A great many festivals are derived from Orthodox church tradition. Orthodox Christmas begins with midnight mass on 7 January. In odd-numbered years, the Moscow Film Festival hits the city's screens in Autumn. The Russian Winter Festival is pretty much a tourist affair, with troyka rides, folklore shows, games and vodka, and is celebrated between 25 December and 5 January. Sylvestr is the Russian new year celebration, and is the main gift-giving festival of the year, with presents placed under the traditional fir tree.
Muscovites see out the old year with vodka and welcome the new one with champagne.
The Kremlin is the place to which all Russian roads lead and from which most Russian power emanates. The Kremlin occupies a roughly triangular plot of land covering little Borovitsky Hill on the north bank of the Moscow River, probably first settled in the 11th century. Today it's enclosed by high walls. Red Square lies outside the east wall. The Kutafya Tower , which forms the main visitors' entrance, stands away from the Kremlin's west wall.