The history of the origin of the New Year tree. The history of the Christmas (New Year) tree from the 16th century to the present day
Many thousands of years ago the year began in autumn or spring. For example, if we take Ancient Rus', then here the beginning of the year fell on the month of March, and this celebration was more like a tribute to spring, warmth, sun and a future good harvest.
The first written mention of spruce as a New Year's tree is found in the chronicle of the French province of Alsace for 1600. However, Germany is considered to be its homeland. There is a legend that the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve was started by the German reformer Martin Luther. It was he, returning home before celebrating Christmas in 1513, who was fascinated and delighted by the beauty of the stars that strewn the vault of heaven so thickly that it seemed as if the crowns of the trees were sparkling with stars. At home, he put a Christmas tree on the table and decorated it with candles, and placed a star on top in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the way to the cave where Jesus was born.
Why was spruce chosen as the New Year's tree? Let us remember that our ancestors treated trees as living beings. In Rus', such a particularly revered, cult tree was the birch. Since ancient times, the green, fragrant forest beauty spruce was considered the tree of peace by the ancient Germans. They believed that the good “spirit of the forests” lived in its branches - the defender of justice and all living things. It is no coincidence that before military battles, warriors gathered for advice at the spruce tree, hoping to receive its protection. And also because this tree personified immortality, fidelity, fearlessness, dignity, the secret of not fading, eternal youth. Over time, the custom arose to appease the good spirits that hibernate in the evergreen branches of the spruce tree by decorating its fluffy branches with gifts. This custom was born in Germany, and later the Dutch and English borrowed the rite of veneration of spruce. It is also known that in the 16th century in Central Europe on Christmas night it was customary to place a small beech tree in the middle of the table, decorated with small apples, plums, pears and hazelnuts boiled in honey.
In the second half of the 17th century, it was already common in German and Swiss houses to complement the decoration of the Christmas meal not only with deciduous trees, but also with coniferous trees. The main thing is that it is toy size. At first, small Christmas trees were hung from the ceiling along with candies and apples, and only later the custom of decorating one large Christmas tree in the guest room was established. The 18th century chose spruce as the queen of the New Year's holiday, first in Germany, and later in many European countries.
Peter the Great and the first Christmas tree
In Russia, the custom of the New Year tree dates back to the Petrine era. According to the royal decree of December 20, 1699, henceforth it was prescribed that the calendar should be calculated not from the Creation of the world, but from the Nativity of Christ, and the day of the “new year,” until that time, celebrated in Rus' on September 1, “following the example of all Christian peoples,” should be celebrated on January 1. This decree also provided recommendations for organizing the New Year's holiday. To commemorate it, on New Year’s Day, it was ordered to launch rockets, light fires and decorate the capital (then still Moscow) with pine needles: “Decorate Moscow houses with spruce and pine branches and cones, and everyone should celebrate this day with congratulations to all relatives and friends , dancing and shooting, launching rockets into the night sky.”
And the king himself, on the night of December 31 to January 1, went out onto Red Square, holding a torch in his hands, and after the chimes, he launched the first rocket into the starry skies. And this was the first fireworks in honor of the New Year holiday. As for the spruce, about 300 years ago it was believed that a Christmas tree decorated for the New Year transforms negative forces into positive ones. Today everyone has forgotten about such powers, but the wonderful and beloved tradition of decorating a coniferous tree before the holiday has remained to this day.
However, Peter’s decree had a very indirect relation to the future Christmas tree: firstly, the city was decorated not only with spruce trees, but also with other coniferous trees; secondly, the decree recommended the use of both whole trees and branches and, finally, thirdly, decorations from pine needles were ordered to be installed not indoors, but outside - on gates, roofs of taverns, streets and roads. Thus, the tree turned into a detail of the New Year's city landscape, and not of the Christmas interior, which it later became.
After Peter's death, his recommendations were completely forgotten. The royal instructions were preserved only in the decoration of drinking establishments, which continued to be decorated with Christmas trees before the New Year. Taverns were identified by these trees (tied to a stake, installed on the roofs, or stuck at the gates). The trees stood there until the next year, on the eve of which the old trees were replaced with new ones. Having arisen as a result of Peter's decree, this custom was maintained throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Christmas Tree in the first half of the 19th century
In Russia, the Christmas tree appeared at the beginning of the 19th century in the houses of St. Petersburg Germans. In 1818, on the initiative of Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, a Christmas tree was organized in Moscow, and the next year in the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg. At Christmas 1828, Alexandra Feodorovna, by that time already an empress, organized the first “children’s Christmas tree” celebration in her own palace for her five children and nieces - the daughters of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. The Christmas tree was installed in the Great Dining Palace.
The children of some courtiers were also invited. On eight tables and on the table set for the emperor, Christmas trees were installed, decorated with sweets, gilded apples and nuts. Gifts were laid out under the trees: toys, dresses, porcelain items, etc. The hostess herself handed out gifts to all the children present. The holiday began at eight o'clock in the evening, and by nine o'clock the guests had already left. From then on, following the example of the royal family, a Christmas tree began to be installed in the houses of the highest St. Petersburg nobility. It is not yet possible to establish the exact time when the Christmas tree first appeared in a Russian home. The first Christmas tree in Russia was built by Emperor Nicholas I at the very end of the 1830s, after which, following the example of the royal family, it began to be installed in the houses of the St. Petersburg nobility. For the time being, the rest of the population of the capital either treated it indifferently or did not even know about the existence of such a custom. However, little by little the Christmas tree conquered other social strata of St. Petersburg.
And suddenly, in the mid-1840s, an explosion occurred - the “German custom” began to spread rapidly. Now St. Petersburg was literally engulfed in the “Christmas tree rush.” The custom became fashionable, and by the end of the 1840s, the Christmas tree became a well-known and familiar item in the Christmas interior in the capital. The trade in Christmas trees began in the late 1840s. They were sold at Gostiny Dvor, where peasants brought them from the surrounding forests. But if the poor could not afford to buy even the smallest Christmas tree, then the rich metropolitan nobility began to organize competitions: who had a larger, thicker, more elegant, or richly decorated Christmas tree. Real jewelry and expensive fabrics were often used as Christmas tree decorations in wealthy homes. The first mention of an artificial Christmas tree dates back to the end of the 1840s, which was considered a special chic.
By the middle of the 19th century, the German custom had become firmly established in the life of the Russian capital. The tree itself, previously known in Russia only under the German name “Weihnachtsbaum”, began to be called at first the “Christmas tree” (which is a tracing-paper from German), and later received the name “Christmas tree”, which was assigned to it forever. The holiday organized on the occasion of Christmas also began to be called a Christmas tree: “go to the Christmas tree”, “arrange a Christmas tree”, “invite to the Christmas tree”. V.I. Dal remarked on this matter: “Having adopted, through St. Petersburg, from the Germans the custom of preparing a decorated, illuminated Christmas tree for children for Christmas, we sometimes call the very day of the tree, Christmas Eve.”
Russian Christmas tree in the second half of the 19th century
The development of the Christmas tree in Russia is striking in its rapidity. Already in the middle of the century, the Christmas tree became quite common for residents of many provincial and district cities. The reason for the rapid entry of the St. Petersburg innovation into the life of the provincial city is clear: having abandoned the ancient folk custom of celebrating Christmastide, the townspeople felt a certain ritual vacuum. This vacuum was either not filled with anything, causing a feeling of disappointment due to vain holiday expectations, or was compensated by new, purely urban entertainment, including the arrangement of a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree conquered the landowner's estate with great difficulty. Here, as memoirists testify, Christmastide continued to be celebrated for many years in the old fashioned way, in compliance with folk customs.
And yet, little by little, St. Petersburg fashion began to penetrate into the estate. If until the middle of the 19th century, the arrangement of a Christmas tree was not mentioned in memoirs dedicated to Christmastide on a landowner’s estate, then after ten years the situation changed. About the Christmas holidays of 1863, Leo Tolstoy’s sister-in-law T. A. Kuzminskaya, who lived for a long time in Yasnaya Polyana and considered it her “second parental home,” recalls: “Every day we had some kind of entertainment: theater, evenings, a Christmas tree and even horseback riding triplets." Two years later, on December 14, 1865, in a letter to Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy, she says: “Here we are preparing a large Christmas tree for the first holiday and drawing different lanterns and remembering how you know how to make these things.” And further: “There was a magnificent Christmas tree with gifts and yard children. On a moonlit night - riding a troika."
At first, the presence of the Christmas tree in the house was limited to one evening. On the eve of Christmas, a spruce tree was secretly taken from the children into the best room of the house, into the hall or living room, and placed on a table covered with a white tablecloth. The adults, as A.I. Tsvetaeva recalls, “hid (the Christmas tree) from us with exactly the same passion with which we dreamed of seeing it.” Candles were attached to the branches of the tree, delicacies and decorations were hung on the tree, gifts were laid out under it, which, like the tree itself, were prepared in strict secrecy. And finally, just before the children were allowed into the hall, candles were lit on the tree. It was strictly forbidden to enter the room where the Christmas tree was installed until special permission was given. Most often, during this time, the children were taken to some other room. Therefore, they could not see what was happening in the house, but by various signs they tried to guess what was happening: they listened, looked through the keyhole or through the door crack.
When all the preparations were finally completed, a pre-arranged signal was given (“a magic bell rang”) or one of the adults or servants came to pick up the children. The doors to the hall were opened. This moment of opening, throwing open the doors is present in many memoirs, stories and poems about the Christmas tree holiday: for children it was a long-awaited and passionately desired moment of entry into the “Christmas tree space”, their connection with the magic tree. The first reaction was numbness, almost stunned. Presented to the children in all its glory, the Christmas tree decorated “in the most brilliant way” invariably evoked amazement, admiration, and delight. After the first shock passed, screams, gasps, squeals, jumping, and clapping began. At the end of the holiday, the children, brought to an extremely enthusiastic state, received the tree at their complete disposal: they tore off sweets and toys from it, destroyed, broke and completely destroyed the tree (which gave rise to the expressions “rob the tree”, “pinch the tree”, “destroy the tree”). . This is where the name of the holiday itself comes from: the holiday of “plucking the Christmas tree.” The destruction of the Christmas tree had a psychotherapeutic meaning for them as a release after a long period of stress they had experienced.
At the end of the holiday, the devastated and broken tree was taken out of the hall and thrown into the courtyard. The custom of setting up a Christmas tree for the Christmas holidays inevitably underwent changes. In those houses where funds allowed and there was enough space, already in the 1840s, instead of the traditionally small Christmas tree, a large tree began to be installed: tall, ceiling-length, Christmas trees, wide and dense, with strong and fresh needles, were especially valued. It is quite natural that tall trees could not be kept on the table, so they began to be attached to the crosspiece (to the “circles” or “legs”) and installed on the floor in the center of the hall or the largest room in the house. Having moved from the table to the floor, from the corner to the middle, the tree turned into the center of the festive celebration, giving the children the opportunity to have fun around it and dance in circles. The tree standing in the center of the room made it possible to examine it from all sides, looking for both new and old toys, familiar from previous years. You could play under the tree, hide behind it or under it. It is possible that this Christmas tree dance was borrowed from the Trinity Day ritual, the participants of which, holding hands, walked around the birch tree while singing ritual songs. The changes that took place changed the essence of the holiday: gradually it began to turn into a Christmas tree celebration for the children of friends and relatives.
At such holidays, called children's Christmas trees, in addition to the younger generation, adults were always present: parents or elders accompanying the children. Children of governesses, teachers, and servants were also invited. Over time, Christmas trees began to be held for adults, for which parents went alone, without children. The first public Christmas tree was organized in 1852 at the St. Petersburg Ekateringofsky station, erected in 1823 in the Ekateringofsky country garden. A huge spruce tree installed in the station hall “was adjacent to the wall on one side, and the other was decorated with scraps of multi-colored paper.” Following her, public Christmas trees began to be organized in noble, officer and merchant meetings, clubs, theaters and other places. Moscow did not lag behind the Neva capital: from the beginning of the 1850s, Christmas tree celebrations in the hall of the Noble Moscow Assembly also became annual.
Christmas tree in Russia at the turn of the 19th—20th centuries
By the end of the 19th century, the Christmas tree became commonplace in Russia. The preparation of Christmas trees began a week before Christmas. For foresters and peasants from suburban villages, their sale has become one of their seasonal earnings. Trees were sold in the most crowded places: near guest courtyards, squares, markets. There were Christmas trees for every taste: small ones decorated with artificial flowers, giant Christmas trees that stood proudly in all their natural beauty, and artificial tiny Christmas trees that had never seen a forest, the unnaturally bright green of which immediately caught the eye. Many shops also sold trees - greengrocers, dairy and even meat shops, where trees were displayed at the entrance, often already placed on crosses.
There was no longer any mystery in the appearance of a Christmas tree in the house for children, the observance of which was considered a prerequisite when arranging the first Christmas trees. The children enjoyed walking in the “forests” of the Christmas tree markets; watched as the Christmas tree was brought into the house; they saw her, not yet thawed out, lying in the hallway (“only after the all-night vigil they will let her in”) or in the room on the floor, warming up in the warmth of home; felt how it began to emit a pine and resinous smell.
From all over the city, and sometimes from other cities, relatives and friends, cousins and brothers came to the home Christmas trees. Adults invented and bought gifts, organized “Christmas tree fun,” played the piano, and children danced. The elders prepared for the holidays themselves, writing and staging plays “like Hoffmann and Andersen” from the life of Christmas tree decorations. At this time, the organization of charitable “Christmas trees for the poor” in people's homes and orphanages became widespread. They were organized by various kinds of societies and individual philanthropists. Having turned into the main component of the winter holidays, the tree thus entered festive life as one of its necessary components. L. N. Gumilyov, speaking bitterly that his childhood was not what it should have been, noted: “I wanted something simple: for there to be a father, for the world to have a Christmas tree, Columbus, hunting dogs, Rublev, Lermontov " The Christmas tree began to be perceived as one of the necessary elements of normal childhood.
There is an opinion that the Soviet government banned the Christmas tree immediately after the October coup. However, it is not. After seizing power, the Bolsheviks did not encroach on the Christmas tree. In 1918, M. Gorky and A. N. Benois prepared and published at the Petrograd publishing house “Parus” a luxurious gift book for children “Yolka”, designed by wonderful artists. It included works by M. Gorky, K. I. Chukovsky, V. F. Khodasevich, A. N. Tolstoy, V. Ya. Bryusov, S. Cherny and others. On the cover of the book there is a drawing of a decorated Christmas tree, around which Santa Claus and forest animals are circling in a cheerful round dance. At the top of the tree the six-pointed Star of Bethlehem shines brightly.
In the first years after the revolution, no special measures were actually taken to ban the Christmas tree, and if it became extremely rare at that time, the reason for this was external circumstances that “knocked everything down and confused it.” In the first years after the Civil War, many Christmas trees were still sold in cities, as before, but the population was poor, and few could afford to buy even the smallest tree. Men from suburban villages who brought Christmas trees to the city lost their pre-Christmas earnings. On December 25, 1924, Korney Chukovsky writes: “On the third day I walked with Murka to Kolya at about 11 in the morning and was amazed: how many Christmas trees! At every corner of the most deserted streets there is a cart filled to the brim with all kinds of Christmas trees, and next to the cart there is a sad man, hopelessly looking at the rare passers-by. I got into a conversation with one. He says: “If only we could make money on salt, we can’t even dream of kerosene! Nobody has a penny; we haven’t seen oil since that Christmas...” The only mining industry is Christmas trees. They covered the whole of Leningrad with Christmas trees and reduced the price to 15 kopecks. And I noticed that they buy mostly small, proletarian Christmas trees to put on the table.” But little by little, life improved and the tree seemed to be regaining its rights. However, things were not so simple.
The first alarm bell sounded on November 16, three weeks after the October coup, when the issue of calendar reform was brought up for discussion by the Soviet government. Until the October Revolution, Russia still continued to live according to the Julian calendar, while most European countries had long ago switched to the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The need for calendar reform and a transition to a new style has been felt since the 18th century. Already under Peter I, in international relations and in scientific correspondence, Russia was forced to use the Gregorian calendar, while within the country life continued according to the old style for another two centuries. This circumstance gave rise to many inconveniences. The need to introduce a common time system with Europe was felt especially acutely in diplomatic and commercial practice. However, attempts made in the 19th century to carry out calendar reform failed: this was opposed by both the government and the Orthodox Church, who each time considered the introduction of a new calendar “untimely.” After the revolution, the question of the “untimeliness” of the reform disappeared by itself, and on January 24, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic. The decree signed by Lenin was published the next day.
Since the difference between the old and new styles by this time was 13 days, as a result of the reform, Russian Christmas shifted from December 25 to January 7, and New Year - from January 1 to the 14th. And although neither the decree nor other documents emanating from the Soviet government of that time said a word about the abolition of the Christmas holiday, nevertheless, the violation of the calendar was perceived as a disruption of life with its Orthodox holidays traditionally associated with certain dates. It was still unclear what would happen to Christmas and the Christmas tree after the calendar reform came into effect.
And in 1922, a campaign was carried out to transform the holiday of the Nativity of Christ into a “Komsomol Christmas”, or otherwise into “Komsomol Christmas”. Komsomol cells were supposed to organize the celebration of “Komsomol holidays” on the first day of Christmas, that is, December 25, which was declared a non-working day. The events began with the reading of reports and speeches exposing the “economic roots” of the Christmas holidays. Then there were performances and dramatizations, political satires, and “living pictures.” On the second day of the holiday, street processions were organized, on the third, masquerades and a Christmas tree, called the “Komsomol Christmas tree,” were held in clubs. Participants in Christmas tree carnivals (mostly Komsomol propagandists) dressed up in the most unimaginable satirical costumes: Entente, Kolchak, Denikin, kulak, NEPman, pagan gods and even a Christmas goose and pig. Processions were held with torches and the burning of “divine images” (icons). However, such a favorable attitude of the Soviet authorities towards the Christmas tree did not last long. New changes became noticeable by the end of 1924, when Krasnaya Gazeta reported with satisfaction: “... this year it is noticeable that Christmas prejudices have almost ceased. There are almost no Christmas trees to be seen at the bazaars—there are fewer unconscious people.” The holiday of “Komsomol Christmas” gradually came to an end. He was criticized in the press as having played no significant role in anti-religious propaganda. And in 1925, a planned struggle against religion and Orthodox holidays began, which resulted in the final abolition of Christmas in 1929. Christmas Day turned into a regular work day. Along with Christmas, the tree, already firmly fused with it, was also canceled. The Christmas tree, which the Orthodox Church once opposed, has now come to be called a “priestly” custom.
During these critical years in the fate of the tree, it seemed that it had come to an end. On New Year's Eve evenings, guards walked the streets and peered into the windows of apartments to see if the lights of the Christmas trees were shining somewhere. In schools, in order to combat Christmas and the New Year tree, they began to hold “Anti-Christmas evenings”, at which they staged plays ridiculing priests and the church, sang anti-religious satirical couplets, like: “Ding-bom, ding-bom, we won’t go to church anymore.” . They stopped having Christmas trees in kindergartens. And yet, it was never possible to completely eradicate the beloved custom: the tree “went underground.” As the writer I. Tokmakova recalls, she continued to be accommodated in families faithful to pre-revolutionary traditions. They did this with great care. The tree was usually provided by a janitor, who before Christmas went out of town into the forest with a huge sack, cut down the tree, cut it in half and stuffed it into the sack. At home, he put splints on the rough trunk, and the tree “became whole and slender again.”
At the end of 1935, the tree was not so much revived as it was turned into a new holiday, which received a simple and clear formulation: “The New Year tree is a holiday of joyful and happy childhood in our country.” Arranging New Year trees for children of employees of institutions and industrial enterprises is becoming mandatory. Now the spruce tree is a necessary accessory not only for the Soviet New Year holiday, but also for Soviet life in general. The holiday was organized by the “Christmas tree commission,” which usually included trade union activists: they developed the program, delivered the tree, provided Santa Claus, and prepared gifts. The most difficult thing was choosing gifts and deciding “which gift to give to which of the guys so as not to go over the limit and at the same time everyone was happy.” A special gift was prepared for each child, which subsequently came out of the practice of Soviet Christmas trees, which assumed the equality of all children.
The connection between the tree and Christmas was forgotten. The Christmas tree became an attribute of the public holiday of the New Year, one of the three (along with October and May Day) main Soviet holidays. The eight-pointed star of Bethlehem at the top of the “Christmas tree” has now been replaced by a five-pointed one - the same as on the Kremlin towers. The desire to idealize the revived holiday is becoming more open every day. On the beautiful Christmas tree, sparkling in the rays of the spotlights, installed in the House of Unions, hung thousands of Christmas tree decorations with workers’ and peasants’ communist symbols.
Several more years passed, and January 1, 1947 again became a “red day of the calendar,” that is, a non-working day, and the Christmas tree in the House of Unions acquired the official status of “the main Christmas tree of the country.” In 1954, the New Year tree received the “right to enter” the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace - it served two thousand children a year. For the first time, the Kremlin opened to the lucky ones who received New Year's invitations. New Year's masquerade balls were held in the same St. George's Hall for young production leaders, students of the capital's universities, students of military educational institutions, tenth grade students, and Komsomol workers.
After the “thaw”, with the advent of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, the country’s main children’s holiday moved there. But by the beginning of the 70s, many Muscovites, and even residents of other cities, were not at all eager to attend the “main Christmas trees”. And to this day, the most desirable ones for us are not public, but home Christmas trees, where we gather with our families. At these home holidays, people forget about the official role played by the tree and celebrate it as a family celebration, according to the traditions established in the family. The Orthodox Church forgot about its hostility towards the Christmas tree. Now green trees stand not only in churches during Christmas services, but also in the houses of clergy.
In 1991, Russia began to celebrate Christmas again. January 7 was declared a non-working day. “And, as always at this time,” the Nevskoe Vremya newspaper wrote at the end of December 1993, “trees are burning on the main street of St. Petersburg - not just New Year’s, already Christmas trees, without red stars.” For three centuries, the Christmas tree conscientiously fulfilled the functions assigned to it, and even forced idealization did not prevent it in an informal home environment from remaining everyone’s favorite and annually desired, passionately awaited Christmas tree long before the New Year. This is how we remember her. This is how our children will remember her. Let's hope that the grandchildren will walk around the decorated, shining tree and sing a simple song composed almost a hundred years ago.
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New Year is perhaps one of the brightest and most anticipated holidays of the year, both for children and adults. We continue to share memories of him throughout the year. The New Year's bustle in anticipation of the chiming clock and making wishes with the closest people, endless running around the shops, either for forgotten peas, or for some other little thing that became very important on this particular day. Children make snowmen, not realizing that their parents are rushing around the shops at this time in search of a long-awaited gift written in a letter to Santa Claus. Towards evening, the female half of the family is bustling around in the kitchen, trying to get everything done in time for the chimes, while the male half is decorating the Christmas tree with colorful toys, tinsel and garlands.
The Christmas tree is an invariable attribute of Christmas and New Year. People traditionally treat its choice with special care; it should be moderately fluffy, have a uniform color and exude a pleasant smell of pine needles. But how did this tree acquire such iconic significance? What's the story?
Since ancient times, people have worshiped trees; it was believed that the souls of the deceased found their shelter in them. Particular attention was paid to evergreen trees, as it was believed that the sun favored them. They were decorated right in the forest in order to appease the sun god.
The very history of the appearance of the Christmas tree dates back to the end of the Middle Ages and came to us from the traditions of the German people of those times. According to historians, the German peoples had an ancient custom of going to the forest for the New Year, where they decorated a pre-selected spruce tree with colored rags, candles and sweets. Over time, trees began to be cut down and brought home to fill the home with the pleasant smell of pine needles, to enjoy their beauty in the warmth and in the circle of closest relatives. The spruce was placed on the table and decorated with burning candles, fruits and sweets. After the baptism of the German people, all these traditions of celebrating New Year's holidays with a Christmas tree began to acquire a Christian character.
The immediate date from which the history of the Christmas tree originates was 1512. According to legend, then the leader of German Protestants Martin Luther, walking through the forest, was struck by the beauty of a Christmas tree dusted with snow, and he wanted to show his children this miracle of nature. People used to bring Christmas trees from the forest, but they placed them in the yard so that the thorny branches would scare away devils from the house. Luther did not want to make a scarecrow out of the tree. He brought it into the house and decorated it with sweets, apples and cotton fluffs to the delight of the children. The pastor hung a tree from the ceiling so that the children could enjoy the sight of hanging decorations and gifts. During the holiday, children joyfully picked sweets from the hanging tree, and threw away the tree that same evening. In subsequent years, they began to put the Christmas tree on the floor, and special toys appeared to decorate it.
But, despite the existence of this tradition for several centuries, Christmas trees began to be installed everywhere in homes relatively recently - in the 19th century. It was then that evergreen, coniferous beauties began to be regularly installed in the royal palaces of France, Germany, England, Norway, Denmark and Russia. But ordinary people began to put up a Christmas tree only in the second half of the 19th century.
Legends and facts about the Christmas tree are very diverse. There is a legend about where the tradition of decorating Christmas trees with shiny tinsel came from. Once upon a time there lived a poor woman who had many children. The night before Christmas, she decorated the Christmas tree, but she didn’t have enough toys. At night, spiders visited the tree, crawling from branch to branch, and wrapped it in a dense web. As a reward for the kindness of the mother of many children, the Christ Child blessed the tree, and the web turned into shining silver.
There is also a legend that the first Christmas tree balls appeared due to a poor apple harvest. The supply of fruits was quickly depleted for the winter and the resourceful glassblowers of a small town in Bavaria blew out multi-colored balls to replace round apples. And in the 1870s in America, a simple telegraph operator figured out to replace fire-hazardous candles with electric garlands.
Our Santa Claus was luckier than his colleagues. None of them have such a pretty and young assistant as Snegurochka. We are accustomed to consider her the granddaughter of Santa Claus. But it turns out that Snegurka is Father Frost’s grandmother. In the oldest fairy tales, it turns out that her name is Kostroma, she is burned at the stake, like Maslenitsa. And both of them are nothing more than the ancient peasant goddess of the Slavs. Santa Claus himself is much younger than his “granddaughter”.
Most countries have their own unique traditions for celebrating New Year and Christmas. For example, in Estonia for many years there has been an order: after the holidays, Christmas trees are not thrown away, but brought and handed over to certain points. Then various sculptures are built from them and at the appointed hour, instead of being left among the garbage containers, for several more hours they serve as the center of the fire show - “Burning of Holiday Trees.” The authorities prepare these events in advance and encourage them in every possible way. In addition to the show itself, viewers, especially children, are often treated to various surprises, gifts and sweets. During the event, much attention is paid to environmental issues and cleanliness.
In Turkey, decorating a Christmas tree is primarily a secular custom, since 95% of Turks are Muslims and do not celebrate Christmas. The custom appeared around the end of the 1920s, with Turkey's transition to the Gregorian calendar.
In Argentina, according to an ancient tradition, employees of various institutions throw unnecessary statements, old calendars, forms and other documentation out of the windows on the last working day of the outgoing year. By noon, the streets are covered with a continuous layer of paper. No one remembers how and when this custom arose. Various incidents arise from time to time; once, carried away employees of one of the newspapers threw the entire archive out the window.
In Great Britain, houses are decorated with branches of mistletoe and holly. According to tradition, once a year, on Christmas Eve, men can kiss any girl standing under a decoration made from these plants. One of the oldest traditions of the British is the Christmas log. It is believed that this ritual was introduced by the ancient Vikings. At Christmas they cut down a large tree and dried it all year. And the next Christmas they brought it into the house and burned it in the hearth.
In Greece, there is a custom according to which, at exactly midnight, the head of the family goes out into the street and breaks a pomegranate fruit against the wall of the house. If the grains scatter throughout the yard, the family will live happily in the New Year. When going to visit, the Greeks bring with them a mossy stone as a gift and leave it in the hosts’ room. They say: "Let the owners' money be as heavy as this stone"
In China, New Year is celebrated during the new moon in late January - early February. During the festive procession, people light many lanterns. This is done in order to light the way into the New Year. And they scare away evil spirits with the help of firecrackers and fireworks.
In Russia, the tradition of decorating the New Year tree was introduced by Peter I. Having visited his German friends in his youth, he was pleasantly surprised by a strange tree on which apples and candies hung instead of pine cones. Having become king, Peter I issued a decree to celebrate the New Year, as in enlightened Europe. It instructed to decorate large thoroughfares, houses and gates with pine and juniper branches. After the death of Peter, the tradition was forgotten, and the tree became a popular New Year’s attribute much later. In 1819, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, at the insistence of his wife, first put up a New Year's tree in the Anichkov Palace, and in 1852 in St. Petersburg, a public Christmas tree was decorated in the premises of the Catherine Station. The image of the Christmas tree is firmly rooted in the Christian religion. A toy was always placed at the top of the tree, symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, which rose at the birth of Jesus and showed the way to the Magi. So the tree became a symbol of Christmas.
The Russian history of the Christmas tree was not always so rosy, for example, since 1926, due to anti-religious work among the population, decorating a Christmas tree was considered to be an anti-Soviet crime, but already in 1935 the first New Year's party with a decorated Christmas tree was organized. And on New Year's Eve 1938, a huge 15-meter tree with ten thousand decorations and toys was installed in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions; since then it has traditionally been called the main tree of the country. Since 1976, the main Christmas tree began to be considered the Christmas tree in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, which it remains to this day.
This forest beauty overcame such a difficult and thorny path. Before we decorate our Christmas holiday.
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
It is difficult to imagine the most anticipated holiday of the year, loved by children and adults, without such a classic attribute as the New Year tree. The history of the tradition that commands us to decorate this tree for the holiday goes back centuries. When did people start decorating evergreen trees in Russia and other countries, what made them do it?
What does the Christmas tree symbolize?
The inhabitants of the ancient world sincerely believed in the magical powers that trees possessed. It was believed that spirits, evil and good, were hiding in their branches, which should be pacified. It is not surprising that trees became objects of various cults. they worshiped them, addressed prayers to them, asked for mercy and protection. So that the spirits would not remain indifferent, they were presented with treats (fruits, sweets), which were hung on the branches or laid out nearby.
Why were not the pines, eucalyptus, oaks and other species decorated, but the Christmas tree? The New Year's story contains many beautiful legends on this topic. The most truthful version is that the coniferous beauty was chosen due to its ability to remain green, no matter what time of year it came. This made the inhabitants of the ancient world consider it a symbol of immortality.
History of the Christmas Tree: Europe
The custom, as residents of the modern world know it, developed in medieval Europe. There are different assumptions about when exactly the history of the New Year tree began. Initially, people limited themselves to small branches of pine or spruce that were hung in the house. However, gradually the branches were replaced by entire trees.
If you believe the legend, the history of the New Year tree is closely connected with the famous reformer from Germany. While walking in the evening on Christmas Eve, the theologian admired the beauty of the stars shining in the sky. Arriving home, he placed a small Christmas tree on the table and decorated it using candles. To decorate the top of the tree, Martin chose a star that symbolized the one that helped the wise men find the Baby Jesus.
Of course, this is just a legend. However, there are also official mentions of the Christmas tree, falling approximately on the same time period. For example, it was written about in French chronicles for the year 1600. The first New Year's trees were miniature in size; they were placed on tables or hung from walls and ceilings. However, in the 17th century there were already large Christmas trees in houses. Deciduous trees, which were previously also used to decorate homes before the holidays, were completely forgotten.
Christmas trees in Russia: ancient times
It is believed that the first who tried to make this tree a symbol of the change of year was Peter the Great. In fact, even the ancient Slavic tribes treated coniferous vegetation with special trepidation; they already had a kind of “Christmas tree”. The story goes that our ancestors, in the depths of winter, held dances and sang songs near this tree. The goal for which all this was done was the awakening of the spring goddess Zhiva. She was required to interrupt the reign of Santa Claus and rid the earth of its icy shackles.
Christmas trees in Russia: Middle Ages
Peter the Great really tried to consolidate in our country such a wonderful custom as the New Year tree. The story tells that the emperor first saw the decorated tree in the house of German friends with whom he celebrated Christmas. The idea made a huge impression on him: a spruce tree decorated with candies and fruits instead of ordinary cones. Peter the Great ordered the meeting in accordance with German traditions. However, his heirs forgot about this decree for many years.
In this case, the question arises: where did the New Year tree come from in Russia? This would not have happened for a long time if Catherine the Second had not ordered to put up trees during the holidays. However, conifers were not decorated until the mid-19th century. It was then that the Germans, who missed this cheerful tradition in Russia, installed the first decorated Christmas tree in St. Petersburg.
Unfortunately, it made a lovely family tradition illegal for almost two decades. The Soviet government declared the decoration of coniferous trees a “bourgeois whim.” In addition, at this time there was an active struggle with the church, and the spruce was considered one of the Christmas symbols. However, many inhabitants of Russia at that time did not abandon this beautiful custom. It got to the point that the tree began to be installed secretly by the rebels.
What events does the history of the New Year tree in Russia consist of? Briefly speaking, already in 1935 the tradition became legal again. This happened thanks to Pavel Postyshev, who “allowed” the holiday. However, people were categorically forbidden to call the trees “Christmas”, only “New Year’s”. But the first day of January was returned to its status as a day off.
First Christmas trees for children
A year after the forest beauty returned to the homes of people celebrating the main holiday of the year, a large-scale celebration was organized, held in the House of Unions. This officially began the history of the New Year tree in Russia for children, for whom this celebration was organized. Since then, similar events have traditionally been held in children's institutions with the obligatory distribution of gifts and the calling of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden.
Kremlin Christmas tree
Kremlin Square has been one of the favorite places to celebrate the New Year for Moscow residents for many years. All other Russians do not forget to turn on the TV to admire the majestic Christmas tree, decorated in honor of the arrival of the New Year. The first installation of a coniferous tree, symbolizing eternal life, on Kremlin Square took place back in 1954.
Where did the tinsel come from?
Having understood the history of the appearance of the main thing, one cannot help but become interested in its decorations. For example, such a wonderful tradition as the use of tinsel also came to us from Germany, where it appeared in the 17th century. In those days, it was made from real silver, which was cut thinly, becoming a silvery “rain”, thanks to which the Christmas tree shone. The history of the appearance of modern products made of foil and polyvinyl chloride in Russia is not precisely known.
Interestingly, there is a beautiful legend associated with Christmas tree tinsel. In ancient times, there lived a woman who was the mother of many children. The family was chronically short of money, so the woman was unable to properly decorate the New Year’s symbol; the tree was left practically without decorations. When the family fell asleep, the spiders created a web on the tree. The gods, to reward the mother for her kindness to others, allowed the web to become shining silver.
Back in the middle of the last century, tinsel was only silver. Currently, you can purchase this decoration in almost any color. The characteristics of the materials used for manufacturing make the products extremely durable.
A few words about lighting
As already mentioned, it was customary not only to decorate coniferous trees brought into the house for the New Year, but also to illuminate them. For a long time, only candles were used for these purposes, which were securely attached to the branches. The debate about who exactly came up with the idea of using garlands is still not over. What does history say about how the New Year tree with modern lighting appeared?
The most common theory says that the idea of lighting the evergreen beauty with electricity was first expressed by the American Johnson. This proposal was successfully implemented by his compatriot Maurice, an engineer by profession. It was he who first created a garland, assembling this convenient structure from a large number of small light bulbs. Humanity first saw a holiday tree illuminated in this way in Washington.
The evolution of Christmas tree decorations
It’s hard to imagine a modern New Year tree without garland and tinsel. However, it is even more difficult to refuse elegant toys that easily create a festive atmosphere. Interestingly, the first Christmas tree decorations in Russia were edible. To decorate the symbol of the New Year, dough figures wrapped in foil were created. The foil could be golden, silver, or painted in bright colors. Fruits and nuts were also hung on the branches. Gradually, other available materials began to be used to create decor.
Some time later, glass products, mainly produced in Germany, began to be imported into the country. But local glassblowers quickly mastered the manufacturing technology, as a result of which bright toys began to be created in Russia. In addition to glass, materials such as cotton wool and cardboard were actively used. The first ones were distinguished by their significant weight; by the beginning of the 20th century, craftsmen began to produce thin glass.
Around the beginning of the 70s, people had to forget about unique jewelry designs. “Balls”, “icicles”, “bells” were stamped on conveyors by factories that used the same technologies. Interesting specimens came across less and less often; the same toys hung in different houses. Fortunately, these days, finding truly original Christmas tree decorations is no longer a difficult task.
A few words about the star
Decorating a tree for the holiday is fun with your child, who will love the story of where the Christmas tree came from. The story of its appearance in Russia will become even more interesting for children if you don’t forget to tell them about the star. In the USSR, it was decided to abandon the classical one that showed the way to the baby Jesus. Its alternative was a red ruby item, reminiscent of those placed on the Kremlin towers. Sometimes such stars were produced along with light bulbs.
Interestingly, there is no analogue of the Soviet star in the whole world. Of course, modern products for decorating the top of a Christmas tree look much more attractive and interesting.
This is a brief summary of the life of the New Year tree, the history of its appearance in Russia as a classic attribute of the holiday.
The tradition of celebrating New Year and Christmas with a Christmas tree shimmering with multi-colored lights is familiar and mysterious at the same time. Until now, one can only guess about the origins of this custom, and the elegant Christmas tree itself has a complicated, centuries-old history.
Christmas tree decorated with golden balls and stars.
Tree of Paradise and Yule Log
Some researchers believe that the Christmas tree is a reminder of the Tree of Eden, where the story of Adam and Eve played out. In accordance with this idea, traditional Christmas tree decorations, glass balls, symbolize the fruits of the tree of paradise.
According to another version, the custom of putting up and decorating a Christmas tree is an echo of Yule, an ancient German holiday on the night of the winter solstice. On Yule it was supposed to decorate and then ceremonially burn a log, usually oak or ash. (Both oak and ash were revered as sacred trees.) Symbols of Yule also included holly, holly and ivy - they decorated houses outside and inside, stalks of wheat and branches of evergreens - they were used to weave baskets in which gifts were distributed: apples and carnations. 
Children and the Yule log. Illustration from the book “Aunt Louisa's London toy books: the alphabet of games and sports.” London, 1870.
Christmas tree in Europe
It is not known exactly who and when first came up with the idea of bringing a Christmas tree into the house before Christmas. The debate about this is not nearly as innocent as it might seem. More recently, in 2009-2010, between Latvia and Estonia, who were trying to find out where the Christmas tree appeared earlier - in Riga in the 16th century or in Tallinn in the 12th century, things almost came to a diplomatic conflict.
There is also information that in the same 16th century, religious reformer Martin Luther organized a Christmas party with a tree in his house in the Saxon city of Eisleben. The legend about him says that one day, walking through the forest on Christmas night, he saw a star fall on the top of a fir tree. 
Engraving from the German book “50 Fables with Pictures for Children.”
Ascetic Lutherans did not consider a Christmas tree decorated with fruits and gingerbread to be an excess. By the 18th century, the Christmas tree had become a common sight in many German states. Somewhere, a Christmas tree was hung from the ceiling with the top of its head down - so it personified a ladder lowered to people from heaven. Somewhere there were as many small Christmas trees decorated as there were family members and guests who were supposed to be congratulated and given gifts.
In Germany, much later, when its forests became scarce by the end of the 19th century, the first artificial Christmas trees were invented. They were made from goose feathers, which were dyed green. 
Viggo Johansen. "Merry Christmas."
German princes and princesses who married foreign royalty or sat on the throne themselves, bankers, merchants, teachers and artisans brought the Christmas tree to other European countries.
At the British court, the first Christmas tree was decorated back in 1760; in 1819, the forest beauty became part of the court holiday in Budapest, in 1820 - in Prague.
In the middle of the 19th century, the United States became acquainted with the Christmas tree, and the Americans owe this, again, to immigrants from Germany. 
Robert Duncan. "Christmas tree".
Peter's decree on the celebration of the New Year
In December 1699, Peter I, by a special decree, introduced the Julian calendar in Russia and ordered to move the New Year's celebration from September 1 to January 1. The decree contained instructions on exactly how loyal subjects should have fun. The New Year was to be celebrated with fireworks and abundant food. Muscovites, residents of the then capital, were recommended to decorate with coniferous trees and branches: spruce, pine, juniper.
The festive tree really took root in Russia only towards the middle of the 19th century, although already at the beginning of the century it was a frequent guest in the homes of St. Petersburg Germans. The monarchs set an example for the indigenous population. 
A. F. Chernyshev. "Scenes from the family life of Emperor Nicholas I. Christmas tree in the Anichkov Palace."
The first Christmas tree in the imperial palace was erected on December 24, 1817, on Christmas Eve, by order of Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of the future Emperor Nicholas I. The innovation of household goods of the highest persons was gradually adopted by the nobility. At first, the Christmas trees were almost not decorated. Candles were placed on the branches and lit twice: on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day itself. Gifts for family members were placed under the tree, most often a small one, standing on the table.
The pavilion of the Ekateringofsky station in St. Petersburg in 1852 became the first public building where a Christmas tree appeared at Christmas. A large tree, almost touching the ceiling with its crown, hung with decorations made of colored paper, marked the beginning of the tradition of public Christmas trees, which spread to theaters, noble, officer and merchant clubs and meetings.
The established fashion for Christmas trees gave impetus to the imagination of businessmen. In the late 1840s - early 1850s, Christmas tree markets appeared near Gostiny Dvor in St. Petersburg. Respectable townspeople competed with childish excitement to see who had the biggest, thickest, and most intricately decorated Christmas tree. There was no need to rack your brains about decorating yourself: Swiss confectioners sold Christmas trees with ready-made decorations. It was expensive, although mere pennies compared to the Christmas tree decorations in some rich houses, where diamond necklaces were hung on green branches.
In the last decades of the 19th century, the arsenal of jewelry was replenished with industrially produced toys. The choice was wide: glass balls, voluminous glued cardboard figures, edible miniature animals made of sugar and almonds, garlands, firecrackers and sparklers, “golden” and “silver” rain.
Orthodox priests unsuccessfully but persistently protested against the Christmas tree as a secular and even “pagan” custom. They could not know that not much time would pass, and the Christmas tree would be declared a symbol of “religious dope.” 
A. N. Benois. New Year card. The end of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century.
Adventures of the New Year tree in the USSR
In 1917, most families had no time for Christmas trees. But this did not stop the publishing house “Parus” from releasing a children’s gift book “Yolka” on the eve of 1918. The luxurious album, designed by A. N. Benois, includes poems and stories by Korney Chukovsky, Sasha Cherny, Bryusov and Maxim Gorky, who oversaw the publication. The new government considered the Christmas tree to be a completely appropriate holiday attribute for the residents of post-revolutionary Petrograd. 
Still from the film strip “Lenin at the Children’s Christmas Tree.” A. Kononov. Artist V. Konovalov. 1940
“Komsomol Christmas trees” were organized back in the mid-20s. The persecution of the decorated tree, in fact, began only in 1929, when the party press officially condemned the celebration of Christmas. And along with it, as a “priestly custom,” there is a Christmas tree, supposedly poisoning children with “religious poison.”
Now, if a Christmas tree was brought into the house, it was done secretly, placing it where it could not be seen either from the threshold or through the window. Vigilant volunteers who had been patrolling the streets since mid-December looked into the windows specifically for this purpose.
The tree was “rehabilitated” in 1935 after a brief exchange of remarks between Stalin and the Ukrainian party dignitary P. P. Postyshev. “Shouldn’t we return the Christmas tree to the children?” - asked Postyshev. Stalin approved the idea, and his interlocutor wrote a note in the Pravda newspaper where he reproached the “leftist” killers who had denounced “children’s entertainment as a bourgeois undertaking.” The publication appeared on the morning of December 28 - and in just a few days, festive events with Christmas trees were organized throughout the country and the production of Christmas tree decorations was established.
The Soviet Christmas tree was in no way supposed to be associated with Christmas. The decorations reflected the spirit of the times. The blue Christmas star with seven points was replaced by a red five-pointed one. Miniature airplanes and cars were hung on the tree. Tiny pioneers, tractor drivers, representatives of the peoples of the Soviet republics coexisted with fairy tale heroes and animal figures. At the end of the 30s, the company was replenished with new characters: Father Frost and Snow Maiden.
In 1937, glass balls with portraits of Stalin, Lenin and members of the Politburo were released, but this initiative was quickly considered dubious from a political point of view. 
Soviet postcard. 1950s.
The main Christmas trees of Russia
In December 1996, for the first time since pre-revolutionary times, a giant Christmas tree was installed on the Kremlin's Cathedral Square. From 2001 to 2004, the role of the New Year's symbol was played by an artificial tree, but since 2005, a live spruce has again flaunted on the square. It is selected in advance in the Moscow region according to certain criteria: the tree must be at least a hundred years old, and it must reach approximately 30 meters in height. The winner is determined by a competition among forest districts. On Red Square, where hundreds of Muscovites and tourists celebrate the New Year, in recent years a huge artificial spruce has been decorated. 
Decorated Christmas tree on Cathedral Square of the Kremlin.
