The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year began. New Year tree: from ban to flourishing. Stories about a small Christmas tree for children and their parents

New Years is soon. Tangerines, champagne, Olivier, sparklers, beautiful Christmas tree. All these integral attributes of our favorite holiday are familiar to everyone since childhood. The chimes will strike, and the old year will sing with a round dance will give way to the new one. In the morning, the children will run to get gifts from under the Christmas tree. In our country, the traditions of celebrating the New Year are known to everyone. Do we know where the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree came from?

Elegant, sparkling with lights, toys, fluffy beauty. Who can imagine the New Year holidays without the main symbol?But who came up with the idea of decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year? Where did the custom of decorating the Christmas tree come to us?

This beautiful tradition has several origin legends.

Germany

Most people are inclined to believe that the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree came to us from Germany. E it's not surprising from there many came to us fairy-tale characters, legends about witches and ghouls, vampires and mermaids.Medieval German castles keep thousands of secrets. Researchers consider the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree to be one of these secrets.

According to one old belief, a spruce tree can bloom on the night before Christmas and bear fruit. Ancient Germanic tribes believed in the power of spirits, which, in their opinion, lived on the tops of evergreen trees. Therefore, they tried to appease them by decorating the sacred tree with fruits and nuts. Only no one brought such a tree into the house; they decorated it right in the forest.

Later, Martin Luther tried to eradicate the habit of running through the forests before Christmas among the population, since it was more suitable for pagans than for Christians. Legend has it that one night Luther saw a spruce tree in a clearing, illuminated by moonlight. ABOUT she reminded him of the star of Bethlehem that led the wise men to Jesus. Then he was the first to bring the tree into the house and decorated it with candles, and at the top he placed the symbol of Christmas - a star.This was in 1513.

After the tradition spread throughout Europe. German princesses married princes of other dynasties and took with them andtradition of decorating the Christmas tree. It is documented that the first Christmas trees in England and France were decorated precisely on the orders of German brides.

Then the USA and the Russian Empire joined the mass tradition.

Egypt

Some people are inclined to believe that the ancestor of our New Year's symbol was the ancient Egyptian palm tree.

Since ancient times, the Egyptians have decorated palm trees for the winter solstice. They gave thanks to their gods for the harvest, for the precipitation, for all the good deeds in which the gods took part in the past year. They brought rich gifts, praising the supreme spirits.

The Celts are the most militant people in Europe. They had a cruel disposition. And cruel traditions. They sincerely believed that death occurs only when the enemy's head is cut off. Only then does the soul leave this world.

For the Celts, spruce was the abode of evil forces that helped them in battles and raids. Tree of sacrifice. Human and animal victims. Druids hung entrails on fir trees to appease the spirits.

When sacrifices became prohibited, balls and garlands appeared on the branches of spruce trees as a sign of respect for the patronizing spirits.

The Celts believed that if they had not received their share of sacrifices, the Great Old Man of the North would come to their doorstep with a bag to receive a new corpse. Therefore, the residents of the village On the festive night they sacrificed one young girl to him. They undressed her and tied her to a pole in the cold. An icy corpse was considered a good sign accepted by the deity.

Some sources claim that the old man and the young girl are prototypes of the modern Father Frost and Snow Maiden.

Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

The custom of decorating a Christmas tree among the ancient Romans and Greeks arose at the dawn of civilizations. E This is again connected with the desire to appease the spirits. But in this legend, tree associated exclusively with health.

Evergreen trees were credited with fulfilling the wildest expectations. Decorated twig could give the inhabitants of the house eternal youth, health, meaning in life, healing, and an addition to the family.

They thanked the Christmas tree for its help in the past year and asked for help in the coming year.

The spread of this custom was greatly facilitated by healers who convinced people that the coniferous forest was a source of longevity and health. And they were not wrong.

A fairy tale from Northern Europe

On the night when baby Jesus was born, a star lit up in the sky. The same one that led the Magi to Bethlehem. According to legend, the plants also set out to pay respect to the Son of God.

The spruce was the last to arrive from the north. She did not dare to come closer, so she stood to the side. She I was in such a hurry to look at the Savior that I forgot about the gift. And when all the plants had already given their gifts, the Christmas tree suddenly changed, became prettier, and sparkled. The baby began to smile, and a star shone on the top of the tree.

Another legend says that a palm tree did not allow the Christmas tree to approach the baby. She pointed to her on thorns and resin. The Christmas tree became embarrassed and modestly stepped aside. The guardian angel, seeing the conversation, regretted her and awarded her with bright stars so that this Christmas she would shine and sparkle, bringing kindness and warmth.

Boniface and Thor's Oak

Boniface is a missionary bringing the Word of God to pagan tribes. He made many expeditions, walked many roads in order to bring the pagans to their senses and convey to them the truth. Warriors and artisans followed him on the journey. They arranged the sites of the great Apostle of all Germans.

Boniface was known as a reformer of the Franks. One day he found himself on the border of the Franks and Germans, right next to the oak tree of God Thor. The oak was the greatest shrine of the pagans. Boniface cut down the tree, wanting to prove that no wrath of the gods would follow.

According to legend, when the oak fell, it broke everything that was under it. Only the spruce was left untouched. Then the pagans, present at the “execution” of the oak, immediately elevated the spruce to the rank of sacred trees.

And today there are people who believe that the custom of decorating a Christmas tree came from the Franco-German pagans, as an inheritance from the fallen Oak of Thor.

Russian empire

In Russia, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree appeared with Peter the Great in 1700. However, it did not take root, and after the death of the sovereign, it quickly faded away. In Russia With In ancient times, the path of the deceased was covered with spruce branches, and people did not want to celebrate a holiday with such a tree.

Another attempt to resume the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year was made by the German-born Alexandra Fedorovna, who ordered the Christmas tree to be decorated on the eve of 1819.

Then Nikolai tried again I, already in the thirties.Christmas trees became publicly accepted by the people only in 1852, when fluffy beauties began to appear everywhere on the streets and squares.

This was the case until 1918. Then the Soviet government “sentenced” the tree to inactivity until 1935. Since the custom of decorating the Christmas tree was associated with church legends, it means that it had no place in the “new life.”

17 years later, a newspaper published a call to decorate a tree for children for the New Year holiday. The Soviet authorities had mercy on the evergreen captive and returned her. True, the Star of Bethlehem on the top was immediately replaced with a five-pointed Red Star - a symbol of power, so that in every home they would remember the great power of a great power. But the spruce became a symbol only of the New Year, since the Communist Party did not recognize such a holiday as Christmas.

However, the years of the Soviets have passed. And the beautiful Christmas tree is still a symbol of the New Year and the Nativity of Christ.

It is impossible to imagine the New Year without a beautiful fluffy Christmas tree. For the New Year's holiday, children and adults dress up the forest beauty. Several decades ago there was no tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in our country. So where did she come from? This is exactly what will be discussed in our article.

Where did the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree come from?

The Germans claim that the origins of the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came from Germany. Initially, trees were decorated for Christmas. The tradition began during the Middle Ages.

Residents believed that decorated trees at Christmas would bring a rich harvest. The ancient Germanic tribes had a belief that local forest spirits lived in the crowns of coniferous trees. The tribal people treated the environment with great honor and respect. They believed that if they appeased the spirits well, they would be protected.

People in the forests regularly decorated coniferous trees. Sprigs of pine needles were decorated with nuts, fruits, sweets and fresh homemade bread. The Celts believed that trees were endowed with magical meaning and were not susceptible to destructive power. Over time, local residents began to dig up spruce trees with roots and replant them near their homes. It was believed that an old spruce would be a good talisman.

In European countries, most residents refuse standard Christmas tree decorations. They are happy to decorate the Christmas tree with sweets, candies, and dried fruits. It looks beautiful and original. Those with a sweet tooth can take away the sweets at any time.

The legend of Luther King: what does the Christmas tree have to do with it?

During the birth of Christianity in Europe, the ancient inhabitants still had the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in the forest. Decorated with candies, sweets, ginger cookies, fruits, berries. The ritual of decorating coniferous trees was more reminiscent of pagan rituals than traditions in Christianity. This worried a local priest named Martin Luther King.

One winter evening, he went to the nearest forest to understand why people come here to decorate their beautiful conifers. Walking along snowy forest paths, his gaze fell on a tall, beautiful spruce. It was dusted with silvery snow and illuminated by heavenly moonlight. The picture he saw reminded him of the biblical story about the Star of Bartholomew.

The priest got the idea to bring home a Christmas tree and decorate it with lights in the shape of stars. So he did. Since then, Christians around the world began to decorate the Christmas tree with toys, bright lights, streamers, rain and tinsel for the New Year.

In chronicles you can find records dating back to the 17th century that mention Christmas trees. Starting from the 19th century, the tradition from Germany of decorating a Christmas tree before Christmas moved to other European countries: England, Finland, France, Hungary, Slovenia and others. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tradition moved from Europe to America.

The great Tsar and commander of All Rus' Peter I in the 17th century issued a law on the celebration of the New Year. For the holiday, the house was decorated with fir branches and various treats were served on the table. The first Christmas tree, as an attribute of a new celebration, came to Russia with the ascension to the throne of Tsar Nicholas I.

It was he who ordered the decoration of the coniferous fir tree in the palace for the New Year, according to European traditions. The subjects followed the example of Nicholas I and decorated their homes and estates with fir trees for the upcoming Christmas and New Year. From that time on, the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year began. In the 19th century, German culture, poetry and literature were popular in Russia. Therefore, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in homes quickly took root in all levels of society.

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.

Now it is difficult to imagine celebrating the New Year without its symbol - the fluffy evergreen beauty of spruce. On the eve of this wonderful holiday, it is installed in every home, decorated with toys, tinsel and garlands. The fragrant smell of fresh pine needles and the taste of tangerines - this is what most Russian children associate with the New Year holiday. The children find their gifts under the Christmas tree. At matinees, round dances are performed around her and songs are sung. But this was not always the case. Where did the New Year tree come from in Rus'? The history of the tradition of decorating it for the New Year is described in this material.

Pagan Totem Tree

Our ancestors believed that all trees are alive and spirits live in them. In pre-Christian times, the Celtic Druidic calendar included a day of worship of the fir tree. For them, it was a symbol of courage, strength, and the pyramidal shape of the tree resembled heavenly fire. Fir cones also symbolized health and strength of spirit. The ancient Germans considered this tree sacred and worshiped it. They identified it with the World Tree - the source of eternal life and immortality. There was a custom: at the end of December, people went into the forest, chose the fluffiest and tallest tree, decorated it with multi-colored ribbons and made various offerings. Then they danced around the tree and sang ritual songs. All this symbolized the cyclical nature of life, its revival, the beginning of a new thing, the arrival of spring. Among the pagan Slavs, on the contrary, spruce was associated with the world of the dead and was often used in funeral rites. Although it was believed that if you place spruce paws in the corners of a house or barn, this will protect the home from storms and thunderstorms, and its inhabitants from illnesses and evil spirits.

New Year tree: the history of its appearance in Europe after the Nativity of Christ

The Germans were the first to decorate the Christmas tree in their homes back in the Middle Ages. It is no coincidence that this tradition appeared in medieval Germany. There is a legend that the holy Apostle Boniface, an ardent missionary and preacher of the word of God, cut down an oak tree dedicated to the god of thunder, Thor. He did this in order to show the pagans the powerlessness of their gods. The felled tree felled several more trees, but the spruce survived. St. Boniface declared the spruce a sacred tree, Christbaum (tree of Christ).

There is also a legend about a poor lumberjack who, on the eve of Christmas, sheltered a little boy who was lost in the forest. He warmed, fed and left the lost child to spend the night. The next morning the boy disappeared, and in his place he left a small coniferous tree at the door. In fact, under the guise of an unfortunate child, Christ himself came to the woodcutter and thus thanked him for the warm welcome. Since then, spruces have become the main Christmas attribute not only in Germany, but also in other European countries.

The story of the appearance of the star on the top of the Christmas tree

At first, people decorated their houses only with branches and large spruce paws, but later they began to bring whole trees. But much later, the custom of decorating the New Year tree appeared.

The story of the appearance of a star on the Christmas tree is associated with the name of the founder of Protestantism - the German Martin Luther, the head of the burgher Reformation. One day, while walking down the street on Christmas Eve, Luther looked at the bright stars of the night sky. There were so many of them in the night sky that it seemed as if they, like small lights, were stuck in the treetops. Arriving home, he decorated the small fir tree with apples and burning candles. And he placed an asterisk on the top of the tree, as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced to the Magi about the birth of the infant Christ. Subsequently, this tradition spread among followers of the ideas of Protestantism, and subsequently throughout the country. Beginning in the 17th century, this fragrant conifer became the main symbol of Christmas Eve in medieval Germany. The German language even has a definition such as Weihnachtsbaum - Christmas tree, pine.

The appearance of the Christmas tree in Rus'

The history of the appearance of the New Year tree in Russia began in 1699. The custom of erecting a Christmas tree appeared in the country during the reign of Peter I, at the beginning of the 18th century. The Russian Tsar issued a decree on the transition to a new account of time, the chronology began from the date of the Nativity of Christ.

The start date of the next year began to be considered the first of January, and not the first of September, as was previously the case. The decree also mentioned that the nobility should decorate their houses with pine and juniper trees and branches in the European style before Christmas. On January 1, it was also ordered to launch rockets, arrange fireworks and decorate the capital's buildings with pine branches. After the death of Peter the Great, this tradition was forgotten, except that drinking establishments were decorated with fir branches on Christmas Eve. By these branches (tied to a stake stuck at the entrance), visitors could easily recognize the taverns located inside the buildings.

Revival of Peter's customs in the first half of the 19th century

The history of the New Year tree and the tradition of decorating it for the holy holiday did not end there. The custom of placing lighted candles on the Christmas tree and giving each other gifts for Christmas became widespread in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. This fashion was introduced among the courtiers by his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, a German by birth. Later, all the noble families of St. Petersburg followed her example, and then the rest of society. In the early 40s, the Northern Bee newspaper noted that “it is becoming our custom to celebrate Christmas Eve” by decorating the cherished Christmas tree with sweets and toys. In the capital, on the square near Gostiny Dvor, grandiose Christmas tree markets are held. If poor people could not buy even a small tree, then noble people competed with each other in this: who had a taller, more magnificent, or more elegant spruce. Sometimes precious stones, expensive fabrics, beads, and gimp (thin silver or gold thread) were used to decorate the green beauty. The celebration itself, organized in honor of the main Christian event - the Birth of Christ, began to be called the Christmas tree.

History of the Christmas tree in the USSR

With the Bolsheviks coming to power, all religious holidays, including Christmas, were cancelled. The Christmas tree was considered to be a bourgeois attribute, a relic of the imperial past. For several years this wonderful family tradition became illegal. But in some families it was still preserved, despite the government ban. Only in 1935, thanks to a note by party leader Pavel Postyshev in the main communist publication of those years - the Pravda newspaper, this evergreen tree regained its undeservedly forgotten recognition as a symbol of the coming year.

The wheel of history turned back, and Christmas trees for children began to be held again. Instead of the Star of Bethlehem, its top is decorated with a red five-pointed star - the official symbol of Soviet Russia. Since then, trees began to be called “New Year’s” and not “Christmas”, and the trees and holidays themselves were called not Christmas, but New Year’s. For the first time in the history of Russia, an official document appears on non-working holidays: the first of January officially becomes a day off.

Kremlin Christmas trees

But this is not the end of the story of the New Year tree in Russia. For children in 1938 in Moscow, in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions, a huge multi-meter Christmas tree with tens of thousands of glass balls and toys was installed. Since then, every year a giant New Year tree stands in this hall and children's parties are held. Every Soviet child dreams of going to the New Year tree in the Kremlin. And until now, Muscovites’ favorite meeting place for next year is Kremlin Square with a huge, elegantly decorated forest beauty installed on it.

Christmas tree decorations: then and now

In tsarist times, Christmas tree decorations could be eaten. These were shaped gingerbread cookies, wrapped in multi-colored metallic paper. Candied fruits, apples, marmalade, gilded nuts, paper flowers, ribbons, and cardboard figurines of angels were also hung on the branches. But the main element of the Christmas tree decor were lit candles. Glass inflatable balls were brought mainly from Germany, and they were quite expensive. Figurines with porcelain heads were highly valued. In Russia, only at the end of the 19th century did artels for the production of New Year's products appear. They also make cotton, cardboard toys and papier-mâché figurines. In Soviet times, starting in the 60s, mass production of factory-made Christmas tree decorations began. These products did not differ in variety: the same “cones”, “icicles”, “pyramids”. Fortunately, now on store shelves you can find many interesting Christmas tree decorations, including hand-painted ones.

Where did the tinsel and garlands come from?

No less interesting is the history of the appearance of other New Year's paraphernalia: tinsel and garlands. Previously, tinsel was made from real silver. These were thin threads, like “silver rain”. There is a beautiful myth about the origin of silver tinsel. One very poor woman, who had many children, decided to decorate the tree before Christmas, but since there was no money for rich decorations, the decoration of the tree turned out to be very unattractive. During the night, spiders covered the fir branches with their webs. Knowing the woman’s kindness, God decided to reward her and turned the web into silver.

Nowadays, tinsel is made from colored foil or PVC. Initially, garlands were long strips intertwined with flowers or branches. In the 19th century, the first electric garland with many bulbs appeared. The idea of its creation was put forward by the American inventor Johnson, and brought to life by the Englishman Ralph Morris.

Stories about a small Christmas tree for children and their parents

Many fairy tales, short stories, and funny stories about the New Year tree have been written for small and large children. Here are some of them:

“The Tale of a Little Christmas Tree”, M. Aromstam. A touching and kind story for kids about a little tree that was rewarded for its desire to bring joy to others.
Comics from the Snegirev couple “Keshka in pursuit of a Christmas tree.” Short, funny stories about the cat Keshka and his owner.
Collection of poems "New Year's Tree". Author - Ag Jatkowska.
A. Smirnov “Christmas tree. Ancient Fun" is an old edition of the 1911 Christmas Lotto reprinted in a modern way.

Older children would be interested in reading “The History of the New Year Tree” in the book by Alexander Tkachenko.

Legend connects the Christmas tree with the name of the baptist of Germany, Saint Boniface. Preaching Christianity to the pagans in the 8th century, Boniface decided to prove that the oak tree they worshiped did not have magical powers, and cut it down. Falling, the oak knocked down all the trees around it, and only a small spruce remained standing. “Let it be the tree of Christ!” - exclaimed the saint. Allegedly, since then they have been putting up a decorated Christmas tree in their homes for Christmas.

The holiday tree actually comes from Germany. A later legend says that Martin Luther, one of the founders of Protestantism, ordered the Christmas tree to be placed in houses. Luther was probably one of the first Christian authorities to put up a Christmas tree at home and encouraged others not to shy away from this pagan custom, which, of course, existed long before Luther.

Even before the beginning of the Christian era, the Germans celebrated the midwinter festival at the end of December. Before this day, they placed branches of bird cherry or fruit trees in the water. For the holiday, flowers appeared on the branches, symbolizing that nature did not die forever. But sometimes the buds did not bloom. This was considered a bad omen. Therefore, over time, instead of bird cherry, they began to use branches of evergreen trees: fir, spruce or pine, and later whole small fir trees.

How did the tree migrate from a pagan holiday to Christian Christmas?

At the beginning of the first millennium, the Romans celebrated December 25 as the day of Sol Invictus - the “invincible sun.” When Christianity spread throughout the empire, no one celebrated Christmas because the exact date of Jesus’ birth was unknown. But since he was born in winter, the old holiday Sol Invictus began to be associated with his birth. And so it went, in general, since then, Christmas has spread around the world along with Christianity, absorbing the pagan winter holidays. In the German lands, he absorbed into himself the customs of the midwinter festival. Including the Christmas tree.

In the XIV-XV centuries, ordinary people could not yet afford to buy a whole Christmas tree and were content with branches. But rich craft workshops placed (and sometimes hung from the ceiling) large spruce trees in their workshops, decorating them with apples and various sweets. After the holiday, the children were allowed to shake all this stuff off the tree and take it for themselves. The sugar Christmas star with which the tree was crowned was usually given to the youngest or most distinguished child in the past year. It is not surprising that children have especially loved Christmas ever since.

From Germany the Christmas tree went all over the world. In 1807, the French Emperor Napoleon I, who learned about this custom during military campaigns, ordered a Christmas tree to be decorated in the city of Kassel for his German soldiers from Alsace. In 1837, the Christmas tree was placed in the Tuileries Palace in France. This was ordered by the Duchess of Orleans, nee German princess Helena von Macklenburg. The first Christmas tree in England was erected back in 1800 at the court of King George III for his German wife Charlotte. But the custom did not take hold immediately. The second time the Christmas tree was decorated in England was only in 1840 - and again for a German of august blood - the husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. In England and France, this tradition became popular only in the second half of the 19th century. But now France provides the whole of Europe with Christmas trees, growing them on plantations in the Morvan mountains. And the main Christmas tree of England, which is placed every year in Trafalgar Square, is brought from Norway. This is how Norwegians express gratitude to the British for their help during World War II.

The custom of decorating a Christmas tree was brought to America in the second half of the 19th century by immigrants from southwestern Germany. And in 1882, in New York, the Christmas tree was first decorated with electric candles, which were made by special order of the vice president of the first New York power plant. They began selling electric Christmas tree candles in 1902.

It is believed that in Russia the Christmas tree was first decorated for Christmas by decree of Peter I. This is not so. Peter ordered to celebrate the New Year on January 1 and ordered that on this day the gates of houses should be decorated with spruce and pine branches. And the first Christmas tree in Russia was decorated by St. Petersburg Germans in the 40s of the 19th century. This custom was adopted from them first by the townspeople, and later by the villagers. By the end of the 19th century, a Christmas tree was placed in almost every Russian home.

By the way, few people know that the song “A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest” is not at all folk. Its text was composed in 1903 by a certain Raisa Kudasheva. She was 25 years old then. And the music for this song was composed by biologist and agronomist Leonid Bekman.