New Year is being celebrated. New Year holiday: history, traditions, New Year celebration

The time of the New Year holidays is the time of a beautiful, kind fairy tale that comes to every home at the end of every year with the onset of winter cold. How much do you know about the history of this holiday and the traditions of the New Year? Let’s also remember how we prepared exactly a year ago for the already outgoing Year of the Tiger

The New Year always gives us hope for the best, gives us many gifts and pleasant emotions. During this period, we can easily feel like heroes of a fairy tale. We all remember our childhood, perceiving what is happening around us through the eyes of a child. Everyone so wants to believe in Father Frost and the Snow Maiden, who will certainly come to visit us, and that somewhere far away, in cold lands, there lives a beautiful Snow Queen. Some will disagree with me, but in the soul this happens to everyone. And the New Year is to blame for everything - the time of fulfillment of the most cherished desires. The main thing is to tune in only to the good, the good, and all your wishes will come true

Celebrating the New Year carries the brightest feelings and is associated with hope, love and support. This holiday, like most others, has its roots in ancient times. On this day, everyone gathers in a big, cheerful company and celebrates the year in such a way that the charm of New Year's Eve will be remembered for a very long time.

The history of the New Year goes back about 25 centuries. The celebration of the New Year among ancient peoples usually coincided with the beginning of the revival of nature, and was mainly confined to the month of March. The resolution to count the New Year from the month of “Aviv” (i.e., ears of grain), which corresponds to our March and April, is found in the Law of Moses. Since March, the Romans also considered a new year, until the transformation of the calendar in 45 BC by Julius Caesar. The Romans made sacrifices to Janus on this day and began major events on it, considering it an auspicious day.

Only in 1700, Russian Tsar Peter I issued a decree to celebrate the New Year according to European custom - January 1. Peter invited all Muscovites to decorate their homes with pine and spruce flowers. Everyone had to congratulate their relatives and friends on the holiday. At 12 o'clock at night, Peter I went out onto Red Square with a torch in his hands and launched the first rocket into the sky. Fireworks began in honor of the New Year holiday. About three hundred years ago, people believed that by decorating the New Year tree, they made evil forces kinder. The evil forces have long been forgotten, but the tree is still a symbol of the New Year holiday.

And now a little about the traditions of celebrating this wonderful winter holiday.

New Year's winter holidays had a lot of rituals: people played games, sang songs and danced in circles. The Magi predicted the future, and the girls told fortunes about their betrothed. But, most importantly, everyone went to visit each other. So, entering the house during the holiday, on the table of our ancestors one could see pies in butter, dumplings, porridge with honey, goose stuffed with milk mushrooms and jelly. And after the meal, guests were always treated to the sweet drink suritsa.

But here are the basic rules that the ancient Slavs adhered to:

• Wear something new so that you can spend the whole year in new clothes;
• Throw away old things to cleanse your home and soul of all rubbish;
• Spend the first day of the new year cheerfully so that the whole year will be joyful;
• Prepare as many treats and delicacies as possible for the holiday table in order to live in abundance all year round;
• Do not borrow money for the New Year, pay off all debts so that you are no longer in debt.

Now the New Year holiday is also full of various beliefs and traditions. In Italy, for example, they get rid of old things, and in Bulgaria, when people gather at the festive table, the lights in all houses are turned off for three minutes. These minutes are called "minutes of New Year's kisses", the secret of which is preserved by darkness. An integral part of the New Year is the New Year tree (in some countries this is an attribute of Christmas celebrations) and Santa Claus - a fairy-tale character who puts gifts under the tree for obedient children on New Year's Eve. Modern New Year traditions also appeared - the use of pyrotechnic products: sparklers, firecrackers, rockets, fireworks, as well as the President's New Year's address to the people on television, New Year's concerts and films.

The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree dates back to pre-Christian times. This ritual has a deep ritual meaning: the festive spruce is a symbol of the World Tree, the so-called Axis of the World, connecting heaven and earth (according to popular belief, the spirits of ancestors live on its branches). Therefore, when decorating the tree with sweets, we present gifts to them. But all this applies only to living things growing in the ground. It was strictly forbidden to cut down the tree; you could only cut off the branches. What stops us from making garlands of dried fruits, baking cookies in the shape of birds, animals, houses and hanging them on a live Christmas tree in the forest, in the country house or in the park near the house? And when the holiday is over, birds and even small animals (if you decorated a Christmas tree in the forest) will enjoy the treats with pleasure. This way the tree can be saved from death and our little brothers can be fed.

What did our ancestors do to decorate their home during the New Year holidays?

They used everything they used in everyday life. In addition, the jewelry they invented carried the function of natural amulets. To do this, they used embroidered towels, men's and women's clothing, hats and scarves, tablecloths, curtains and bed linen. They painted the facades and gates of houses, doors, stoves, pottery and furniture. They collected brooms, wooden spoons, horseshoes, wreaths, braids of dried flowers, dried fruits, ears of corn, garlic and viburnum. It has long been known that those who were made relatives for each other had the greatest protective power.

Traditionally, the New Year holiday is considered a family holiday. Some people try to spend it in an atmosphere of home comfort and warmth, others, on the contrary, plan a celebration of a more cheerful and fiery nature, among friends, with a lot of energy, dancing and boundless fun. Some extreme sports fans are in a hurry to spend the old year and meet the new one as brightly and dynamically as possible. Nowadays, celebrating the New Year on the top of a mountain or in a cave has become commonplace for thrill-seekers and challengers. History remembers people who celebrated this holiday in scuba gear on the seabed, while flying with a parachute. Everyone wants something unusual and memorable, they strive to surprise themselves and others. This is what makes the holiday of the change of year so wonderful.

We live in a time of birth of new traditions. Communication with the carriers of the old ones has long been lost. Create your own family traditions that strengthen the connection of family members with nature and each other!

It will be true to say that the place where the New Year is celebrated is not as important as the company of people who will surround everyone during the celebration. Although, it is worth noting that the proper combination of venue, company selection and event planning will make every meeting of the Year a bright and colorful event. This is what will bring a little goodness, happiness and joy into the life of every person, and will also charge him with positivity for the coming year.

And now the year 2009 is almost over... The new year, 2010, is inevitably and excitingly approaching. And again, magical dreams and indescribable feelings of anticipation of extraordinary miracles and fabulous events await us. 2010 according to the eastern calendar is the year of the metal Tiger. An old Burmese legend says that one day a Buffalo defeated a Tiger in a fight and laughed at him. Since then, the Tiger cannot stand Bulls (and Cows), therefore, when saying goodbye to 2009, one cannot praise him. But the New Year 2010 should be celebrated with respect and hope - this is what the Tiger likes. The tiger always goes forward, despises conventions, hierarchy and conservatism of the mind. The tiger is a sign of extraordinary action, unexpected situations and exceptional destiny. In any case, the year of the yellow metal Tiger is a year of outstanding personalities and a battle of the strongest human ambitions, a year of achievements and tests of the strength of a lifetime.

As astrologers note, the New Year 2010 should be celebrated under the auspices of hope and dignity. The tiger, similar in nature to the royal lion, loves this: admiration and exaltation, emphasizing its importance. He himself brings strength and action, power and ambition, while despising conservative rules and hierarchies built over decades. If you are an extraordinary person who is not afraid of tests of strength, this is your year. It foretells struggles and ups, grandiose battles and unattainable heights.

How to decorate a house? The decoration of the rooms and tables should contain things made of metal: silver dishes, metal trays, ceramic-metal jewelry. It’s better to make toys for the Christmas tree with your own hands and make secret wishes. And, although, of course, the main decoration of the apartment is an elegant Christmas tree, you can complement the festive atmosphere with green branches, making winter bouquets or New Year’s compositions from them. The colors of decorative accessories should be dominated by white, black and yellow – “tiger color”.

Festive table

Let's start with its decoration. This year, candles are becoming one of the main attributes of New Year's decor. They should be two colors, the preferred range being stripes, gold, purple or pure white. Cover the table with a tablecloth and serve it with your best service, while not forgetting the symbolism of the approaching year. Place one large Tiger figure in the center or place several small ones between the dishes. You can buy napkins with the image of this animal - it will also turn out original.

New Year is a holiday celebrated by many peoples of the world. It is not celebrated in all countries on the night of January 1st, but it is loved and appreciated everywhere. Already from the first days of December, in all villages and cities there is a feeling of the approach of this winter celebration, which is considered the main holiday of the year. This is a day off, which in Russia also marks the beginning of a general, rather long, vacation. Traditionally, it is celebrated at home, next to the closest people; the holiday is considered a family holiday.

history of the holiday

On the night from December 31 to January 1, the New Year is not celebrated in all countries of the world. Very often, the main winter holiday is Christmas, and New Year's celebrations either end the Christmas period if Christmas is celebrated on December 25, or begin in countries where Christmas is celebrated on January 7. In most countries in Southeast Asia, January 1 is a common day, the New Year is celebrated there according to the lunar calendar, and in Israel the main New Year celebrations take place in September, when Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated. There are no celebrations on New Year's Eve in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Iran, India, China, Saudi Arabia.

New Year is one of the main holidays of humanity, which can rightfully be considered one of the first to appear. It was celebrated back in the third millennium BC in Mesopotamia. Historians claim that the holiday is even more ancient, this tradition is at least five thousand years old. The ancient Egyptians celebrated it in a manner similar to modern celebrations, with nightly celebrations. For them, the New Year began in September, when the Nile flooded, which was an extremely important event. On January 1, Julius Caesar began to celebrate the holiday, and he also established the custom of decorating houses.

In Rus', it was celebrated for a long time in spring and autumn, until Peter I moved the celebration to the beginning of January. It is curious that in all Christian countries the New Year is a somewhat secondary holiday compared to Christmas. In our country, this celebration is considered the main one for the reason that under Soviet rule, celebrating all church events was strictly prohibited.

13. 12.2015

Catherine's blog
Bogdanova

Good afternoon, readers and guests of the “Family and Childhood” website. The New Year holiday is a magical holiday that both adults and children look forward to. It breathes magic, beckons with brilliance and bright lights into the fairy-tale world of unusual creatures. This holiday, like all others, has its own history, traditions and characteristics.

History of the New Year holiday

The history of the New Year goes back many centuries. It was celebrated even three thousand years before the birth of Christ. Julius Caesar, the well-known ruler of ancient Rome, set the beginning of the year on January 1 in 46 BC. This day belonged to the god Janus, and the first month of the year was named after him.
In Russia, January 1 began to be considered the first day of the year only under Tsar Peter I, who signed a corresponding decree in 1700. Thus, the emperor moved the celebration to the same day on which it was customary to celebrate the New Year in Europe. Before this, New Year's festivities took place in Rus' on September 1. Until the 15th century, it was believed that the year began on March 1.

If we talk about history closer to our days, then January 1 first became a holiday in 1897. In the period from 1930 to 1947, this was a normal working day in the USSR. And only in December 1947 it was again made a holiday and a day off, and since 1992 another day was added to it - January 2. And quite recently, in 2005, such a thing as the New Year holidays appeared, which lasted a whole 10 days, including weekends.

New Year's traditions are many and varied. Each of them carries a certain meaning and has its own history. Thus, the New Year tree is an integral attribute of the holiday. In Russia, houses were first decorated with fir branches by decree of Peter I, who imitated Europe in everything.

And the custom of placing and decorating a green beauty for Christmas appeared already at the end of the 19th century. He was taken from the Germans. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was forbidden to put up a Christmas tree, but in 1936 this ban was lifted, and the green beauty again began to bring joy to children and adults.

It’s worth talking about separately. In ancient times, green trees were decorated simply. Usually they hung vegetables or fruits, usually apples, nuts and various products of labor. Moreover, each individual decoration carried a certain meaning. And only in the 17th century the first toys appeared, which served as a prototype for modern Christmas tree decorations. It was then that the first glass balls appeared in Germany.

This happened in the town of Thuringia in 1848. And in 1867, the first plant for the production of Christmas tree decorations was built in Lauscha, Germany. It is worth noting that the Germans rightfully held the lead in this matter for a long time.

And the tradition of decorating the top of the Christmas tree with a figurine of Christ originated in Scandinavia. Later, it was replaced by a golden angel. And closer to our time they began to decorate it with a spire. In the USSR, in every house there was a red star at the top of the Christmas tree.

Over time, not only the appearance of the toys changed, but also the styles in which the Christmas tree was decorated. Thus, bright sparkles and tinsel were replaced at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries (as in our days) by the fashion for a Christmas tree in restrained silver tones. Later, figures made of paper and cardboard gained popularity. But fashion is cyclical, and bright, sparkly jewelry soon returned to its place in homes.

It is interesting to note that the history of our state is directly reflected in Christmas tree decorations. In the USSR there were many figurines of vegetables and fruits during the time of Khrushchev. During the Second World War, figures of paratroopers were hung on branches.

Under Stalin, Christmas tree hockey players and figurines of circus characters were produced. In addition, toys with state symbols were widely distributed, for example, the already mentioned star on the top of the head.

Nowadays it is fashionable to make toys with your own hands. A variety of technologies and materials are used for this. They are knitted, glued, cut out and these different techniques are combined. Almost every home today has a toy or garland made by the hands of children and their parents.

Another tradition is New Year's gifts. Without them, a holiday is not a holiday. Boxes of different sizes, wrapped in multi-colored paper, are placed under the Christmas tree on New Year's Eve. And in the morning, these gifts discovered by children will be a source of joy and good mood. The obligatory guests of the New Year's holiday are Father Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka. According to legend, they are the ones who bring gifts to children in bags.

The image of the fairy-tale Santa Claus is collective. It is based on Saint Nicholas and the Slavic folklore character Moroz, who personifies winter frosts.

If prototypes of Father Frost exist in many national cultures, then the Snow Maiden is a purely Russian heritage. It appeared relatively recently. Most likely, it was first mentioned in fairy tales in the 18th century. And in 1873, A.N Ostrovsky composed the play “The Snow Maiden”, where she is depicted as the fair-haired daughter of Father Frost and Red Spring, dressed in a blue and white hat, fur coat and mittens.

And in 1936, the image of the Snow Maiden received its completed form, when, after the official permission of the holiday, she began to appear on a par with Father Frost in manuals for organizing New Year's matinees.

Features of the celebration

As you know, New Year is a family holiday. On this night, the whole family gathers at the table, various delicacies and treats are prepared. There is such a sign: “How you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it.” Therefore, the table, as a rule, is bursting with a variety of dishes, so that in the coming 365 days such abundance will be on the table every day. This can also explain the desire to dress in new beautiful outfits.

In the last few years, New Year celebrations have increasingly begun to move from cozy houses and apartments to cafes and restaurants. In order to have a fun night, hosts are invited to organize competitions and offer other interesting entertainment. New Year's tours are also gaining popularity, which provide the opportunity to celebrate this holiday in other cities and even countries.

According to custom, at 23:00 on December 31, they say goodbye to the outgoing year. The celebration of the new year begins at midnight with the chiming of chimes and the clink of filled glasses. Many people believe that if you manage to write your cherished wish on a piece of paper while the chimes are ringing, burn it and sip champagne, then it will definitely come true.

New Year's mood is also given by television programs and programs dedicated to this holiday. As December 31 approaches, the airwaves are flooded with good old films about the New Year, music television programs, and fairy tales. Every resident of our country has seen “The Irony of Fate” at least once, without which not a single New Year goes by.

“Blue Light” and other music programs are shown on every channel. The whole country has the opportunity to watch the president’s speech and his congratulations. This tradition dates back to 1970, when Leonid Brezhnev spoke to the citizens of the country for the first time.

Nowadays it is impossible to imagine New Year's Eve without festive fireworks. They launch it both centrally and privately. From midnight until one o'clock in the morning, multi-colored stars and artificial lights scatter in the sky non-stop.

This action looks especially grandiose in big cities, where impressive pyrotechnic shows are staged. In addition to fireworks, sparklers are lit in every house and firecrackers explode. You can read about how to choose it correctly.

The use of fireworks, firecrackers, firecrackers and other pyrotechnics during the New Year holidays originates in China. It was believed that on this night evil spirits, expelled from their previous habitats, were looking for a new home.

Having found it, they will cause its owners various troubles and troubles all year long. And the loud noise and bright lights from gunpowder explosions can scare them away. This tradition gained wide popularity and spread throughout the world.

The celebration of the Old New Year is common only in Russia and some CIS countries. It is celebrated on the night of January 13-14. It was on this day that the new year began according to the Julian calendar. In fact, it represents an echo of the change in chronology during the transition to the Gregorian style. For Russian people, this is another reason to gather at the festive table.

It is difficult to find a person who would be indifferent to the New Year holidays! The love for this magical night is ingrained in everyone from early childhood. Everyone associates New Year with gifts, sweets, fun and good mood! But few people know why the calendar year begins on January 1. Meanwhile, the history of this holiday is rich and interesting.

Why is New Year celebrated on the first of January?

New Year is one of the oldest holidays, but the world still does not have a single start date for the year. Different peoples record time from different periods, and in some countries there is no fixed date at all, and chronology is based on the lunar calendar.

In pre-Christian times, many peoples celebrated this important holiday on the winter solstice. In Rus', until the 10th century, the beginning of the new year was celebrated on days close to the spring equinox. Celebrating the birth of the year in the spring was natural - people rejoiced at the end of the long winter, the addition of days, and the new harvest.

With the advent of Christianity (988-989), Rus' switched to the Julian calendar. Since then, the beginning of the year began to be celebrated on the first day of spring, considered the day of the birth of the world. At the same time, the year was divided into 12 months and each of them was given its own name, corresponding to natural phenomena.

In 1492, the start date of the year was moved to September 1. The corresponding decree was signed by John the Third. To create a festive mood among the people, the sovereign organized a magnificent celebration in the Kremlin, to which everyone was invited. On this day, any ordinary person could approach the king and ask him for help, which the ruler almost never refused. The last time the New Year was celebrated in this format in Rus' was in 1698, then the sovereign gave each guest an apple and affectionately called him brother.

Russians owe the fact that the New Year holiday falls on January 1 to the great reformer Peter the Great - it was he who, by decree “On the Reform of the Calendar in Russia,” ordered the New Year celebration to be moved to the generally accepted day in Europe. By decree of the king, all residents of large and small cities were supposed to joyfully celebrate the holiday, congratulate each other and give gifts. The Emperor gave the order exactly at midnight to launch the first rocket, thus congratulating everyone gathered on Red Square on the New Year 1700.

Since 1897, January 1 has become an official non-working day in Russia. This was enshrined in a corresponding decree and applied to all workers in factories, factories and other industries.

After power in the country fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks, the beginning of the year began to be celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar. Thus, the holidays fell during the period of fasting, which made them uninteresting for Christians. The communists also did not really celebrate the New Year, Christmas trees were banned in the country, and public festivities were not approved. In the period from 1930 to 1947, this day was a typical working day and only in 1947 it was returned to the status of a weekend.

For a long time, only January 1 was considered a holiday in the Soviet Union, and a two-day weekend was established in 1992. Russians received even more holidays in 1995 - then a decree was issued on a five-day New Year holiday, which actually extended the January holiday to 8-10 days. In 2013, January 6 and 8 were included in the holidays.

Where did Santa Claus come from?

The image of Santa Claus appeared much earlier than the New Year celebration. In Russian folklore, the keeper of the cold was most often angry and unfriendly. After the beginning of the year was moved to winter time, the frost lord received a new role - he began to give gifts and bring a holiday to people of all ages.

Modern Father Frost has his own birthday - November 18 and his own home, which is located in Veliky Ustyug. Now he receives requests for gifts by email and transmits his coordinates via satellite navigation system.

History of the New Year tree

A Christmas tree decorated with toys and garlands is the main symbol of the New Year, without which it is difficult to imagine a fun and tasty holiday. Decorating spruce trees was customary in ancient times, when the beginning of the year was celebrated on the day of the spring solstice. Then the Slavs sang songs near the Christmas trees, performed round dances and danced.

In Russia, the coniferous beauty appeared in 1700; as you might guess, this elegant custom was introduced by Peter the Great. However, only by the middle of the 19th century the holiday tree spread throughout the country and became a people's favorite, representing not only the New Year, but also the Nativity of Christ. In 1920, the Bolsheviks banned decorating coniferous trees, classifying this custom as a religious relic. Only in 1936 did the spruce return legally, and its top began to be decorated with a symbolic five-pointed star.

By the way, for residents of Russian cities, New Year is the main winter holiday and is celebrated on January 1. However, there are exceptions among city residents who do not celebrate New Year. A real holiday for a believer is the Nativity of Christ. And before it is the strict Nativity Fast, which lasts 40 days. It begins on November 28 and ends only on January 6, in the evening, with the rising of the first star. There are even villages where all residents do not celebrate the New Year or celebrate it on January 13 (January 1, Julian style), after Lent and Christmas.

Now let's return to the history of New Year celebrations in Rus'

The celebration of the New Year in Rus' has the same complex fate as its history itself. First of all, all changes in the celebration of the new year were associated with the most important historical events that affected the entire state and each person individually. There is no doubt that folk tradition, even after officially introduced changes in the calendar, preserved ancient customs for a long time.

Celebrating the New Year in pagan Rus'

How was it celebrated? New Year in pagan ancient Rus' - one of the unresolved and controversial issues in historical science. No affirmative answer was found at what time the year began.

The beginning of the New Year celebration should be sought in ancient times. Thus, among ancient peoples, the New Year usually coincided with the beginning of the revival of nature and was mainly confined to the month of March.

In Rus' there was a proleta for a long time, i.e. the first three months, and the summer month began in March. In honor of him, they celebrated Ausen, Ovsen or Tusen, which later moved to the new year. Summer itself in ancient times consisted of the current three spring and three summer months - the last six months included winter time. The transition from autumn to winter was blurred like the transition from summer to autumn. Presumably, originally in Rus' the New Year was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox March 22. Maslenitsa and New Year were celebrated on the same day. Winter has been driven away, which means a new year has arrived.

Celebrating the New Year after the Baptism of Rus'

Together with Christianity in Rus' (988 - Baptism of Rus'), a new chronology appeared - from the creation of the world, as well as a new European calendar - the Julian, with a fixed name for the months. The beginning of the new year began to be considered March 1.

According to one version, at the end of the 15th century, and according to another in 1348, the Orthodox Church moved the beginning of the year to September 1, which corresponded to the definitions of the Council of Nicaea. The transfer must be put in connection with the growing importance of the Christian Church in the state life of ancient Rus'. The strengthening of Orthodoxy in medieval Rus', the establishment of Christianity as a religious ideology, naturally causes the use of “holy scripture” as a source of reform introduced into the existing calendar. The reform of the calendar system was carried out in Rus' without taking into account the working life of the people, without establishing a connection with agricultural work. The September New Year was approved by the church, following the word of the Holy Scriptures; Having established and substantiated it with a biblical legend, the Russian Orthodox Church has preserved this New Year's date until modern times as an ecclesiastical parallel to the civil New Year. In the Old Testament church, the month of September was celebrated annually, to commemorate peace from all worldly worries.

Thus, the New Year began on the first of September. This day became the feast of Simeon the First Stylite, which is still celebrated by our church and known among the common people under the name Semyon of the Summer Conductor, because on this day summer ended and the new year began. It was a solemn day of celebration for us, and the subject of analysis of urgent conditions, collection of quitrents, taxes and personal courts.

Innovations of Peter I in the celebration of the New Year

In 1699, Peter I issued a decree according to which they began to consider the beginning of the year 1st of January. This was done following the example of all Christian peoples who lived not according to the Julian, but according to the Gregorian calendar. Peter I could not completely transfer Rus' to the new Gregorian calendar, since the church lived according to the Julian calendar. However, the Tsar in Russia changed the calendar. If earlier years were counted from the creation of the world, now chronology starts from the Nativity of Christ. In a personal decree, he announced: “Now the year of Christ is one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine, and from next January, on the 1st day, the new year 1700 and a new century will begin.” It should be noted that the new chronology existed for a long time together with the old one - in the decree of 1699 it was allowed to write two dates in documents - from the Creation of the world and from the Nativity of Christ.

The implementation of this reform of the Great Tsar, which was so important, began with the fact that it was forbidden to celebrate in any way September 1, and on December 15, 1699, the beating of drums announced something important to the people who poured in crowds to Krasnaya square. A high platform was built here, on which the royal clerk loudly read the decree that Peter Vasilyevich commands “from now on, summers should be counted in orders and in all matters and fortresses written from the 1st of January from the Nativity of Christ.”

The Tsar steadily ensured that our New Year holiday was no worse and no poorer than in other European countries.

In Peter's decree it was written: "...On large and thorough streets for noble people and at houses of deliberate spiritual and secular rank in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper... and for poor people, at least a tree or branch for the gate or place it over your temple..." The decree did not talk specifically about the Christmas tree, but about trees in general. At first they were decorated with nuts, sweets, fruits and even vegetables, and they began to decorate the Christmas tree much later, from the middle of the last century.

The first day of the New Year 1700 began with a parade on Red Square in Moscow. And in the evening the sky lit up with the bright lights of festive fireworks. It was from January 1, 1700 that folk New Year's fun and merriment gained recognition, and the celebration of the New Year began to have a secular (not church) character. As a sign of the national holiday, cannons were fired, and in the evening, multi-colored fireworks, never seen before, flashed in the dark sky. People had fun, sang, danced, congratulated each other and gave New Year's gifts.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the country's government raised the question of calendar reform, since most European countries had long switched to the Gregorian calendar, adopted by Pope Gregory XIII back in 1582, while Russia still lived according to the Julian calendar.

On January 24, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic." Signed V.I. Lenin published the document the next day and came into force on February 1, 1918. It said, in particular: “...The first day after January 31 of this year should not be considered February 1, but February 14, the second day should be considered 15 -m, etc." Thus, Russian Christmas shifted from December 25 to January 7, and the New Year holiday also shifted.

Contradictions immediately arose with Orthodox holidays, because, having changed the dates of civil holidays, the government did not touch church holidays, and Christians continued to live according to the Julian calendar. Now Christmas was celebrated not before, but after the New Year. But this did not bother the new government at all. On the contrary, it was beneficial to destroy the foundations of Christian culture. The new government introduced its own, new, socialist holidays.

In 1929, Christmas was cancelled. With it, the Christmas tree, which was called a “priestly” custom, was also abolished. New Year was cancelled. However, at the end of 1935, an article by Pavel Petrovich Postyshev “Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the children for the New Year!” appeared in the Pravda newspaper. Society, which had not yet forgotten the beautiful and bright holiday, reacted quite quickly - Christmas trees and Christmas tree decorations appeared on sale. Pioneers and Komsomol members took upon themselves the organization and holding of New Year trees in schools, orphanages and clubs. On December 31, 1935, the Christmas tree re-entered the homes of our compatriots and became a holiday of “joyful and happy childhood in our country” - a wonderful New Year’s holiday that continues to delight us today.

old New Year

I would like to return once again to the change of calendars and explain the phenomenon of the Old New Year in our country.

The very name of this holiday indicates its connection with the old style of the calendar, according to which Russia lived until 1918, and switched to a new style by decree of V.I. Lenin. The so-called Old Style is a calendar introduced by the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar (Julian calendar). The new style is a reform of the Julian calendar, undertaken on the initiative of Pope Gregory XIII (Gregorian, or new style). From an astronomical point of view, the Julian calendar was not accurate and allowed for errors that accumulated over the years, resulting in serious deviations of the calendar from the true movement of the Sun. Therefore, the Gregorian reform was necessary to some extent.
The difference between the old and new styles in the 20th century was already plus 13 days! Accordingly, the day that was January 1 in the old style became January 14 in the new calendar. And the modern night from January 13 to 14 in pre-revolutionary times was New Year's Eve. Thus, by celebrating the Old New Year, we are, as it were, joining history and making a tribute to time.

New Year in the Orthodox Church

Surprisingly, the Orthodox Church lives according to the Julian calendar.

In 1923, on the initiative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, a meeting of the Orthodox Churches was held, at which a decision was made to correct the Julian calendar. Due to historical circumstances, the Russian Orthodox Church was unable to take part in it.

Having learned about the meeting in Constantinople, Patriarch Tikhon nevertheless issued a decree on the transition to the “New Julian” calendar. But this caused protests and unrest among the church people. Therefore, the resolution was canceled less than a month later.

The Russian Orthodox Church states that at present it does not face the question of changing the calendar style to Gregorian. “The overwhelming majority of believers are committed to preserving the existing calendar. The Julian calendar is dear to our church people and is one of the cultural features of our life,” said Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, secretary for inter-Orthodox relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Orthodox New Year is celebrated on September 14 according to today's calendar or September 1 according to the Julian calendar. In honor of the Orthodox New Year, prayer services are held in churches for the New Year.