How 6 holidays were celebrated in the USSR, which everyone, without exception, was waiting for

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

People love holidays. This is an opportunity to relax, meet friends, relax, and have a delicious meal. Today there are many holidays, and some of them began to be celebrated in the country not so long ago, such as Valentine's Day. And what are the long New Year holidays! In Soviet times, great attention was paid to the holidays. People worked hard and wanted to rest. The labor calendar was the same for everyone, and the days colored red were eagerly awaited. They prepared for them, talked about them, looked forward to them. Read about which holidays were the most popular during the Soviet Union and how people celebrated them.

Male-female, February 23 and March 8 and what to give a man on Soviet Army Day to get a good present on Women's Day

One of the most beloved holidays of the Soviet people was the Day of the Soviet Army, February 23. On this day in 1918, the Red Army defeated the troops of imperial Germany. The holiday had this name only since 1949, before that it was the day of the Red Army. In Soviet times, most men served in the army, this was considered the lot of real men. Therefore, the holiday was celebrated widely and everywhere. Gradually, February 23 began to be called men's day. In all collectives on this February day, women congratulated their male colleagues, and gifts awaited their husbands, brothers, fathers and grandfathers at home.

February was ending, spring was coming, March, and Soviet women were looking forward to March 8th. It was International Women's Day, popularly known as the day of Clara Zetkin and Rosa Luxemburg. Men congratulated their loved ones, mothers and grandmothers, sisters and girlfriends. Mimosa became the symbol of March 8; men gave these cute twigs with yellow balls to their chosen ones.

The women joked that if you want to get a good gift for March 8, then try to give your man something pleasant for February 23rd. The choice in the Soviet Union was not very large, but women tried their best. An electric razor, cologne, high-quality socks bought "by pull". Yes, yes, it was the socks that were in short supply and it was not so easy to get them. This is not about strange stretching models of domestic production, but, for example, about Baltic products, which, although considered Soviet, were of high quality and were always swept off the shelves.

Victory Day is a favorite holiday of the whole people and food packages for veterans

Another holiday that was celebrated in all families and collectives was Victory Day, when on radio and television Lev Leshchenko sang a famous song, veterans wore jackets with medals, and a parade was held on Red Square, which began with the disturbing melody "Get up, the country is huge." They watched the parade on TV, looking for faces of acquaintances in the crowd. It was a really wonderful holiday when people remembered the victory over fascism, cried, laughed, congratulated each other.

Veterans received food packages, which included some scarce products, such as green peas, buckwheat, cervelat, condensed milk. Unfortunately, for each "tasty treat" there was a certain amount of illiquid - poor quality pasta, seaweed in jars, crackers. But on the other hand, in the so-called Order tables at the stores, one could submit an application in advance by presenting a certificate of a participant in the war, and then redeem the products. Then the veterans were still relatively young, there were not so few of them as today, and the holiday was really widely celebrated and brought a lot of joy to people.

May Day and November 7 - demonstrations attended by collectives

In May, Soviet people celebrated May Day, or Day of International Workers' Solidarity. And now, demonstrating this very solidarity with the working people of the whole world, people went to the demonstration and marched past the stands where officials were located, mainly the regional and district committee leadership. Balloons, posters, flags, artificial flowers, laughter, fun and music - this was May Day. Despite the political overtones, the Soviet people liked the holiday very much. It was an opportunity to get together, relax, take a walk down the street, sing songs, albeit patriotic (and sometimes not so), feel spring and unity.

On November 7, the Great October Socialist Revolution was celebrated. Many were surprised why the October revolution, and the holiday on November 7. The teachers explained to the students that this was a discrepancy between the old and the new style, but it really wasn't that important. Unlike May Day, people did not go to the demonstration dedicated to this holiday too willingly - perhaps the fact was that in November it was getting colder in many regions, it often rained, and the very name of the holiday somehow did not breathe with serenity and happiness … But they celebrated for 2 days - November 7 and 8, and in the grocery stores you could find scarce products that you could not even dream of on ordinary days. In labor collectives, an order was usually posted on the mandatory attendance of the demonstration. Violators faced public censure and sometimes even loss of the prize.

New Years: "Irony of Fate" on TV and Shopping Race on December 31

Well, undoubtedly the favorite among the holidays was, and, perhaps, is the New Year. He was loved by everyone and always. December 31st was a busy day, people were preparing for the holiday, buying the necessary products from those that could be found in stores, packing gifts, calling friends, solving organizational issues. On December 31, everyone worked and came home just an hour earlier. In almost every family, a Christmas tree was installed, which was carefully and lovingly dressed up, lanterns, garlands, flags and snowflakes cut out of paper were hung.

Well, what a New Year in Soviet times without the famous film by Eldar Ryazanov "The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath". It was always shown on the last day of the year. It was a kind of symbol of the holiday, without which it was difficult to imagine that in a few hours New Year's Eve would come. The schoolchildren began their holidays, the longest, winter ones, which lasted almost 2 weeks. Many received tickets for the so-called Christmas trees, theatrical performances, where they also presented gifts.

Tangerines and waffles were always in the multi-colored boxes. Santa Claus congratulated people on TV screens, on the radio, and on the streets you could meet this funny old man in a white fur coat, with a staff and a bag of gifts. And not one, but many. New Year's holidays were a hot time for artists to earn money. Ded Morozov were ordered to celebrate the New Year at enterprises, they were called home for congratulations, they participated in Christmas trees and New Year's performances. By the way, the adult population did not have vacations: on January 2, everyone was supposed to be at work.

At the same time, post-revolutionary sentiments in society developed under the strong influence of propaganda. So, For a long time the red commissars determined the fashion and customs of socialist society.