Late autumn, when the snow finally covers the frozen ground, the days are getting darker and shorter, the autumn chores end and the long winter sets in. It is believed that a Bear Day is the day when the bear it li settles off in liar. The holiday dates back to pre-Christian pagan times.

Our ancestors believed that the bear descended from humans, since it can walk on two legs. It has long been believed that this particular beast symbolizes fertility and health. Sometimes it appears (mainly according to fairy tales) as a kind of kind lubber, ingenuous and simple-minded, hence it is a strong and even dangerous animal, meeting with which in natural medium should be better avoided. Everyone who was engaged in bear hunting had a prohibition to pronounce the real name of the beast. It was replaced by various nicknames, pronouns, descriptions. The order was passed from father to son among the hunters: "Don't talk about it, don't mention its name, so that it doesn't hear and he won't touch you".

Unfortunately, there are only 7 species of bears left in the world, and all of them are protected at the governmental level. Brown and polar bears live in Russia.

For the day of the bear, we have prepared a thematic photo album with the images of items stored in the museum Collection sections "Lapidary Works of Art” and "Western European Metal Art works".

A review article "Winter bear hunting as a part of Russian national culture"  is posted on the website in the "Articles and Reviews" section.