For centuries, the main winter holiday in Russia was Christmas. The New Year dissolved into this great event. In the Soviet years, for ideological reasons, Christmas was forgotten, leaving only the New Year. In recent decades, there has been a gradual return to the Nativity of Christ as one of the year’s most important holidays.
Christmas in Tsarist Russia
In Tsarist Russia, Christmas celebrations began after the all-night service held in all the country’s churches. First of all, the holiday was a luxurious dinner and a Christmas ball. Lotto was often played, and raffle prizes were given away. The burning of Bengal lights, fireworks, dancing, games, and group dances accompanied the celebration. The tradition of decorating the New Year’s tree and leading a group dance around it appeared later.
The New Year tree from Peter I to the present day
European New Year and Christmas traditions were brought to Russia by Peter I with his reforms. In Europe, fir trees were decorated as early as the 16th century. In the first third of the 20th century, fir trees were banned in Russia: first, during the First World War, by the Holy Synod’s decision, as a “German tradition”; and then in the early years of the USSR, as a “relic of the bourgeois past”. Only since 1936 have Soviet citizens been able to place and decorate green beauties at home freely.
New Year in the USSR: courantes, champagne, and tangerines
The smell of frozen tangerines on the balcony, the aroma of a live fir tree, the foam of champagne in tall glasses, cheerful songs from the TV, the taste of “capitalist” salad and chocolate candies… All this is familiar to everyone who remembers how they celebrated the New Year in the Soviet Union. In thousands of homes throughout the vast country, the holiday was celebrated in the same way. There would definitely be toasts with the same movies and the musical “Blue Fire.” And, of course, Santa Claus and Snow Maiden, who tirelessly congratulated the children throughout the pre-holiday week and brought gifts in large, colorful bags, mostly sweets in beautiful boxes.
