As the theatre begins with a coat rack, so does the New Yearstarts with the Christmas tree. They start choosing and decorating it long before the holiday, and as soon as the elegant beauty appears in the house, it becomes clear that New Year's miracles and joy will not pass by this house. It is not for nothing that we choose the fluffiest tree, because the more needles it has, the better it drives away evil spirits. The whole family gathers to decorate the prickly beauty, because this is a special ritual when New Year's toys and decorations are carefully taken out of the box and carefully hung on the tree. Usually, at these moments, the brightest moments and interesting stories of previous New Year's festivities are remembered.
The history of the New Year tree
The Christmas tree appeared in our homes with a light handMartin Luther, it was he who spread this tradition in Germany, from where the trees spread first across Europe, and then across Russia. Peter the Great, having moved the New Year celebration to January 1, did not forget about the European style of home decoration, ordering that every home have juniper and other coniferous decorations on New Year's Eve. But this entertainment was available only to wealthy citizens, since the peasants' income did not allow them to buy even firewood for the stove, not to mention New Year's sweets and trees. At first, the tree was hung from the ceiling - this is how the Germans advised the prickly young lady to be installed by the Russian boyars; when exactly she came down, no one remembers. And on New Year's Eve, Father Frost presented little boyars with gifts and sweets, while the peasants had much simpler fun - they dressed up in the clothes they had, sang songs, told fortunes and caroled, but they always cooked porridge in river water, remembering Basil the Great, the patron saint of pig farmers. After the October Revolution, the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree became closer to the people: they were decorated with homemade New Year's toys, live New Year's trees were put up in courtyards, gardens and schools, at home and at work, and each of us remembers the story in which Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya, having decorated a Christmas tree at home, invited all the children to visit. Then the tree disappeared from sight for a while, while the anti-religious campaign was going on, and only in 1935 did it return, although now the official New Year's celebrations arranged for citizens of Soviet Russia began to be called Christmas trees. Within a year, the production of Christmas tree decorations was established and, celebrating the New Year of 1936, every family was happy with a fluffy and elegant Christmas tree; many still keep Soviet New Year's toys as a memory of childhood. Today, you can decorate the tree as you like, regardless of fashion and political trends, which only makes the holiday more original and interesting. We recommend reading:
