You’ve been learning about Russian holidays and gift-giving in this chapter, and it is perhaps not surprising that Russian Internet teems with dozens of sites devotes to gift-giving. It is also not entirely surprising that many of these sites are barely distinguishable from each other – and from their North American counterparts. In search of a place that strives to be slightly more unique, let’s visit

http://www.odarim.ru/

1			Where are we? Our first task is to figure out what is so special about the company with the strange name «Дедушка Одарим» by exploring its (very busy) home page. There are a number of places on this page where you can find the description of what «Одарим» does. The simplest, two-word description appears in the top left-hand corner of the page; but there is also a slightly longer “definition” which contains two important qualifiers. Look for that description under the heading «Об Одариме» (careful: you don’t need to follow the link called «Об Одариме» from the series located just under the icons; just look under the main heading on the homepage) – or, alternatively, on the very bottom of the page, which also lists the business address. What is the full (four-word) description of this company’s profile and where is it located?
2			The second row of links at the top of the page contains the category «Календарь праздников». Let’s follow it and then select «Российские и международные праздники» from the next page. What do you think ‘международные праздники,’ as opposed to ‘российские праздники,’ might mean? Scan the long calendar/list which should be before you now and then focus on February and March. In this chapter you learned about one March holiday (March 8) and briefly encountered a February holiday (February 23). According to this list, is March 8 a ‘российский праздник’ or a ‘международный праздник’? What other February and March holidays listed here can you decipher? What is the Russian for Valentine’s Day? What about St. Patrick’s Day?
3			A number of holidays in this calendar are underlined. You’ll find brief descriptions of the origin of those holidays on the bottom of the page. Of the holidays that are underlined, which ones do you celebrate? What holidays have you heard about but do not celebrate? Which ones have you never heard about?
4			Now let’s look at some gift options. The frame on the left-hand side of the page is entitled “Выбери подарок!” ‘Выбери’ is a form of the verb ‘выбрать’ which you can find in your textbook’s glossary (you’ll encounter it again in the next chapter). Judging by the context, what kind of verb form do you think this is? How would you translate this phrase? You’ll see that various presents have been grouped into several categories listed under the general heading. Many of these are cognates. What category titles can you decipher?
5			Below the categories you’ll see a number of pull-down menus that allow you to narrow down your gift options. Let’s look at the menu entitled “Повод для подарка” (‘повод’ means ‘occasion’). What holidays do you recognize on that list? What occasions other than holidays can you identify?
6			Let’s compare the three related winter/spring holidays – March 8, February 23, and Valentine’s Day. Select each of these holidays from the “Повод для подарка” menu, then click on the “Найти!” (remember that word?) button on the bottom. Scan through the lists of presents that are generated for you; you can click on the individual thumbnail pictures to enlarge the images. Now, remember that this company is trying to present you with original gifts for these holidays. What kinds of gifts do they seem to recommend for all three of these holidays? What presents do they recommend for Valentine’s Day that they do not suggest for either March 8 or February 23?

А ЧТО ДАЛЬШЕ?

7			For more traditional online sources for holiday-related paraphenalia, check out http://www.podarki.com/ One of the most unusual gift stores in Moscow, «Мир новых русских», has an online version: http://www.newrussian.net/ If you really want to get serious about the rituals of gift-giving and receiving, you might want to explore the Академия Подарка site - http://www.acapod.ru/