To all the ladies out there, have a happy International Women’s Day!

If you happen to be in Russia, there’s special cause to celebrate, as Women’s Day is recognised as a national holiday – and one of my favourite prazdniki!

It’s much more fun than Men’s Day (which goes under the sub-heading of Day of the Army or Defender of the Motherland Day) on February 23th, and the two holidays are basically the equivalent of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day mixed with Valentine’s Day. But in Russia you don’t need to have had any children to be a recipient on these days!

The favoured flower of Women’s Day is mimosa, which tugged at the homesick heartstrings of my Australian flatmate when she noticed it being stocked in abundance in the streets. She asked why mimosa was so popular for this holiday, and was told that it was one of the first flowers that they could get their hands on from warmer southern states during Soviet times.

I think this was the same reason that the tradition of giving citrus fruits at New Years arose too, as their general inaccessibility made them a luxury item, but I’m only going on hearsay on that one too! If anyone knows for certain, please let me know! On further reading, I’ve found out that Italy also has a tradition of presenting mimosa for Women’s Day, so I’m not really sure how it came about.

Nevertheless, enjoy the holiday! Here’s some blogland mimosa from me, hope all you gals out there have a special day!