Russians celebrate their Orthodox Christmas on the 7th of January with midnight services. In late February or early March they put up folk shows and games to celebrate the end of winter. In the last week of March northern towns like Murmansk are the venues for ski marathons, reindeer races etc.

The main festival of the Orthodox Church is Easter held in April. The devout do not partake meat, milk or alcohol and observe celibacy during the forty-days of Lent before Easter. The last 10 days of June are part of the White Nights celebrations in St.Petersburg.

The main Winter Festival in Russia is held on the 31st and 1st January. Friends and family place gifts for one another under the traditional fir tree. They ring out the old year with vodka and ring in the new with champagne.