Kids at a Soviet Christmas Party, 1969
Somehow, this image is both creepy and cool at the same time. Without context, you might assume that this was taken during Halloween. But it’s actually a Soviet-era Christmas party. The masks are a part of “Svyatki”, which is the period from Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve (Jan.7) to the Epiphany (Jan.19). The masks are a part of a long held Russian tradition called “kalyada” where children would wear animal masks on Christmas Eve. Much like Trick-or-treat, kids would go door to door singing Christmas carols, or reading poetry. People would give out food in exchange for the entertainment they provided. The bear and goat characters are the most popular. In the choir group, there are important roles like the person who holds an 8-pointed star, a bag of treats, and the rest of the group wears various animal characters.