When the Christmas tree appeared. The history of the Christmas (New Year) tree from the 16th century to the present day. The Ancient Origins of Christmas Traditions

1700

Tsar Christmas tree

We borrowed the custom of putting up a Christmas tree for the New Year from Western Europe. This fact is considered a textbook truth. But with the author of the tradition, everything is not so simple.

There is a historical stereotype: Peter I, introducing a new calendar, due to which January 1 was not 7208, but 1700, at the same time decided to adequately celebrate the reform.

The most quoted historical document on New Year’s Eve is Peter’s decree: “On large and well-traveled streets, for noble people and at houses of special spiritual and worldly rank, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper in front of the gates, and for poor people, at least a tree or branch for each put a gate or over your temple."

That’s all true, but as we understand it, the merry king did not order the organization of New Year trees. And his “some tree decorations” did not fully correspond to the German Christmas tradition. In addition, the people are accustomed to celebrating the evening of Basil of Caesarea on the night of December 31 to January 1. Other names: “generous” (they walked like on Maslenitsa, even the term appeared: “Caesarean” pig, which was roasted whole), Vasiliev’s evening.

It can be assumed that full-fledged Christmas trees, decorated with sweets and toys, still stood in our capital at that time. But most likely - only in the houses of foreigners living in Moscow, primarily Lutheran Germans, who retained their customs in a foreign land.

Since 1704, Peter I moved New Year's celebrations to St. Petersburg. There they walked like a king, and attendance at the New Year's masquerade balls of nobles was mandatory.

After the death of Peter, the custom began to die. There were no special persecutions against Christmas trees. The problem was that Peter’s idea did not take root very well among the people. During the period of Peter the Great's reign it was purely urban fun. They completely forgot to explain to the village why they need to hang apples and gingerbread on the Christmas trees.

Moreover, not the whole country immediately switched to the Peter the Great calendar. Since ancient times, the people of Rus' have celebrated the onset of the New Year on March 1st. And this continued until the end of the 15th century. In 1492, the Russian Orthodox Church decided to move the New Year to September 1.

To put it mildly, we had time to get used to it. And foundations are always difficult to break.

For example, in the Arkhangelsk province the New Year is still celebrated three times. The first two (new and old styles) are with the whole country, and on September 14 the Pomeranian New Year is also celebrated.

In addition, in Rus', spruce branches were often used to cover the path along which the deceased was carried to the graveyard. Therefore, the peasants somehow did not associate the Christmas tree with fun and celebration.

Finally, the Orthodox Church had little desire to promote Lutheran customs to the masses. Perhaps, only those who would now be called restaurateurs most steadfastly kept Peter’s covenants. The roofs of many taverns in Rus' were decorated with Christmas trees. By the way, after the New Year holidays the food was not removed from them at all. The very expression “going under the tree” in those days meant going to a drinking establishment.

1819

Second coming

The second “campaign” of the New Year tree against Russia was again undertaken from Germany. But this time - more successful. In 1817, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich married the Prussian princess Charlotte, who was baptized in Orthodoxy under the name Alexandra. The princess convinced the court to accept the custom of decorating the New Year's table with bouquets of fir branches.

In 1819, Nikolai Pavlovich, at the insistence of his wife, first erected a large-sized New Year tree in the Anichkov Palace. In 1825, a public Christmas tree was installed for the first time in St. Petersburg.

In those days there were no toys yet; the Christmas tree was decorated with fruits and sweets.

“Under the Christmas tree,” which was installed in the capital on December 24, on Christmas Eve, the royal banquet was also held. The archives preserved the menu: soups, pies, beef with seasoning, roast with salad, pickles (the emperor simply adored them), Swedish jellied meat, Welsh rabbit, Norwegian cod, Abbey-style lamprey, ice cream.

The Christmas tree still did not take root in the villages. But the new fashion simply took over the cities, the Christmas tree rush began: expensive Christmas tree decorations were ordered from Europe, and children's New Year's parties were held in rich houses. “Yolka” was no longer called taverns, but a Christmas holiday for children with the distribution of gifts.

Under Alexander III, a new tradition was started: members of the imperial family performed at New Year's "corporate parties." As a rule, the emperor and the grand dukes went to the arena of the cuirassier regiment for the Christmas tree for the lower ranks of His Majesty's own convoy, the combined guards battalion and the palace police. A fantastic detail: the next day the Christmas tree was repeated for the ranks who were on guard the day before. Agree, some kind of simply unrealistic concern for his subjects.

1915

Elka is an enemy of the state

This continued until the First World War, which Russia entered in 1914. An active anti-German campaign began in the country. In the spring of 1915, Nicholas II approved the “Special Committee to unite measures to combat German dominance”; closer to winter, the liquidation of German colonies in the Volga region, southern Ukraine and the Caucasus began, as well as the forced resettlement of colonists to Siberia.

On the eve of 1915, German prisoners of war in the Saratov hospital held a holiday with a traditional Christmas tree. The press called this a “blatant fact”; the journalists were supported by the Holy Synod and Emperor Nicholas II. The tsar called the tradition “enemy” and categorically forbade it to be followed.

Actually, there was something paranoid about this ban. Okay, if only the enemy soldiers were having fun under the tree. But so are ours!

Here are entries from the diary of Nicholas II: “I went to the military hospital for a Christmas tree for the sick,” “in Alix’s new room there was our own Christmas tree with a lot of wonderful mutual gifts...”.

Or here is the daily routine of Nicholas II on December 31, 1913. At 15 o'clock the tsar went to the military hospital and to the infirmary of the Hussar Regiment for the Christmas tree... At 23 o'clock 30 min. We went to the regimental church for a New Year's prayer service.

Well, what does “enemy tradition” have to do with it?! In principle, in this situation, the tsar was obliged to declare himself an enemy of the Russian people.

1919

Father Frost

without "browning"

After the revolution the ban was lifted. The German proletariat, even under church influence alien to the revolution, by definition could not be considered an enemy of Soviet power. And most importantly, Lenin loved the Christmas tree.

However, there were attempts at tradition in those days too. Even during the life of the leader, many of his comrades, prominent party members, tried to declare the Christmas tree a “bourgeois prejudice.” But they could not do anything with this religious relic. How to prohibit “prejudice” if the leader himself personally arranged a Christmas tree for the children in Sokolniki?

At the same time, he sometimes showed miracles of heroism. On January 6, 1919, when he was driving from the Kremlin to Sokolniki for the first New Year's children's party, the car was stopped by the raiders of the famous Moscow bandit Yakov Koshelkov. They literally threw Ilyich out of the car, put a revolver to his head, rummaged through his pockets, took away his money, documents, and Browning (Lenin’s armed guards and his personal driver did not resist so as not to endanger the life of the leader). Koshelkov did not recognize Lenin, which he later very much regretted: he told his accomplices that if he had taken Lenin hostage, he could have demanded the release of the entire Butyrka in exchange for him. Well, the money is a substantial ransom.

However, he did not regret it for very long; the security officers found and killed all the raiders within a few months. By the way, the Browning was returned to Ilyich. But that's not the point, of course. Lenin, having survived the stress, immediately took a new car and arrived at the children’s Christmas tree. He made jokes, led round dances, treated them to sweets, and gave everyone a gift - a trumpet and a drum. Well, the real Santa Claus.

Even on New Year's Eve 1924, when Ilyich was mortally ill and had three weeks to live, N.K. Krupskaya arranged a traditional Christmas tree. But after the death of the leader, the tree was dealt with. Our great-grandfathers heard the following verses:

Only the one who is a friend of the priests

Ready to celebrate the Christmas tree.

You and I are enemies to the priests,

We don't need Christmas!

Since 1926, decorating a Christmas tree was already considered a crime: the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks called the custom of erecting the so-called Christmas tree anti-Soviet. In 1927, at the XV Party Congress, Stalin announced the weakening of anti-religious work among the population. An anti-religious campaign began. The 1929 party conference abolished the “Christian” Sunday: the country switched to a “six-day week”, and the celebration of Christmas was prohibited.

It is strange that it did not occur to anyone that such formulations actually declared Lenin a malicious anti-Soviet, an obscurantist and simply a criminal.

1935

Hands got used to axes

Why, just eight years later, the authorities suddenly radically changed their attitude towards the Christmas tree is a mystery. It is believed that the rehabilitation of the Christmas tree began with a small note in the Pravda newspaper, published on December 28, 1935. We were talking about the initiative to organize a nice Christmas tree for children for the New Year. The note was signed by the Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Postyshev.

Unexpectedly for everyone, Stalin agreed.

And although there were no uncoordinated initiatives in Pravda, officials were in no hurry to organize Christmas trees. Even when they were allowed, many celebrated the New Year of 1936 without the forest beauty. Just in case, someone took the proposal as a provocation. The rest wisely decided that before chopping wood - in the sense of cutting down Christmas trees - it would be wiser to first monitor the fate of both the initiator of the Christmas tree rehabilitation and the initiative itself.

Fates turned out differently. At the Christmas tree it’s good, at Postyshev’s it’s not so good. At the end of the 30s, he was transferred from Ukraine to the post of 1st Secretary of the Kuibyshev Regional Party Committee. Arriving in the region, he organized an unprecedented campaign of arrests. Personally “exposed” a large number of enemies of the party and the people, sending thousands of people to camps or to be shot. Then he himself was arrested. On February 26, 1939, the military collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced him to death and was executed on the same day. In 1955 he was rehabilitated.

Some historians call Postyshev “the man who returned the Christmas tree to the people.” The thesis is not indisputable.

Nikita Khrushchev will clarify in his memoirs that Postyshev, before writing a note in Pravda, approached Stalin personally with the idea. He reacted somewhat uncharacteristically, and therefore mysteriously. Khrushchev writes that the leader, almost without hesitation, answered Postyshev: “Take the initiative, and we will support.”

Which makes me think. Firstly, Postyshev was, to put it mildly, not a very significant figure in the party hierarchy. Secondly, Stalin never made significant ideological decisions at once. The decision was most likely carefully thought out and prepared. And hardly anyone else except the leader himself.

1937

Star and champagne

Postyshev was still alive when New Year trees began to be lit across the country. The first - in 1937 in Moscow, in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. Instead of the golden star of Bethlehem, a new one appeared - red. The image of Father Frost in a long fur coat, a high round hat and with a staff in his hand was performed by the well-known entertainer Mikhail Garkavi in ​​those years. By the way, the tradition of celebrating the holiday with champagne is also associated with his name. The debut of “Soviet champagne” took place on January 1, 1937, when in the Kremlin, at a festive reception for the Stakhanovites, Garkavi drank a glass of sparkling wine for the first time while the chimes were striking. Let us note that we have only just begun to produce champagne. In 1937, the first 300 thousand bottles were bottled. Not everyone got it for the New Year.

At first, Christmas trees were decorated in the old fashioned way with sweets and fruits. Then toys began to reflect the era. Pioneers with bugles, faces of Politburo members. During the war - pistols, paratroopers, paramedic dogs, Santa Claus with a machine gun. They were replaced by toy cars, airships with the inscription "USSR", snowflakes with a hammer and sickle. Under Khrushchev, toy tractors, ears of corn, and hockey players appeared. Then - cosmonauts, satellites, characters from Russian fairy tales.

The Snow Maiden appeared in the early 1950s. The image of the granddaughter of Santa Claus was invented by Stalin Prize laureates Lev Kassil and Sergei Mikhalkov. From this moment on, the domestic New Year tradition can be considered complete. No fundamental changes in New Year celebrations have been noticed since then. Well, except that instead of a star, various politically neutral peak-shaped tops are increasingly being used. Mostly of Chinese design and manufacture.

In Europe, the tradition of celebrating the New Year with a green beauty began in Germany with an ancient German legend about trees blooming magnificently during the winter cold. Soon, decorating Christmas trees became fashionable and spread to many countries of the Old World. In order to avoid massive deforestation, artificial spruce trees began to be produced in Germany in the 19th century.

The New Year tradition came to Russia on the eve of 1700, during the reign of Peter I, who gave the order to switch to a new calendar (from the Nativity of Christ) from January 1, 1700 and to celebrate the New Year on January 1, and not September 1 . The decree stated: “...On large and well-traveled streets, for noble people and at houses of special spiritual and worldly rank in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper... and for poor people, each at least a tree or branch for the gate or over the temple [house ] put yours..."

After the death of the king, the instructions were preserved only regarding the decoration of drinking establishments, which continued to be decorated with Christmas trees before the New Year. Taverns were identified by these trees. The trees stood near the establishments until the next year, on the eve of which the old trees were replaced with new ones.

The first public Christmas tree was installed in the building of the Ekaterininsky Station (now Moskovsky) in St. Petersburg only in 1852.

At different times, Christmas trees were decorated in different ways: first with fruits, fresh and artificial flowers to create the effect of a flowering tree. Later, the decorations became fabulous: gilded cones, boxes with surprises, sweets, nuts and burning Christmas candles. Soon, handmade toys were added: children and adults made them from wax, cardboard, cotton wool and foil. And at the end of the 19th century, electric garlands replaced wax candles.

During the First World War, Emperor Nicholas II declared the Christmas tree tradition “enemy.” After the October Revolution, the ban was lifted, but in 1926 the government of workers and peasants again eliminated the “Christmas tree” tradition, considering it bourgeois.

Only in 1938, a huge 15-meter Christmas tree with ten thousand decorations and toys appeared in Moscow, in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. They began to install it annually and hold children’s New Year’s parties there, called “New Year’s trees.” Since 1976, the main New Year's tree in the country has been the tree installed in the State Kremlin Palace.

By the 1960s, the Christmas tree had become a familiar and beloved sight for every family. And its decoration - glass balls, toys and paper garlands - is one of the main family ceremonies.

The Christmas tree holiday was originally intended for children and should forever remain in the memory of the child as a day of mercy and kindness. The holiday tree was always prepared by adults in secret from children. To this day, the New Year's mystery and the amazing gifts that appear under the tree remain the main magic of childhood.

The history of the New Year (Christmas) tree for primary schoolchildren.

Khamidulina Almira Idrisovna, primary school teacher at the MBOU progymnasium "Christina" in Tomsk.
Purpose: This material will be of interest to teachers, educators, as well as parents in preparation for the New Year (Christmas) holidays.
Target: acquaintance with the history of the celebration of the New Year, Christmas, and the history of the New Year (Christmas) tree.
Tasks: develop interest in the history of the New Year and Christmas holidays, cultivate respect for folk traditions.

Today it is impossible to imagine the New Year holidays without a beautiful Christmas tree in the house. Lush, elegant fir trees decorate not only apartments, but also shops, shopping centers, offices, hospitals, squares, and in almost all countries. Near the luxurious tree, performances and performances are organized for children, making the holiday even more desirable and fabulous. It is believed that the tradition of decorating trees originally appeared among the Celts, who worshiped them. Treating the tree as a symbol of life is a tradition older than Christianity, and not belonging to any particular religion. Long before people began to celebrate Christmas, the Romans decorated their houses with green leaves in honor of the god of agriculture. And the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt in December, on the shortest day of the year, brought green palm branches to their homes as a symbol of the victory of life over death. During the winter festival On the solstice, the Druid priests hung golden apples on oak branches. In the Middle Ages, an evergreen tree with red filling apples was a symbol of the holiday of Adam and Eve, which was celebrated on December 24th.
Before Christmas
Valentin Berestov
"And why are you, my stupid baby,
Nose pressed to the glass,
You sit in the dark and look
Into the empty frosty darkness?
Come with me there,
Where a star shines in the room,
Where with bright candles,
Balloons, gifts
The Christmas tree in the corner is decorated!" -
“No, soon a star will light up in the sky.
She will bring you here tonight
as soon as Christ is born
(Yes, yes, right to these places!
Yes, yes, right in this frost!),
Eastern kings, wise magicians,
To glorify the child Christ.
And I already saw shepherds through the window!
I know where the barn is! I know where the ox is!
And a donkey walked down our street!”
The Christmas tree was first used in Germany at the beginning of the 8th century. This was facilitated by Saint Boniface, who, while reading a sermon on the Nativity of Christ, decided to prove that the oak is not a sacred tree. To do this, he cut down a tree, which, having fallen, broke nearby trees and did not affect only the young spruce. The monk glorified the spruce as the tree of Christ, and later it became the main attribute of the holiday. Until now, the green beauty is a decoration of the New Year and Christmas holidays. Initially, many decorated trees symbolized the Garden of Eden, then they became a symbol of hope and revival, and over time they turned into a beautiful and popular tradition, which is now impossible to do without. By the way, in addition to Christmas trees, fir and pine trees, other evergreen trees are also used for decoration and shrubs, for example, holly and mistletoe. Their branches decorate the house.
In 1561, during the Christmas holidays in Germany, young spruce trees were planted and, according to German sources, people were allowed to place one tree in their home. A little later, it began to be used as the main decoration in houses at Christmas, while it was decorated with various homemade paper toys and apples, sweets that symbolized the fruit of paradise. In Protestant countries, spruce also became the main attribute of the Christmas holidays.
Historical sources say that Martin Luther himself, on his way home, noticed the shine of stars against the background of fir trees, and this brought him into extraordinary delight. Arriving home, he decided to show his vision to his loved ones. Having put up the tree, he placed candles on it and set them on fire, after which Christmas trees in every house began to be decorated with candles. The Christmas tree was brought to England by the German Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Also, with German immigrants, the spruce appeared in America. Decorating street Christmas trees with electric garlands first appeared in Finland at the end of 1906.
In our country, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree appeared thanks to Peter I. It was he who first ordered to decorate houses with Christmas trees or at least fir branches, adopting a beautiful tradition in Western countries. Many more years passed before decorating the Christmas tree turned from an obligation into a desired holiday tradition, because initially this rite belonged to Catholics, and in Russia the main religion is Orthodoxy.
A live Christmas tree looks so beautiful at Christmas that people gradually began to like this tradition. Today, the Christmas tree is an integral symbol of all New Year holidays.
What do Christmas tree decorations mean? Remember the Star of Bethlehem? It is symbolized by the star that traditionally adorned the top of the spruce tree; it was through it that people learned about the birth of Jesus Christ.

In Soviet times, in our country, the star gradually turned into a small copy of the Kremlin stars, but today its shape has simply ceased to be so strict. “Fairy lights” are modern New Year’s garlands. They appeared for a reason, because they have long symbolized the spirits of relatives who have passed on to another world and simply kind otherworldly creatures who, with their presence, protect the house and bring joy to it. Before the advent of electric New Year's garlands, candles were very popular.
Previously, the Christmas tree was decorated with a variety of delicacies: dried fruits, candies, marzipans, candied nuts, to the delight of children and as a symbol of prosperity and abundance. Well, then they were gradually replaced by figurines of angels, glass balls and other toys. Nowadays there is a very wide variety of Christmas tree decorations.

Thus, the New Year (Christmas) tree used to symbolize many things, but today the meaning of many symbols has been lost, and it has remained just a beautiful tradition, an indispensable home decoration, bringing the smell of holiday and joy into our homes!
God's tree
G. Heine
Brightly with star rays
The blue sky shines.
- Why, tell me, mom,
Brighter than the stars in the sky
On the holy night of Christmas?
Like a Christmas tree in a mountain world
This midnight is lit
And diamond lights,
And the shine of radiant stars
Is she all decorated?
- Truth, my son, in God's heaven
On this holy night
A Christmas tree is lit for the world
And full of wonderful gifts
For the family, she is human.
Look how bright the stars are
They shine for the world there, in the distance:
The holy gifts shine in them -
For people - goodwill,
Peace and truth are for the earth.
Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to you!!!

The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came to Russia from Europe, more precisely, from the land of Alsace. There, at the beginning of the 17th century, this evergreen tree was installed almost everywhere for Christmas. The spruce symbolized the Edenic tree of life, to which Adam and Eve lost access after being expelled from Paradise. But with the Birth of Christ, people again had a chance to join eternity.

In the 17th century, the custom developed of attaching the Christmas tree upside down to the ceiling - as a symbol of the ladder from heaven lowered to earth at Christmas. The Christmas tree was hung with apples, gingerbread and other sweets - in memory of the sweetness of heavenly life.

In Germany there is a legend associated with the founder of Protestantism, Martin Luther. Allegedly, he was walking through the forest on Christmas night and saw a star in the sky that suddenly descended onto the top of a spruce tree. In Protestant homes, the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree has been preserved, even though Protestants do not recognize “excesses” that are not mentioned in the Bible.

When Peter I traveled around Europe at the end of the 17th century, he really liked the way the tree was decorated for Christmas. So much so that the tsar issued a decree: by January 1, 1700, to mark the advent of the new century, everyone should decorate their Christmas trees. However, the custom did not immediately take root in Russia, and until the middle of the 19th century, Christmas trees in Russia were mainly in German homes.

However, from the middle of the 19th century, after the first public Christmas tree in St. Petersburg in 1852, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree became extremely widespread. So much so that Tchaikovsky writes the world's most famous Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker, which literally takes place under the Christmas tree.

In the twentieth century, there were “persecutions” against the Christmas tree. The first time was in 1916, during the First World War, as an alien from Germany. The second time - in 1918, formally as a bourgeois relic. Although in fact it was clear: the Christmas tree is too obvious a Christian symbol. And for some time he practically disappeared from the lives of Soviet people.

In 1935, during the famine and depression, Soviet propaganda workers decided to return the “winter holiday” and the Christmas tree to the people to raise the “national spirit.” Of course, this is no longer a Christmas tree, but just a New Year tree. Today, in many families, the Christmas tree has again become a Christmas symbol. And on it, instead of a five-pointed red star, the Star of Bethlehem burns again, as before.

Drawings by Diana Lapshina

Many homes now have a beautiful Christmas tree decorated for the New Year. I have always wondered where this beautiful custom came from and why the Christmas tree was given such an honor. Let's delve into the story and answer all the questions. Since the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree was originally associated with Christmas, and not with the New Year, that’s why I’m writing a post about the holiday tree only now.

In addition to the post, I will show you a couple of Christmas tree decorations from the 1960s. They are still used for their intended purpose by residents of one of the villages in the Moscow region, where I specially went to admire the paraphernalia that has celebrated more than a dozen new years.

In the world holiday tradition, a tree often appears - as one of the most ancient symbols of life. Green palm branches were considered a symbol of the victory of life over death in Ancient Egypt. Oak branches with golden apples were used by the Druids during the winter solstice festival. The evergreen tree, with its life-affirming appearance, most closely matches the ideology of the victory of life over death.

In general, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree is very ancient, over 2000 years old. Previously, people believed that all trees were endowed with good powers, that good spirits lived in them. People tried to appease these spirits by hanging treats and gifts on trees. The evergreen spruce occupied a special place among all trees: it was the sacred center, the “world tree,” symbolizing life itself and a new rebirth from darkness and gloom. Previously, instead of toys, fruits of different trees were hung on trees, for example:
apples are a symbol of fertility,
nuts - the incomprehensibility of divine providence,
eggs are a symbol of developing life, harmony and complete well-being.

The Christmas tree in Europe has a direct predecessor. It was a wooden structure in the shape of a pyramid, hung with vegetation and decorations. Gifts or sweets were placed on the shelves of the pyramid. Before the advent of the Christmas tree, such a pyramid was considered the main Christmas decoration in Germany and northern Europe.
Now the tradition of the Christmas pyramids is not dead at all. Often pyramids in European cities can be found along with Christmas trees

The first written mention of the Christmas tree dates back to the 16th century. Thus, a German source dated 1561 states that at Christmas there can be no more than one Christmas tree in a house. In the 17th century, the Christmas tree was already a common attribute of Christmas in Germany and Scandinavian countries. German settlers brought the Christmas tree to America.

How was the Christmas tree decorated? In the 16th century in Germany, the tree was decorated with figures and flowers cut out of colored paper, apples, waffles, gilded items, and sugar. In general, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree is associated with the tree of paradise, hung with apples. The success of the Christmas tree in Protestant countries was even greater due to the legend that Martin Luther himself was the first to light candles on the Christmas tree.

He also became the hero of the most popular legend about decorating the Christmas tree: one Christmas Eve he was walking home through the forest. The evening was clear and starry. When he came home, he put up a Christmas tree for his family and attached many candles to its thick branches. The lights on it looked like stars in the sky.

The idea to use electric garlands instead of wax candles belongs to the English telephone operator Ralph Morris. By that time, strings of electric light bulbs were already being used in telephone switchboards; Morris only had the idea to hang them on the Christmas tree. And the first street Christmas trees with electric garlands appeared in Finland in 1906.

There is a legend about why we decorate Christmas trees with shiny tinsel.
Once upon a time there lived a kind, poor woman who had many children. The evening before Christmas she decorated the tree, but she had very few decorations. At night, spiders visited the tree and, crawling from branch to branch, left a web on its branches. As a reward for the woman's kindness, the Christ child blessed the tree, and the web turned into sparkling silver.

Since the first Christmas trees were decorated with fresh flowers and fruit, and later sweets, nuts and Christmas candles were added, such a load was certainly too heavy for the tree. So German glassblowers began producing hollow glass Christmas tree decorations to replace fruit and other heavy decorations.

Nowadays there are a huge number of New Year and Christmas toys in stores for every taste.
I would like to show you several decorations from the 60s - 70s of the last century, with which our parents celebrated the New Year and Christmas, found in one of the villages of the Istrinsky district of the Moscow region.

Gray paper Santa Claus

I've never had cutout balloons, but they remain one of my childhood memories. These toys decorated the Christmas tree in my kindergarten.

While icicle cones can still be found on sale, I haven’t seen beads anywhere

Merry Christmas!