As Russia Blog has written before -- January 6 is the Christmas Eve for the Russian Orthodox.
60% of the Russian population are planning to attend the services in the churches and cathedrals around the country. The service starts at 10 pm and goes on until the early morning. Not all of the Christians will make it to the end, I would guess that 70% of the worshipers will go home after the midnight service.
The Moscow subway will run every other minute and will continue serving the Muscovites until 2 am. Public transportation will be available until 3 am. All the services will start working again at 5:30 am.
All Russian government officials will be seen on TV at the cathedral of Christ the Savior in downtown Moscow. The government approach in Russia is different, and its marketing strategy is different from the one in the US. President Putin and the ministers are not afraid to upset small groups of Muslims and Jews, they would be viewed as rude and vulgar leaders if they were not seen tonight worshipping with the 60% of the nation. The actual number of people celebrating Christmas but not going to church is even higher.
Merry Christmas Russia!
Merry Christmas from Italy too.
Here celebrations are over, but it's always the right time to wish someone a good time ;)
I had the privilege of attending a portion of a Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve service. I found it very moving, with the liturgy, choirs, incense, and beautiful Religious icons and art work. And it was sweet to see little children quite at home in the sacred setting, solemnly carrying candles, or giggling as they climbed a circular staircase together for mischief and diversion from the long service.
I appreciate the cultural heritage kept alive in cities around the world.
Merry Christmas Russia!
Actually, Bush came out with a Merry Christmas speech, which is a slap in the face of a lot of politically correct groups trying to make everything all-inclusive. Of course, Bush then said Happy Hannukah (and even Quanza) I would pay big money to see Putin say Happy Hannukah. ha!
Nice Blog :-)
I think Russia has hit a wall in terms of their technological progress and should take it easy and get a good nights sleep. Will make progress in another hundered years.
Good website and nice content. Thank you master!!!