a Spoonful of Russian 031

The video that goes with this episode can be found on my YouTube
channel: Episode 031


Toasting is a huge thing in Russia. Has been for ages. A full
glass must be drunk to the bottom after every toast, because “a
toast without wine is like a wedding without a bride!” A
traditional Russian drinking party usually includes a sequence of
several standard toasts.


You can refresh them by watching my Most Common Russian Drinking
Toasts/Phrases video.





The most common first toast is...

To our meeting!
За встречу!
[za FSTRYE-tchoo] … sort of an ice-breaker toast:)



Another good opener toast is…


To our health!
Будем здоровы!
[BOO-dem zda-RO-vy]



The toasts that follow largely depend on the occasion that brought
the people together. At a birthday party, the first toast (with
wishes of health, success and a long life) is usually to the
birthday guy or lady. The second toast is to their parents as a
sign of honor.

At a wedding, the first toast is “To the health of the newlyweds.”
After that, the guests shout "Горько!"(Gorko!) often and loudly,
all through the banquet. “Gorko” literally means "bitter” in
Russian, implying the bitterness the wine being drunk. By yelling
that the wine is bitter, the guests are inviting the newlyweds to
make it sweeter by giving each other a sweet long kiss. As the
bride and groom kiss, the guests count the seconds: “Один! Два!
Три! Четыре! Пять! ... One, two, three, four, five..." until the
kiss is over, whereupon they raise their glasses in a toast.

At a funeral banquet, the first part of the toast is usually an
uplifting or touching story about the dearly departed; it is
concluded with the words Пусть земля ему/ей будет пухом! Вечная
память! (Let the ground in which he/she rests be like goose down.
Eternal memory to (him/her). When people in Russia drink to the
dead it is customary not to clink glasses.

Without a doubt towards the middle of the party someone usually
proposes a toast “За женщин”! “To beautiful ladies!” or “To the
ladies present here!" At this point someone else usually says that
real men stand up when they drink a toast to beautiful ladies, and
they drink to the bottom. All the gentlemen present promptly
comply.

The last toast, “На посошок!” / “Na pososhok", is usually
pronounced when the guests are about to leave. In olden days,
travelers used a walking stick, called posokh or, diminutively,
pososhok in Russian, during long journeys. A toast to the walking
stick, therefore, is meant to make sure that the return journey is
safe.

Learn some Russian today!