St Petersburg russia

The grand boulevards and bridges of St. Petersburg are at their most beautiful covered with a layer of snow and illuminated by holiday lights. The lavish Hermitage Museum is particularly striking on December 31, when its surrounded by crowds waiting for the fireworks show over the partially frozen Neva River. As the clock ticks down, they drink champagne and send hundreds of paper lanterns up into the night sky. Russians celebrate both Catholic Christmas on December 25 and Orthodox Christmas on January 7, so visiting now means coming smack in the middle of the holiday season, when the citys main drag, Nevsky Prospect, is decorated in Christmas lights and images of Father Frost (the Russian version of Santa) are everywhere. And Russians turn out yet again on January 13 to celebrate Old New Year, a remnant of the Julian calendar used prior to the Revolution.