Wishing you a Wonderful, Happy and Healthy New Year! May all your sacred wishes come true!

Dear friends, readers and followers, 

Lada and Az are wishing you a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year!

May all your sacred wishes come true!

C новым годом! C новым счастьем!

Frohes neues Jahr

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Gelukkig nieuwjaar

Bonne année!

新年快乐 / 新年快樂 (Xīnnián kuàilè)

For Russians the biggest annual holiday is the New Year. I have done big posts for previous New Years, where I gave recommendations for various New Year’s films, posted holiday music, beautiful images and videos, as well as gave the history and lore of the Winter Holidays. In the end of this post you’ll see the links to my past articles. This time, on the light holiday note I want to share with you some of Russian New Year / Christmas pics and traditions.

So you know, in Russia that well-known magical guy who gives out presents is called ‘Ded Moroz’ (Grandfather Frost). He is the equivalent of the Western Santa, but per Russians, he definitely, no question about it, resides in the ancient town of Veliky Ustyug, in northern Russia.

Here’s Putin, together with Ded Moroz at his official residence in Veliky Ustyug ~

Ded Moroz doesn’t come for Christmas, as in the West. He comes for New Year’s, which is (if I may say so myself) the right way of doing things. 😉

Why? You probably know by now that in fact the figure of Ded Moroz / Santa Claus / San Nickolas is a pagan spirit, or god, of winter. At one point it was absorbed by Western Christianity so that to entice more people to convert. Russian Orthodox Christians, shall we say, were a bit more honest about it.

Regardless of what he’s called and when he comes, we all love and welcome him, along with his companion, who in Russia is his beautiful granddaughter, Snegurochka (snow maiden). Snegurochka is certainly also an original Vedic nature goddess character.

As seen on top pic, Russian Ded Moroz brings his gifts normally in a sleigh pulled by three horses, not by reindeer.

This is the northern Russian version of Ded Moroz, straight out of ancient legends — the true Vedic God of Winter. Look at his outfit (remember my Forbidden History articles on FuturisTrendcast?)

World’s Best Christmas, New Year and Winter Music

In no particular order, the best music ever written for the Christmas – New Year Holidays and Winter!

Enjoy as part of the FuturisTrendcast Year 2017 wrap-up & New Year 2018 celebrations!

There should be no surprise that most of it is Russian music — Russians embrace and celebrate winter like no other!

Гeoргий Свиридов ~ The composer of the Russian winter wonderland, Georgy Sviridov ~ the dreamy Waltz Snowstorm (Waltz from the musical illustrations to A.S. Pushkin’s “Snowstorm”)