My favourite holiday, or, better to

My favourite holiday, or, better to say, holidays are, definitely, the New Year and Christmas. I n Russia the New Year is celebrated twice — on January 1, according to the Gregorian calendar, and on January 14, according to the Julian calendar which was used in Russia before 1918. Christmas is a traditional holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus with both religious and secular aspects. It is commonly observed on December, 25 by Catholics, and on January, 7 by the Russian Orthodox Church. New Year and Christmas are the first, and the most joyful, holidays of the year, when people see the Old Year off and the New Year in. I enjoy the holidays for several reasons. Firstly, they have a special atmosphere of joy and excitement everyone looks forward to for several months. They are holidays of renewal and magic, exchanging presents and wishes. Most people, irrespective of their age, stay up all night on December, 31, setting off fireworks and making merry. Father Christmas and Snow Maiden are the popular characters of TV programmes and school festivals though no one except very young children believes in their existence. The second reason I prefer this holiday to all the rest is that it is the centre of the New Year and Christmas season which is, in fact, a sequence of holidays. It starts on the 25th of December and finishes on January 14, and everyone has a chance of relaxing after a long period of hard and stressful work.

There are many New Year and Christmas traditions which make these holidays so special. For Christmas people decorate their houses with mistletoe and the Christmas tree, go to church, send Christmas cards — and, of course, give and receive gifts.

My favourite Christmas tradition has been receiving and giving presents since my childhood when gifts were put into stockings for me and I believed it was Father Christmas who brought them, unheard and unseen while I was sleeping. I believe Christmas presents should be special and have a touch of magic, enabling your dearest wishes to come true. Firstly, giving gifts to all the members of the family adds to love and affection in it and helps to forget minor quarrels and misunderstandings. It makes you believe you are a family no matter what happens. Secondly, it creates the atmosphere of joy and magic. This simple and long-standing tradition helps you to believe in miracles and renewal, and regain optimism if you are in trouble.

I believe Christmas is not as popular in Russia as in most Christian countries. There are two main reasons why it is not. The first one is that after the Revolution of 1917 Christmas celebrations were banned in the Soviet Union for the next seventy-five years, and a century-old tradition was destroyed. It is being restored now, but it will take some time to do it. The second one is that in Russia there is a long-standing tradition of celebrating the New Year whose traditions are very similar to those of Christmas. The only difference is that Christmas is a Christian holiday marking the birth of Jesus Christ, and Christianity is not as wide-spread in Russia now as it used to be before the Revolution.

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My favourite holiday, or, better to say, holidays are, definitely, the New Year and Christmas. I n Russia the New Year is celebrated twice — on January 1, according to the Gregorian calendar, and on January 14, according to the Julian calendar which was used in Russia before 1918. Christmas is a traditional holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus with both religious and secular aspects. It is commonly observed on December, 25 by Catholics, and on January, 7 by the Russian Orthodox Church. New Year and Christmas are the first, and the most joyful, holidays of the year, when people see the Old Year off and the New Year in. I enjoy the holidays for several reasons. Firstly, they have a special atmosphere of joy and excitement everyone looks forward to for several months. They are holidays of renewal and magic, exchanging presents and wishes. Most people, irrespective of their age, stay up all night on December, 31, setting off fireworks and making merry. Father Christmas and Snow Maiden are the popular characters of TV programmes and school festivals though no one except very young children believes in their existence. The second reason I prefer this holiday to all the rest is that it is the centre of the New Year and Christmas season which is, in fact, a sequence of holidays. It starts on the 25th of December and finishes on January 14, and everyone has a chance of relaxing after a long period of hard and stressful work.There are many New Year and Christmas traditions which make these holidays so special. For Christmas people decorate their houses with mistletoe and the Christmas tree, go to church, send Christmas cards — and, of course, give and receive gifts.My favourite Christmas tradition has been receiving and giving presents since my childhood when gifts were put into stockings for me and I believed it was Father Christmas who brought them, unheard and unseen while I was sleeping. I believe Christmas presents should be special and have a touch of magic, enabling your dearest wishes to come true. Firstly, giving gifts to all the members of the family adds to love and affection in it and helps to forget minor quarrels and misunderstandings. It makes you believe you are a family no matter what happens. Secondly, it creates the atmosphere of joy and magic. This simple and long-standing tradition helps you to believe in miracles and renewal, and regain optimism if you are in trouble.Я считаю, что Рождество не так популярны в России как и большинство христианских стран. Есть две основные причины, почему нет. Первый из них является то, что после революции 1917 Рождество были запрещены в Советском Союзе для следующей семьдесят пять лет, и вековой традиции была разрушена. Восстанавливается сейчас, но это займет некоторое время, чтобы сделать это. Вторая является, что в России существует давняя традиция празднования нового года, чьи традиции очень похожи на Рождество. Единственное отличие заключается в том, что Рождество – это христианский праздник, маркировка рождения Иисуса Христа и христианство не так широко распространены в России в настоящее время как до революции.