Holidays with a Russian woman during your first year of marriage can turn into a nightmare if you are not familiar with each other’s customs and traditions. If you want your holidays to be pleasant, here are some tips on how to make this happen.
First of all, don’t forget about the holidays. While your Russian wife will probably not care if you forget about Thanksgiving or Independence Day, forgetting about her Birthday, Valentines Day and New Year is very dangerous.
Russians and Eastern Europeans love holidays. Christmas is celebrated in Russia on January 7th, but it is a religious holiday celebrated by Christians and gifts are usually not given during Christmas.
New Year, however, is another story. It is hands down the most favorite holiday for Russians of all ages. If you want to experience what New Year means for a Russian person, you have to visit Russia during this holiday. New Year is almost a sacred holiday for Russians. Most Russians are superstitious and they believe that you will spend the following year just as good (or bad) as the way you celebrate it. They also believe that in order to have a happy year, you have to “meet and greet” the New Year and say farewell to the old one.
You are not expected to practice all the craziness, but I am just making a point, that New Year is a very important holiday for Russians, so make sure you don’t screw up her first New Year with you.
Russians love gifts. It doesn’t mean that they are materialistic; it just means that gift giving is a huge part of Russian culture. Gifts don’t have to be expensive, but they have to be thoughtful. For example, if your wife likes to write, getting her a $20 journal will be much better that getting her a $100 Amazon gift card. It is ok to give each other gift cards once in a while later in marriage, but on your first New Year together, get her something more personal. Make it something that she will remember and cherish.
In Russian culture men are supposed to have initiative. Even though it might seem like a good idea, don’t ask your Russian wife what she wants for Christmas/New Year and whether or not she wants to do something special. Come up with something yourself. She is still very new to your country, so she may not even know what there is available to do. Arrange something and surprise her. Don’t be afraid to come up with something that she may not like. You cannot make a mistake no matter what you do, because just like with gifts it is not gift that counts, but the thoughtfulness and attention. The fact that you tried to come up with something to surprise her with will flatter her the most.
If you decide to stay home for New Year, there are 3 things that you absolutely need to have. These things are: champagne, gifts, TV (to watch new year programming) and some traditional Russian meals (your wife will most likely volunteer to prepare them anyway). Many Russians “meet” New Year in front of their TVs with a table full of food and champagne. If you can add a company of friends to these, your Russian woman will feel almost like at home.
Be prepared though that no matter how well you are prepared, she will most likely be more homesick than usual on New Year. Don’t feel discouraged because of that. Don’t take anything personally and try to be as charming as you possibly can. Your goal is not to make her forget holidays in Russia, but to make her fall in love with holidays in America.
