Over 2,000 foreign students are studying at South Ural State University. New Year in Russia is a new and unusual experience for them. We asked our foreign students to tell us how people celebrate New Year in their native countries. A student from the SUSU Institute of Linguistics and International Communication Flores Betancourt Gilbert Armando shares how they celebrate Christmas in Venezuela.
“Christmas is a major holiday in Venezuela. It is celebrated December 25 through January 6. It’s a family holiday. The whole family gathers around the table, people exchange presents, have fun, dance and listen to music. At the traditional Latin American festive dinner we serve hallaca, meat wrapped in banana leaf, and salad which is very much like the Russian winter salad. We also decorate Christmas trees and our houses. The main symbol of our Christmas is of course Jesus. And on New Year there are Christmas cribs everywhere, depicting a cave where baby Jesus was born, they are set up in every house,” says Flores.
