Enjoy Russian Celebrations While Skiing in Les Menuires

With its varied pistes, great snowfall and glorious Alpine location, Les Menuires is very popular for those wanting to spend Christmas on the slopes. The high quality of the skiing in Les Menuires alo...

With its varied pistes, great snowfall and glorious Alpine location, Les Menuires is very popular for those wanting to spend Christmas on the slopes. The high quality of the skiing in Les Menuires along with the resort’s unique blend of festive traditions makes it a very special and memorable time of the year to visit.

Christmas Week

Starting on 19th December and finishing on Boxing Day, the resort hosts a range of fun festivities. As well as local celebrations in restaurants and bars, you’ll be able to meet Father Christmas when he arrives on the slopes. Adults can enjoy free mulled wine (a perfect complement to the cold weather) and snacks, and children will get delicious hot chocolate. You’ll also be treated to festive concerts and shows for the kids. In fact, Christmas is a pretty big event for anyone lucky enough to be on a holiday skiing in Les Menuires.

A Different Kind of Celebration

For something a little bit different, you may be interested to know that Les Menuires also celebrates Russian Orthodox Christmas, in early January. It's the perfect opportunity for anyone who prefers to celebrate in the Russian tradition, or just a chance to experience a different take on traditional Christmas celebrations.

Russian Orthodox Christmas

Russia’s Father Christmas character is Ded Moroz. Interestingly, while the character is, in most Christian traditions, loosely based on Saint Nicholas, in Russian tradition, Ded Moroz actually predates Christianity. Before his festive incarnation, he was either a winter wizard or a snow demon, and the name Ded Moroz translates as "Old Man Frost".

Despite being frowned upon by much of the Soviet State, Ded Moroz has made it through to the modern day. He appears throughout Russia (as well as to those skiing in Les Menuires) usually on the 31st of December. He looks fairly similar to the Father Christmas figure more familiar to western European tradition, albeit slightly more ornate, but what marks him as so different is his helper, Snegurochka.

Legend has it that Snegurochka is Ded Moroz’s granddaughter, and while she originated as a character in 19th century fairy tales, over the 20th century she became associated with the festive myth of Ded Moroz. While Ded Moroz has an obvious parallel to other traditions’ Father Christmas figures, Snegurochka has no such counterpart, and is unique to the Russian tradition. She dresses in all blue and travels with Ded Moroz, visiting children and helping distribute presents.

If you’re on a break skiing in Les Menuires in late December or early January, you just may see Ded Moroz and Snegurochka arriving at the village. The celebrations are not dissimilar from the late December ones, with mulled wine, festivities and even fireworks to mark the snow wizard’s arrival.

Whether you plan to be there for a more western European Christmas, or you’d like to try out Russian Christmas, the festivities in Les Menuires at this time of the year are a brilliant bonus to any skiing holiday.

Article Tags: Father Christmas, Russian Tradition