Here’s an Old Russian tale for you.

Once upon a time, the Tsar sent his son Ivan somewhere (it doesn’t really matter). So Ivan is walking through the forest, gets out onto a little glade, and sees an ancient run-down hut. He walks in and sees a witch – Baba Yaga – a very nasty lady. The lady loves frying young cute lads in her oven, “Where are you going and what for?” asks Baba Yaga. Ivan says, “First bathe me, keep me and feed me, let me sleep a little, and then ask!” What could the witch do – only treat Ivan as a king! After she made up the bed for him, Ivan told her his story. And the witch didn’t eat him as she was supposed to; instead, she told him about the place he was looking for and even gave him a magic ball that showed him the way. That’s the way it is – even a witch couldn’t break the rules of Russian hospitality.

These rules are very strict. You have to let the guest into your house, keep him and feed him as if it is the greatest pleasure for you. And don’t be stingy! Even if you’re out of something, borrow from your neighbors to please the guest! Don’t eat your until you’re full, but make sure that the guest is satisfied!

The Russian soul is very mysterious, and I’m going to unveil this mystery for you. Almost everything in Russia depends on the climate. The Russian winter is really cold. That’s why no one would slam the door in the face of a lost person or a wanderer. There have always been lots of such people in Russia: pilgrims straddling towards the holy places and simple people rushing somewhere on business. If they didn’t manage to reach the tavern by night, they could easily freeze to death somewhere in the steppe. That’s why they had no problem knocking on the door of any house and asking to let them in. Sure, not everybody was able to welcome the unexpected guest by making up a real feast in his honor, but the visitor was always invited to sit at the family table and given a warm bed to sleep in. That’s the way everybody did it - leaving a person to die outside is definitely not a right thing to do. Besides, there was no radio, TV, or Internet at that time, so inviting a guest to come in always meant learning all the freshest news from him.

That’s the way the Russians met unexpected visitors, but a long-awaited guest got a much better treatment. The hosts would always get ready for his arrival: they aired the feather beds, scraped the wooden table clean, fried/boiled/stewed the food. The kids would run far away from the house or even climb the trees to see the guests first and shout to mom and dad, “They’re coming!!!”

That’s when the fuss begins. The hosts put on their best clothes; and the most beautiful girl in the family was given a karavai (a big round loaf of bread) with a salt-cellar on it. People used to wait for the guests in a line – and when they finally came they were met by the girl with the karavai. She bowed and welcomed the guests. The visitor was supposed to take a little piece of bread, dip it into salt and eat it, thus showing that he thanks the hosts and is ready to proceed to the table. Sometimes the karavai was accompanied by a pony of vodka and a pickle. After this simple ceremony, everybody entered the house and sat at the table that was already crammed with food. Get ready; you will get to eat a lot of really tasty things! And the hosts will never forget to pour you another shot. There’s no way to say no! Give in and start enjoying the meal if you don’t want to offend the hosts. By the way, epicures say that Russian cuisine is at least as good as the French (if not better). A Russian feast is divided into stages (the Europeans have borrowed this tradition from Russia – simply because it’s much more convenient than serving all the dishes at the same time). There will be at least three such stages – not counting the desserts!

The rest depends on the hosts’ imagination - they will entertain you. It will be either a simple talk or a couple of drinking songs – you even may get invited to go hunting in the morning! The guest is not allowed to go to sleep until late at night. And the morning will begin with a rich breakfast – just like the day before. All members of the family go out to say goodbye to the happy guest. The hostess will whisk away a tear and invite you to come again. And the guest will definitely answer, “Feel free to come to my place, too. I will give you such a wonderful treatment, too!”.