Do Russians celebrate Christmas?
Christmas on the International Space Station
Christmas on the International Space Station covers the celebration of Christmas on the International Space Station. Christmas is celebrated each year by the International Space Station crew, their families, and ground-staff. Crew are given time off duty according to their respective culture, religion/faith and ethnicity. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar, whilst the Catholic Church and the various Protestant denominations use the Gregorian calendar so the crew may celebrate Christmas more than once on the station choosing between 25 December or 6, 7 or 19 January.
Christmas traditions
Christmas is an extensively prepared celebration centering on the family and home, although it has a religious dimension also. The Christmas season starts from December or even in late November, when shops began advertising potential Christmas gifts. Christmas decorations and songs become more prominent as Christmas nears, and children count days to Christmas with Advent calendars. Schools and some other places have the day before Christmas Eve ("aatonaatto", December 23) as a holiday, but at the latest on the Christmas Eve ("jouluaatto", December 24), shops close early and stay closed until December 26. The main Christmas festivities are held on Christmas Eve on December 24, while Christmas Day ("joulupäivä") and the following day ("Tapaninpäivä", "St. Stephen's Day") are mandatory public holidays in Finland Schools continue holidays up to the New Year.