Moscow has transformed itself into an exuberant and glittering destination marking the beginning of its festival season event, ‘Journey to Christmas’. The city celebrates magical festive places, must-see dynamic destinations, decorations, lighting, traditional winter sports activities and meeting Father Frost and Snegurochka, or the Snow Maiden. The festival will continue until January 8, 2023.

This large-scale event has transformed the city with Christmas and New Year festivities. Twinkling lights illuminate the streets, while ice-skating rinks and slides pop up everywhere. There are also live musical performances and much more for the entire family to enjoy. All the venues are stacked up with delicious food and spilling over with holiday cheer. Activities take place not only in the city center but also in distant boroughs. The event marks the start of the festivities sparking that magic and holiday cheer among Muscovites and the city guests—both young and old.

People from around the world attend fairs every year in different parts of Moscow creating a festive atmosphere. The early mornings are wonderful, but the most magical moments come in the evenings when thousands of lights are lit all around and the aroma of tangerines and Christmas baking spread everywhere. They pour out hot tea, too, to make it warm for the guests and it is fun to walk around the Christmas markets. One can go on a gastronomic journey because national dishes from different parts of the country are on display and waiting for you to try them. Besides, you can buy handicrafts and local products as New Year gifts for your family and friends.

This time around, there are 32 festival sites. The Christmas programs take place in all districts of Moscow. As many as 4,200 master classes have been prepared for guests and 19 rinks opened, while a lot more is waiting for you to explore!

If your child wants to feel warm, you can enter the bright, glowing gingerbread houses. Here, you can participate in master classes, send a letter to Santa Claus and learn to make holiday toys, or even different kinds of sweets. Parents have the opportunity to eat and drink hot tea while their kids keep busy and enjoy the warmth and comfort.

For 2023, the major theme of the festival is traveling around Russia and getting to know the holiday traditions that are typical of different regions of this multi-ethnic country. To get a taste of what holidays look like in every region of Russia, many holiday markets scattered around the city welcome visitors to taste the national dishes and warm drinks and buy local products and handicrafts from all across the country. Don’t forget to charge your phone to the fullest and free up its space — you’re probably going to take a lot of pictures!

Christmas is a time for giving, and the festival guests can gift someone a New Year’s miracle by taking part in the ‘Kind Christmas Tree’ campaign. Anyone can support charitable foundations and non-profit organizations. To do this, one needs to pick a toy from the special Christmas tree, follow the QR code and fill out the application form.

With the country opening up to travel, this holiday season is set to be extra special and extra busy. The UN has named Moscow the best city in the world for its quality of life in its global cities ranking for 2022.

Its beauty is undeniable, but, in winter, the city looks even more awesome and Moscow is happy to invite everyone to share the festive joy.