International students told about New Year traditions in their countries

Pre-New Year event for international students was held at Petrozavodsk State University.
The event was organized by PetrSU Exchange Programs Division for international students who study at PetrSU institutes and the Linguistic Centre. The students came from Belgium, the Czech Republic, England, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Tajikistan. Some of them are going to spend New Year holidays in Russia for the first time.
The evening began with the students’ presentations about New Year and Christmas in their countries. The students told how New Year and Christmas are usually celebrated in their motherland what presents people give to each other and what wishes they make. The volunteers of the Linguistic Centre told the international students about New Year customs and traditions in Russia. Afterwards everybody tried to make cookies with wishes and snowflakes out of paper.
One of the students Marie Lukešová (the Czech Republic) can hardly wait for New Year. She is going to celebrate it in one of the snowiest places in Russia with her boyfriend.
Marie told: “Before I began to study Russian, I liked it very much. I was interested in the Russian alphabet. I was wondering what those marks meant. Also I like Russian literature. I would like to read Dostoevsky in the original. That’s why when I entered the university in the Czech Republic I set a goal to speak Russian as a native speaker. To accomplish this goal I read articles and watch videos in Russian as well as speak a lot with my boyfriend. He lives in the Republic of Komi. We’re going to celebrate this New Year together.”