera/jazz singer, ...
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