In days of Yore, Christmas was a more fortunate time.

In pre-revolutionary St Petersburg, Yuletide lasted from January 7 to January 19 (December 25 to January 6 by the old Russian calendar).

Christmastide was very popular with the citizens of St Petersburg. There much feasting and drinking.

Various kinds of entertainment were available. The theater companies had prepared their best performances.

Christmas masquerades involving participants from all classes took place in many locations right up to the eve of the Epiphany.

Another popular pastime was to hire a cabman (or a sleigh cabman) and tour the city and/or the suburbs.

The sleighs were usually pulled by three horses -- in which case they were known as a "troika."

Cabs, sleighs and the horses' harnesses were decorated with colored bands as part of the festive atmosphere.

Finnish cabmen, who had already celebrated Christmas and the Epiphany together with other Europeans were in demand at Christmas time in St Petersburg.

Many of their Russian colleagues preferred to take their holidays. Besides, the cabs and sleighs of Finnish cabmen were more picturesque.

Another popular entertainment at Christmastide was fortunetelling. Despite the Russian Orthodox Church's disapproval, it was practised by many girls in St Petersburg as well as in small villages.

Even girls from noble families liked to dabble in fortunetelling.

In Christmas season, any day was considered propitious for fortune telling.

But the best day of all was thought to be Epiphany Eve. As a rule, fortunes were told using water or a mirror with two candles.

A girl looked at the water or the mirror and -- according to popular belief -- she was to see her future husband there.

This tradition was described in the famous ballad "Svetlana," by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky (1783-1852).

He lived in St Petersburg, at 82 Nevsky Prospect, and could witness girls fortunetelling in the city.

The poet was rather sceptical about fortunetelling.

The heroine of his ballad looks at the mirror and sees her fiance (who had left for another town a year before) dead and about to be buried.

Later, she gets up (after falling asleep in the process of fortunetelling) and meets her fiance who has just returned.

Soon they get married.