Festive Dialogue: New Year in Russia and China

Yesterday, the SPbU International Russian Language Conversational Club gathered students from different countries as part of the eleventh citywide festival "Chinese New Year – A Cheerful Spring Festival."

The meeting was led by our teachers – assistant of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language and its Teaching Methodology, Tatyana Dmitrievna Kapustina, and senior instructor of the same department, Yekaterina Olegovna Farran. They discussed with international students of SPbU and listeners of the Center of Additional Educational Programs in the Field of Russian as a Foreign Language the traditions of celebrating the New Year in Russia and China.

Participants shared what is customary to place on the table, how to decorate the house, and what is best to wear for the New Year. The most heated discussions arose around the topic of gifts: some recalled their best gifts, others shared their dreams, while some spoke of the annual agony of choice.

Our traditions have much in common and many differences, but the most important thing that united us yesterday was the genuine interest in another culture. We thank the participants and organizers of the meeting for an evening in pleasant company!