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Episode 14 - Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!

Good evening, Dear listeners! Добрый вечер, дорогие слушатели!

 
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Today is already the last day of the year. How do Russians celebrate this holiday?

Usually New Year is a family holiday with tables full of different tasty things and champagne. President of Russia addresses nation before clock strikes 12 and then a lot of fireworks and bottles of champagne burst out into celebrations which now officially lasts almost 10 days.

For children it’s a magical day - they can find their presents under the New Year Tree. Sometimes Дед Мороз / Ded Moroz (Russian Santa Claus, we call him Father Frost) and Снегурочка / Snegurochka (Ded Moroz’s granddaughter) come to houses and give away gifts after children sing them a song or recite poems about winter and New Year.

Let’s learn some phrases which we use to congratulate each other:

  • C наступающим НовымГодом! [S nas-too-pa-yu-schim Novym Godom!] Happy coming New Year!
  • С Новым Годом! [S Novym Godom!]Happy New Year!
  • С наступающим Рождеством ! [S nas-too-pa-yu-schim Rozh-dest-vom! ] Merry coming Christmas! P.S. Russians celebrate Christmas on 6th-7th of January night (Julian calendar)
  • C Рождеством [Христовым]! [S Rozh-dest-vom [Khris-to-vym]!] Merry Christmas!
  • Со Старым Новым Годом! [So Starym Novym Godom!] Happy Old New Year! Yeah, it sounds strange but we do celebrate it too on 13th of January – New Year by Old Style (Julian calendar). It’s not an official holiday but a good chance to have a small gathering again.

Common phrases which can be said for any holiday (we took it in Episode 4 – Victory day):

  • С наступающим праздником! Happy coming holiday!
  • С праздником! Happy Holiday!
  • Поздравляем! Congratulations! (plural, from a group of people)
  • Поздравляю! Congratulations! (singular)

The most famous Russian New Year song is “V lesy rodilas yolochka” (A small fir-tree was born in the forest). Every Russian young and adult knows it. That’s all for today, now let’s sing a song and see you already in New Year 2009!

Удачи! И с наступающим Новым Годом! Пока!

В лесу родилась ёлочка / V lesu rodilas yolochka

(lyrics by Raisa Adamovna Kudashyova, music by Leonid Karlovich Bekman)

В лесу родилась ёлочка,

В лесу она росла,

Зимой и летом стройная,

Зелёная была.


Метель ей пела песенку:

«Спи, ёлочка, бай-бай!»

Мороз снежком укутывал:

«Смотри, не замерзай!»


Трусишка зайка серенький

Под ёлочкой скакал.

Порою волк, сердитый волк,

Рысцою пробегал.


Чу! Снег по лесу частому

Под полозом скрипит;

Лошадка мохноногая

Торопится, бежит.


Везёт лошадка дровенки,

А в дровнях мужичок,

Срубил он нашу ёлочку

Под самый корешок.


И вот она, нарядная,

На праздник к нам пришла,

И много, много радости

Детишкам принесла.

V lesu rodilas yolochka,

V lesu ona rosla,

Zimoy I letom stroynaya,

Zelyonaya byla.


Metel’ ey pela pesenku

«Spi, yolochka, bai-bai!»

Moroz snezhkom ukutyval:

«Smotri, ne zamerzay!»


Trusishka zayka seren’kiy

Pod yolochkoy skakal

Poroyu volk, serdityi volk

Rys-tso-yu probegal


Chu! Sneg po lesu chastomu

Pod polozom skripit

Loshadka mokhno-nogaya

Toropitsa, bezhit


Vezet loshadka drovenki

A v drovnyah muzhichok

Srubil on nashu yolochku

Pod samyi koreshok


I vot ona naryadnaya

Na prazdnik k nam prishla

I mnogo, mnogo radosti

Detishkam prinesla

 

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