Holiday culture of the Leningard Oblast

Subject / Art/Festivals, holidays, shows
THE LENINGRAD OBLAST CULTURE OF FESTIVITIES. Festivity is an impressive demonstration of national culture and has deep personal and social sense. The Leningrad Oblast Government worked out a special-purpose program of festivity arrangement. The most important role in the program is played by state holidays. They are as follows: holidays celebrated in the Soviet period as well as holidays introduced during the modern period of country development. The Government also defines the days of professional holidays and significant historical dates of the country. Nowadays more and more religious holidays are being revived and acquire a status of state holidays. The most popular holidays in the Leningrad Oblast are folk festivities connected with the beginning and ending of labour cycles and change of seasons. Their main purpose is to make leisure activities more active, to invite people to become participants of mass performances, games and contests. It became a tradition to celebrate Christmas holidays, Christmastide, Russian winter send off, Shrovetide, Easter, Trinity festivities, Midsummer Day in the towns and villages of the Leningrad Oblast. These festivities are colourful theatrical performances with skomorokhs (wandering clowns), games for the valiant young, merry contests. The oblast holiday “Den Leningradskoy Oblasty” (“The Day of the Leningrad Oblast”) is widely celebrated. This day marches, festivals, exhibitions of artists and craftsmen, contests of amateur and folk arts groups are held in all the oblast towns and villages. The Leningrad Oblast residents celebrate the following holidays: “Venok Slavy Aleksandra Nevskogo” (“Alexander Nevsky’s Glory Wreath”) in Staraya Ladoga Village, “Altar Otechestva” (“The Altar of Motherland”) dedicated to A.V. Suvorov in Novaya Ladoga Town, historical and folk holiday “Koporskaya Potekha” (“Fun in Koporye Village”) (Lomonosov District) and some other military and historical holidays. The local holidays such as Days of Towns and Days of Streets were also developed. People celebrate the days of professions: the Day of Metallurgist (Pikalevo-1 Railway Station), the Day of Fisherman (Vistino Village, Kingisepp District), the day of Culture Workers. A special place is occupied by the holidays dedicated to distinguished poets, artists and composers. In particular, since 1986 Pushkin festivities in Gatchina District; oblast festivities “Tsvet I Zvuk Derzhavy” (“Colour and Sound of N.K. Rerikh’s Empire”) and “Zazhigaite Serdtsa” (“Inflame the Hearts”) in Volosovo District have been held. Since 1987 have been people celebrating the holidays of national cultures: “Derevo Zhizny” (“Tree of Life”), the Veps’ festival, the Ingeri Finns’ holiday “Uhannus” , the Izhoras’ festivity, the Tatars’ festivity “Sabantuy” (Shapki Settlement, Tosno District), the oblast holiday “Slavyanskoye Koltso” (“Slavic Ring”) (Volosovo Town). The development of festivity programs and arrangement is carried out with the help of the Leningrad Oblast Government Culture Committee, administrations of Municipal Institutions, the Leningrad Oblast Education and Methodology Centre of Culture and Art. Voitsekhovich, Lyudmila Nikolayevna
Suvorov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich, Count
Leningrad Oblast, the/Gatchina District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Lomonosov District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volkhov District/Novaya Ladoga Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Pikalevo Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Tosno District/Shapki Settlement
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volkhov District/Staraya Ladoga Village
Leningrad Oblast, the/Kingisepp District/Vistino Village
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volosovo District
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volosovo District/Volosovo Town
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"Altar of the Fatherland", holiday
""Amusement of Koporye Village", a holiday
"Colour and Sound of the Roerich Power", an oblast festival-competition
"Day of the Leningard Oblast", holiday of the oblast (region)
Izhora festival
Learning - Methodical Centre of Culture and Art of the Leningrad Oblast
"Light Your Hearts", holiday
Pushkin festivals
"Sabantuy", holiday
"Slavonic Ring', a oblast holiday
"The Tree of Life", a vepses festival
"The wreath of the glory of St. Alexander Nevsky", a festival
Uhannus, a festival