The 7th of November is a holiday…

The 85th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution was celebrated on the 7th of November in Belarus. At the USSR times it was one of the greatest holidays, which was always celebrated with great swing. The history of the holiday starts in the 1917. That year Russian Orthodox Monarchy failed after the Zimnij Palace Storm in Saint Petersburg. So the Bolsheviks came to power with Vladimir Lenin as their leader. The signal to start the storm was given from the military cruise ship "Aurora". It is the 7th of November, which is considered to be the zero point of the USSR foundation. There were demonstrations at the main squares of every Soviet city, almost every citizen took part at the demonstration. Posters and slogans were prepared specially for the holiday. Slogans were mainly politically colored like "People and the Party are together" or Lenin was alive, Lenin is alive, Lenin will live, including slogans about the peaceful USSR politics like "The USSR is the basis of the World". The parade in Moscow was shown on TV. At the platforms of the Mausoleum the leaders of the government greeted the participants of the demonstration. The indispensable symbols of the holiday were red flags, red ribbons in tabs and carnations. Children carried balloons and flags with the symbols of the military cruise ship "Aurora" and the following words on them: "The 1917th year is the year of the Great October Socialist Revolution".

The present-day demonstration is very different from those holidays, which were in the USSR times. In the 1996th the holiday was re-named into the Day of Carnation and Acquiescence. Since that day this holiday has no political coloration any longer. People see with each other according the tradition, which has been formed for years, and just to communicate with each other.

This year the participants of the demonstration carried the same red flags, but they symbolized not the idea of the victory of communism in the whole World any longer. The red flags symbolized the memory of those 1917's year events. Though lots of elderly people still believe in the idea of communism all over the World. But this idea is not popular among most of the population. There were lots of people at the demonstration for whom it was just one extra holiday, no more.

There was only one person, who was carrying a politically colored slogan. And some young people, who was carrying the portrait of the Cuba's revolutionary leader and national hero Che Gevara. But it was more like the way of self-expression than the expression of political preferences. The celebration went in a calm way and took for about 2 hours. After the official part of the holiday, the participants went to cafes at the open air to have three shorts of vodka according to the old Russian tradition.

The 7th of November is still the everybody's holiday.

The red flags are necessary elements of the holiday.

Belorussian Railway Engine.

The words at the broad sheet: the 7th of November is the Great October Socialist Revolution Day.

The orchestra leads the parade.

The local government leaders greet the participants of the demonstration.

The portrait of the Cuba's revolutionary leader Che Gevara.

The participants of the demonstration a-la "Soviet Style".
The words at the broad sheet: let's go to the barricades! No mercy to bourgeois people! March, march ahead, working class people.

The performance of the veterans chorus at the open-air stage.

Young people have fun in their own way.

P.S. Please, don't be embarrassed with the fact that we celebrate the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution in November. This happens because since the 1924th we have the new Julian Calendar, so instead of celebrating the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution on the 21st of October, we celebrate it on the 7th of November.