Novy God
''Novy God'' or ''Noviy God'' () is a New Year celebration observed in Russia, in post-Soviet states, and globally by the diasporas of post-Soviet states. The holiday was promoted by the Soviet Union as a secular holiday that would supplant Christmas, which (along with other religious holidays) had been abolished due to the Communist Party's unofficial policy of state atheism. It incorporates traditions derived from Christmas, including gift-giving, decorated trees, and a Santa Claus-like figure— Ded Moroz ()—who is said to deliver gifts to children on New Year's Eve. Novy God's customs have remained a popular observance among Russians and diaspora since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as well as in parts of Central Asia. In 2016, Russian American journalist Leon Neyfakh called it "the most important family holiday of the season for Russians all over the world." History From AD 1492, the new year was originally celebrated on 1 September as per the Byzantin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Post-Soviet States
The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they existed as Republics of the Soviet Union, Union Republics, which were the top-level constituents of the Soviet Union. There are 15 post-Soviet states in total: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia (country), Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Each of these countries succeeded their respective Union Republics: the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Byelorussian SSR, the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Estonian SSR, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Georgian SSR, the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Kazakh SSR, the Kirghiz ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Santa Claus
Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the gifts in Santa's workshop, while flying reindeer pull his sleigh through the air. The popular conception of Santa Claus originates from folklore traditions surrounding the 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas became renowned for his reported generosity and secret gift-giving. The image of Santa Claus shares similarities with the English figure of Father Christmas, and they are both now popularly regarded as the same person. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white- bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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USSR Anti-religious Campaign (1928–1941)
The USSR anti-religious campaign of 1928–1941 was a new phase of anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union following the anti-religious campaign of 1921–1928. The campaign began in 1929, with the drafting of new legislation that severely prohibited religious activities and called for an education process on religion in order to further disseminate atheism and materialist philosophy. This had been preceded in 1928 at the fifteenth Party congress, where Joseph Stalin criticized the party for failure to produce more active and persuasive anti-religious propaganda. This new phase coincided with the beginning of the mass collectivization of agriculture and the nationalization of the few remaining private enterprises. The main target of the anti-religious campaign in the 1920s and 1930s was the Russian Orthodox Church, which had the largest number of faithful. Nearly all of its clergy, and many of its believers, were shot or sent to labour camps. Theological schools were cl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christmas In Russia
Christmas in Russia (Russian: , ), called () in the Russian Orthodox Church, is a holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on 25 December on the Julian calendar, which corresponds to 7 January on the Gregorian calendar (the calendar that is mostly used in Western society). It is considered a high holiday by the church, one of the 12 Great Feasts, and one of only four of which are preceded by a period of fasting. Traditional Russian Christmas festivities start on Christmas Eve, which is celebrated on . Christmas was largely erased from the Russian calendar for much of the 20th century due to the Soviet Union's anti-religious policies, but many of its traditions survived, having been transplanted to New Year's Day. Although Christmas was re-established as a holiday in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is still eclipsed by New Year's Day, which remains the most important Russian holiday. History In Russia, the Christmas holiday becam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years slightly differently to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long rather than the Julian calendar's 365.25 days, thus more closely approximating the 365.2422-day tropical year, "tropical" or "solar" year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun. The rule for leap years is that every year divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are divisible by 100, except in turn for years also divisible by 400. For example 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, but 2000 was. There were two reasons to establish the Gregorian calendar. First, the Julian calendar was based on the estimate that the average solar year is exactly 365.25 days long, an overestimate of a li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soviet Calendar
The Soviet calendar was a modified Gregorian calendar that was used in Soviet Russia between 1918 and 1940. Several variations were used during that time. The Gregorian calendar, under the name "Western European calendar", was implemented in Soviet Russia in February 1918 by dropping the Julian dates of . As many as nine national holidays (paid days of rest) were implemented in the following decade, but four were eliminated or merged on , leaving only five national holidays: 22January, 1–2May, and 7–8November until 1951, when 22January reverted to a normal day. During the summer of 1929, five-day continuous work weeks were implemented in factories, government offices, and commercial enterprises, but not collective farms. One of the five days was randomly assigned to each worker as their day of rest, without regard to the rest days assigned to their family members or friends. These five-day work weeks continued throughout the Gregorian year, interrupted only by the five natio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks as part of the broader Russian Revolution of 1917–1923. It began through an insurrection in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) on . It was the precipitating event of the Russian Civil War. The initial stage of the October Revolution, which involved the assault on Petrograd, occurred largely without any casualties. The October Revolution followed and capitalized on the February Revolution earlier that year, which had led to the abdication of Nicholas II and the creation of the Russian Provisional Government. The provisional government, led by Alexander Kerensky, had taken power after Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, Grand Duke Michael, the younger brother of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as current, with additional synonyms, and ''Plants of the World Online'' 126 species-rank taxa (113 species and 13 nothospecies), making it the largest genus among the conifers. The highest species diversity of pines is found in Mexico. Pines are widely species distribution, distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; they occupy large areas of boreal forest, but are found in many habitats, including the Mediterranean Basin, and dry tropical forests in southeast Asia and Central America. Wood from pine trees is one of the most extensively used types of timber, and some pines are widely used as Christmas trees. Description Pine trees are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees (or, rarely, shrubs) growing tall, with the majority of species reachin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south as tropical Africa, including the Arctic, parts of Asia, and Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth. Description Junipers vary in size and shape from tall trees, tall, to columnar or low-spreading shrubs with long, trailing branches. They are evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ... with needle-like and/or scale-like leaves. They can be either monoecious or dioecious. The female Conif ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Era
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", taken from the full original phrase "", which translates to "in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ". The form "BC" is specific to English, and equivalent abbreviations are used in other languages: the Latin form, rarely used in English, is (ACN) or (AC). This calendar era takes as its epoch the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus. Years ''AD'' are counted forward since that epoch and years ''BC'' are counted backward from the epoch. There is no year zero in this scheme; thus the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus but was not widely used until the 9th century. Modern scholars believe that the actual date of birth of Jesus was about 5 BC. D. A. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter The Great
Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V of Russia, Ivan V until 1696. From this year, Peter was an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch, an autocrat who remained the ultimate authority and organized a well-ordered police state. Much of Peter's reign was consumed by lengthy wars against the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman and Swedish Empire, Swedish empires. His Azov campaigns were followed by the foundation of the Imperial Russian Navy, Russian Navy; after his victory in the Great Northern War, Russia annexed a Treaty of Nystad, significant portion of the eastern Baltic Sea, Baltic coastline and was officially renamed from a Tsardom of Russia, tsardom to an Russian Empire, empire. Peter led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Byzantine Calendar
The Byzantine calendar, also called the Roman calendar, the Creation Era of Constantinople or the Era of the World (, also or ; 'Roman year since the creation of the universe', abbreviated as ε.Κ.), was the calendar used by the Eastern Orthodox Church from to 1728 in the Ecumenical Patriarchate. "Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον", ΘΗΕ, τόμ. 09, εκδ. Μαρτίνος Αθ., Αθήνα 1966, στ. 778. "Ecumenical Patriarchate". ''Religious and Ethical Encyclopedia''. Vol. 9., Athens, 1966. p. 778. It was also the official calendar of the Byzantine Empire from 988 to 1453 and it was used in Russia until 1700. This calendar was used also in other areas of the Byzantine commonwealth such as in Serbia — where it is found in old Serbian legal documents such as Dušan's Code, thus being referred as the "Serbian Calendar" and today still used in the Republic of Georgia alongside Old Style and New Style calendar. The calendar was based ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |