Where did the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree come from: legends and facts. New Year tree: history and interesting facts
We all love to decorate the Christmas tree since childhood. This tradition has a long history and originates from biblical legends. Why is it customary to decorate coniferous trees and where did this tradition come from?
There are several parables and legends about this.
According to Christian tradition, on the night when the Son of God was born, a bright star lit up in the sky. Seeing the divine sign, not only people, but also plants went to Bethlehem. Everyone wanted to show great joy and give the baby a gift: flowers, fruits and berries.
A spruce hurried to a great event from the northern lands. She came last and shyly stood aside. In a hurry, the tree forgot about the gift for the newborn Savior. Then the plants, one after another, began to give their gifts to the spruce: fruits, petals, bright flowers. The tree was transformed, became beautiful and joyfully approached Jesus. The kid smiled and a bright star shone on top of the spruce.
According to another legend, a palm tree did not let a coniferous tree into the cave to the Savior, reproaching it with sharp thorns and sticky resin. The modest Christmas tree did not make excuses and sadly watched everything on the sidelines. Then one of the angels took pity and enriched its branches with shining stars. 
Seeing such beauty, the baby smiled and gave a pen to a beautiful tree. Since then, Spruce has become a sign of the great feast of the Nativity of Christ.
New Year tradition in Northern Europe
Since time immemorial, Europeans have believed in the existence of forest spirits living in dense thickets, especially on pines, spruces and firs. They believed that blizzards and blizzards were tricks of the spirits. In order to appease the mysterious creatures, people tried in every way to please them: they decorated coniferous trees, brought offerings, performed mysterious rituals.
The tradition of installing an evergreen tree in the house is associated with the name of Saint Boniface. The parable says that the preacher, bringing the Word of God to the pagans, cut down the mighty tree of the god Thor in order to show his impotence. Falling, it knocked down all the trees around, leaving the spruce untouched.
It is believed that at the very beginning of the existence of the tradition, the Christmas tree was not decorated, but simply placed in the house. It was first decorated by Martin Luther in 1513. In memory of the Savior, he installed a Christmas star on the top of the tree. Many followed Luther's example. 
The tradition acquired a mass character only in the middle of the 19th century. Residents of England, France and America began to bring home branches of coniferous trees, decorating them with apples, colored paper and other items.
The spread of the custom in the Russian Empire
The tradition of decorating the fir tree was introduced by Peter I. At first, frankly speaking, the custom did not take root. Most likely, this is due to the fact that in Rus' since ancient times the path of the deceased was spread with branches of pine needles. So it was not associated with a holiday and fun.
The revival of the tradition occurred thanks to Princess Alexandra Feodorovna, who had German roots. On the eve of 1819, in the royal residence in Moscow, she ordered to put up a Christmas tree and decorate it with various decorations. The common people followed the royal example.
With the advent of Soviet power, the mention of Orthodoxy and religion in general was suppressed in every possible way. All Christmas attributes were persecuted, including the tradition of decorating the New Year tree. This continued until 1935, until an article appeared in a communist newspaper with the headline "Let's arrange a holiday for the children - decorate the Christmas tree." 
The country's leadership supported the initiative and after some time toys and decorations began to appear in stores. Nevertheless, the revival of tradition could not pass by the Soviet apparatus, and instead of the Star of Bethlehem, a symbol of communism, a red star, was installed at the top.
Today, the Christmas tree is associated with the New Year, Santa Claus, holiday and fun. With special joy, children start decorating the coniferous beauty.
Can not imagine New Year without a beautiful fluffy Christmas tree. For the New Year holiday, the forest beauty is dressed up by children and adults. A few decades ago, there was no tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in our country. So where did she come from? This is what will be discussed in our article.
Where did the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree come from?
The Germans claim that the origins of the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came from Germany. The trees were originally decorated for Christmas. The tradition originated during the Middle Ages.
Residents believed that decorated trees at Christmas bring a rich harvest. The ancient Germanic tribes had a belief that local forest spirits live in the crowns of coniferous trees. The tribal inhabitants treated the environment with great honor and respect. They believed that if the spirits were well appeased, they would be protected.
People in the forests regularly dressed coniferous trees. Sprigs of needles were decorated with nuts, fruits, sweets and homemade fresh bread. The Celts believed that trees are endowed with magical meaning and are not amenable to destructive power. Over time, local residents began to dig up spruce with roots and transplant them near their homes. It was believed that the old spruce would be a good amulet.
In European countries, most residents refuse standard Christmas tree decorations. They are happy to decorate the Christmas tree with sweets, sweets, dried fruits. It looks beautiful and original. At any time, sweet tooth can remove sweets.
The legend of Luther King: what does the tree have to do with it
At the time of the birth of Christianity in Europe, the ancient inhabitants had a tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in the forest. Decorated with sweets, sweets, gingerbread cookies, fruits, berries. The ceremony of decorating coniferous trees was more reminiscent of pagan rites than traditions in Christianity. This worried a local priest named Martin Luther King.
On one of the winter evenings, he went to the nearest forest to understand why people come here to dress up handsome conifers. Walking along the snow-covered forest paths, his eyes fell on a tall beautiful spruce. It was powdered with silvery snow and illuminated by heavenly moonlight. The picture he saw was reminiscent of his biblical story about the Star of Bartholomew.
In the head of the priest, the idea arose to bring home a Christmas tree and decorate it with lights in the form of stars. And so he did. Since then, it has been born among Christians all over the world for the New Year to decorate the Christmas tree with toys, bright lights, serpentine, rain and tinsel.
In the annals, you can find records dating back to the 17th century that mention Christmas trees. Starting from the 19th century, the tradition from Germany to decorate a Christmas tree before Christmas passed to other European countries: England, Finland, France, Hungary, Slovenia and others. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tradition passed 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 spruce branches and various treats were served on the table. The first Christmas tree, as an attribute of the celebration of the new, came to Russia with the ascension to the throne of Tsar Nicholas I.
It was he who ordered to decorate the coniferous spruce in the palace for the New Year, according to European traditions. The subjects followed the example of Nicholas I and dressed up spruces in their homes and estates for the upcoming Christmas and New Year. Since that time, 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 sectors of society.
New Year holidays are strongly associated with a decorated Christmas tree, on which multi-colored lights shine, mysteriously shimmer glass balls, beads and garland threads flicker. It seems to us that this has always been the case. But is it really so?
Ancient origins of the custom
The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came to us from Germany. And it appeared long before the rise of Christianity. The ancient Germanic tribes endowed nature with divine powers. They believed in the existence of forest spirits. It was also believed that supernatural creatures live on coniferous trees, which can send blizzards, cause frost, and confuse hunters. And these spirits become especially strong on long and dark winter nights. Therefore, in order to appease the forest creatures and ask them for help, people tried to appease them. Spruces, where spirits supposedly lived, were decorated with fruits and various delicacies, the priests pronounced special incantations and performed rituals. For some tribes, spruce was a symbol of life, the beneficial forces of nature, so these customs were designed to ensure people's health and prosperity.
Christmas tree and Martin Luther
Many years have passed, Christianity has long been accepted everywhere in Europe. But people, as in pagan times, still went to the forest on Christmas night to decorate the fir-trees with colored shreds and fruits. All this worried the priest and reformer Martin Luther. There is a legend that once on Christmas Eve he was walking through a snowy forest, grieving at this behavior of his flock. And then he saw a tall fluffy spruce, on the branches of which frost sparkled like stars in the night sky. And the brightest frosty star adorned the top, like the Star of Bethlehem, which led the Magi to the baby Jesus. Luther liked this analogy - he found a solution to the problem. The Christmas tree was delivered to the priest's house, and he decorated it with candles so that their lights resembled the twinkling of stars. And so this tradition was born.
Christmas trees in Europe and Russia
In fact, it is impossible to say exactly where the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came from. Although the legend attributes it to Martin Luther, the first written mention of Christmas trees date back to 1605. In those days, they were decorated with roses made of colored paper, apples, nuts and other similar things. And only at the beginning of the 19th century this custom spread throughout all European countries. And in America, decorated fir trees became a ubiquitous attribute of Christmas by the middle of the 19th century.
Where did this tradition come from in Russia?
Although Peter I ordered to celebrate the New Year and put decorations from spruce, pine and juniper branches in front of the gates as early as 1700, the custom of decorating homemade spruce really spread everywhere only in the late 1830s. Tsar Nicholas I was the first to order to decorate the Christmas tree, and then all the nobility followed his example. At that time, German romantic literature came into fashion, and this contributed to the spread of the tradition. It is curious that at the same time, Swiss and German confectioners in St. Petersburg began to offer their customers ready-made trees decorated with sweets.
Christmas tree in the Soviet Union
However, it should be noted that a decorated Christmas tree was an attribute of Christmas, that is, a religious holiday. And of course, the October Revolution abolished everything - Christmas, New Year celebrations, and the Christmas tree. In the late 1920s, all this was banned. However, in a country devastated by the revolution and the Civil War, there were no opportunities for all this. But time passed, life got better, and people always need holidays. And in 1936, the Christmas tree returned precisely as an attribute. new year holidays. It was decorated with colored paper garlands, flags with Soviet symbols, bright balls. Fortunately, ideological motives were soon forgotten, and today we still have the opportunity to decorate the New Year tree.
December is in full swing, it's time to think about the main symbol of the holiday - the New Year tree. When she appears in the house, its whole atmosphere is filled with trembling expectation of a miracle and anticipation of a winter fairy tale. Interestingly, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the winter holidays exists in completely different parts of the world. Why did the spruce become a symbol of the New Year and Christmas almost all over the world?
There are many theories about the origin of the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree. winter holidays, therefore, the history of the emergence of this ritual is very confusing and incomprehensible - you can’t tell briefly in any way ... By the way, christmas tree It is considered precisely in the countries of the former socialist camp, and all over the world - it is Christmas. Let's try to figure it out!
How the Christmas tree became a symbol: ancient beliefs
Many, many years ago, when humanity was in the bud of its development with the most primitive way of life, one of the objects of worship for people was a tree. He was spiritualized and endowed with "highly spiritual" properties. According to a number of legends with different variations, it was believed that trees are living beings in which the souls of our loved ones live, who have departed to another world. Or, in the branches of trees, spirits lurk, who find themselves a comfortable shelter here. So people began to decorate trees in ancient times in order to "appease" these spirits. After all, they can be both supportive of those still living on Earth, and aggressive.
And in the aspect of such beliefs, a special role was assigned, of course, to evergreen trees. This is akin to some kind of miracle - everything fades, and in spruces, pines, thujas, etc., life glimmers both in winter and in summer. So, ancient people believed that this is because they are chosen by the Sun. And it, as a source of warmth and life, is the main deity in most pagan mythologies.
The origins of the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in different countries
The mythology of the Slavs assumed fun near the spruce New Year's symbol - songs, dances, playing musical instruments. Thus, our ancestors believed that their good mood awaken the goddess of spring - I live. She, in turn, should have been kind to people and sent her son, Light, to Earth. The complex chain of events did not stop there: Light, according to legend, went to the kingdom of Santa Claus to awaken life there and rid the Earth of the shackles of ice.
And the ancient Germans, for example, decorated their houses with branches of spruce trees in honor of the winter solstice. The Khanty people made sacrifices to the firs. Udmurts - lit candles on these trees and prayed to the gods on the first day of the New Year ...
According to one version, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the winter holidays was most vivid and intense in Germany. And from there it spread throughout Europe.
The Christmas tree, set in a natural position, in which we recognize it, most likely appeared already in the 16th century. At least the first documented evidence of the tree as a symbol of Christmas belongs to this century. Then already Christianity began to march around the world, bringing new traditions and absorbing pagan rituals: "took away" and the Christmas tree, making it Christmas.
Christmas tree: legends
Where did the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree come from: the theory of Ancient Rome
The oldest theories say that the origins of the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the winter holidays are in the history of ancient Rome, which existed from 753 to 476. BC e. It was customary to decorate dwellings with spruce in honor of the god of agriculture, Saturn. Then they just hung green coniferous branches around the house and decorated them with candles and some shiny trinkets. These, most likely, the very first fir trees hung from the ceilings and were designed to protect the monastery from evil spirits. Later, in the first millennium of our era, when Christianity had already emerged, but was not yet very widespread, the Romans celebrated on December 25 the Feast of the Sun "Sol Invictus". And although Christianity was already actively crawling through the empire, Christmas had not yet been celebrated. Because the exact date of the appearance of Christ into the world has not been established. True, it was known that this happened in the winter, so "Sol Invictus" was gradually transformed into his birthday.
Herringbone - Christmas symbol: Germanic theory
So, in parallel with the ancient Roman theory, there is also a German one. Although the Germanic tribes are not as well known to the world as the Roman Empire, the first mention of their civilization dates back to the first millennium BC. in the work "Germany" by the author Tacitus. And in the VIII-VI centuries BC. e. they were a completely separate people, even if they did not have an official country with the name "Germany".
So, legends about the German tradition of decorating spruce are already connected with these times. It is not known exactly when, but it is absolutely certain that even in pre-Christian times, at the end of December, the Germans had a custom of celebrating the middle of winter. In preparation for it, people in their homes put tree branches into the water. It could be fruit or bird cherry. With special trepidation for the so-called New Year of that time, they were waiting for flowering on these branches. It was a symbol of the continuation of life in nature, despite the winter dying. Often, "home-grown trees" really pleased the owners with flowers and buds. But this was not always the case. And, of course, this was considered a bad sign from Heaven. But these plants in the house in winter are designed to inspire hope for spring and save from winter cold despondency. So gradually fruit branches began to be replaced by evergreens. And people began to put whole trees in their houses: fir, pine, spruce.
The origins of the Christmas tree tradition: Ukrainian version
There is another bold version of the appearance of the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree, and she says that the custom was born in Ukraine and already from us came to Western Europe. Our ancestors, the Slavs, the ancient pagans who lived in the present territory of Poland and Ukraine, according to legend, on the holiday of the winter solstice (which later turned into Christmas) created a decor symbolizing the seed and new life. They believed that it was on these winter days that the gates of heaven open to send new life, new ideas, new goodness, new destiny and new grace to the earth. This is still preserved in the mystical and magical traditions of our Christmas time. And in honor of the holiday, our direct ancestors performed a “magic” ritual with a Christmas tree - burning a tree. Before the solemn ritual, the tree was decorated, seeds, apples, nuts and coins were thrown into its fire. This symbolized the request for favor from the gods.
Why do believers decorate the Christmas tree?
There are also religious variants of the origin of the Christmas tree symbolism. According to one of the legends, all earthly trees came to congratulate the divine baby on the night of his birth with the birth. And who was able to get to Jesus first? The ones who grew up. Bethlehem palms, then - beeches, cypresses, willows, oaks, etc., but the last to come to worship - a small Christmas tree from the North. Behind the lush vegetative environment of Christ, the modest spruce was not visible at all. But suddenly the stars began to fall on her straight from the sky - the northern beauty, adorned with a starry glow, sparkled and shone. Here, for example, is a great option for explaining to a child the appearance of a Christmas tree for the New Year.
Even on the origin in Germany, the tradition of decorating a fir tree for a winter holiday has its own view of Christianity. One of the religious legends connects the appearance of the Christmas tree as holiday symbol winters in Germany with Saint Boniface, her baptist. In the VIII century, he carried out on these lands, so to speak, sacred religious propaganda. Before Christianity, the Germans worshiped the oak. And during one of the sermons, Boniface wanted to overthrow this pagan symbol in a demonstrative way, defiantly cutting it down. The oak fell down, dragging all the surrounding trees with it. And in this clean space, only one small Christmas tree stood. Boniface in his hearts and proclaimed it the tree of Christ. So the spruce has been a symbol of Christmas since then and appears by the end of December in European homes.
And there is also a legend among the Protestants on this subject. They attribute a later appearance to the festive spruce and associate it with the name of Martin Luther King. In the 16th century, he made a religious revolution in Germany, fighting against the papal policies of the canonical Catholic Church and went down in history as the leader of the Reformation. So there is an opinion that he was one of the first who put an elegant spruce in his house in honor of Christmas. Although this custom was, in fact, pagan and existed long before it, Luther can be safely called a significant popularizer of the Christmas tree tradition in Europe. What was the reason for such actions in relation to our beloved Christmas tree, the legend does not specify.
There is also a legend that connects the origins of the tradition of decorating a fir tree with the Jewish Hanukkah, which is also celebrated in December in honor of the glorification of a miracle. For the holiday, a lamp is lit, which consists of eight candles. Some scholars argue that Hanukkah is a symbolic prototype of our christmas tree with the call "Christmas tree light up."
The Christmas tree goes around the world: the origins of the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in different countries
Only in the 19th century can we say that the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree "bloomed" to the fullest in the world. Then, throughout Europe, the Christmas tree became an obligatory attribute of the Christmas and New Year festivities, although its solemn procession began much earlier.
In the English side, the Christmas tree first appeared in 1800 at the court of King George III of Great Britain at the suggestion of his wife Charlotte, a native of Germany. But the official initiator of this tradition in England is King Albert of Saxe-Coburg, the husband of Queen Victoria, also a German by birth. Because under Charlotte, the tree became a little-known decor for selected aristocrats.
But Albert began to introduce the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree to the masses through personal example in the 40s of the same century. And in 1848, the Illustrated London News published a photograph of the royal family near a lush Christmas tree. And for some 10 years, all the British, admiring the example of their royal family, were happy to decorate festive green trees in their houses. In addition, the spruce immediately became the main symbol of winter fun here - now all the celebrations took place around the Christmas tree.
In France, the first Christmas tree was installed in 1807 by order of Napoleon I in Kassel. He learned about this tradition in military campaigns and decided in this way to please his German soldiers. And already in 1837, an elegant spruce appeared in the French Tuileries Palace at the court of King Louis Philippe on the orders of the Duchess of Orleans, the born German princess Helena von Macklenburg. True, the royals did not see fit to decorate the festive tree with candles, so it did not shine and was not attractive to the masses. So in France, the tradition took root for a long time and not very lively.
It is known for sure that in 1817, spruce appeared on official winter holidays in Hungary. In 1820 - in the Czech Republic, in 1829 - in Scandinavia, and in 1840 - in the Russian Empire (hence, Ukraine, which at that time was part of it).
In many countries, the Christmas tree appeared thanks to England, because she actively “delivered” this tradition to her colonies.
It was only towards the end of the 19th century that the Christmas spruce tradition was brought to the United States. And again, thanks to German immigrants. The Germans living in America simply began to decorate and install fir trees near their homes, not skimping on candles and gifts as tree decorations. So this sight impressed their neighbors, and they quickly took their example. The custom spread through American families so rapidly that literally everyone wished for such a bright, elegant decoration for the Christmas holidays.
Already in 1848, the first Christmas tree fair appeared in New York. From here came the custom of elegant New Year's markets. In the same place, in 1882, electric candles, that is, our favorite garlands, first appeared on the Christmas tree. They were created according to a special project of the vice-president of the electrical company General Electric.
Symbol of the New Year and Christmas: the first official spruce
There is a heated debate about where the first public Christmas tree was officially installed in Europe. The Germans claim that in the Strasbourg Cathedral - 1539. There is even evidence for this from Alexander Demandt, the famous German historian.
The official origins of the tradition in Rus': Christmas tree and Peter I
Even Peter I tried to plant a Christmas tree as a symbol of winter holidays for the inhabitants of the Russian Empire. He brought the Christmas tree to the Russian Empire from his first trip to Europe at the end of the 17th century. Then on December 20, 1699, in his decree, he introduced new holiday: New Year from September 1st was moved to January 1st. It was also indicated there to decorate dwellings from pine, juniper and spruce branches for this day - European symbols of Christmas. But then his violent obsessive actions did not introduce this tradition to the people. So, she crowned New Year's decorations only in official buildings.
The people were in no hurry to follow such decor, but the owners of various cereal establishments actively began to decorate the exterior of their buildings with spruce trees. Apparently, to attract customers. Since then, it has been customary for people to call roadside bars "Christmas trees". But in fact, for the first time the Christmas tree came to Russia in 1817 during the reign of Nicholas I. Because his wife was a native of German Prussia and missing her homeland asked to decorate the palace for the winter holidays with spruce and pine trees.
And only in the 19th century did the fluffy beauty become a truly ubiquitous national symbol of the New Year. Then, in the 1940s, the first public Christmas tree was decorated in the building of the St. Petersburg Ekaterininsky railway station by local immigrants from Germany. Then she was magnificently decorated with fruits and ribbons, and crowned with a large star on top. Following their example, urban residents began to act, and then villagers - so by the end of the century, in almost every house there was a beautiful Christmas tree.
Why did they start celebrating the New Year with a Christmas tree in the USSR?
For some time our country was one of the republics of the Soviet Union (we cannot deny this fact), which means that it was subject to the imperious influence of the party communism of the Land of Soviets. And communism had its own special relationship with the festive coniferous tree. So with the beginning of the history of the Soviet Union in the 20s, of course, Christmas, like all religious customs, was forbidden to celebrate. As a result of Lenin's categorical rejection of Christianity, etc., the elegant winter spruce also fell into disfavor, and Santa Claus was equated with the enemies of the people. All this was presented by propaganda as malicious bourgeois traditions. But spruce is a very tenacious symbol of the holiday! In the end, he survived the bulk of Christianity from paganism, and so communism won.
After 10 years, it turned out that the party needed a magical winter fairy tale. After all, winter, whatever one may say, is a difficult and depressing time, which, without mysticism and lights that color the shabby nature, is difficult to survive even in the name of building bright communism. So the Soviet authorities decided to rehabilitate the elegant Christmas tree, but having already removed its connection to Christmas, the celebration of the New Year was elevated to a new cult. Now the evergreen tree in the USSR has become a symbol of the new Soviet year, which promises new victories and achievements in the struggle for universal equality and prosperity. It was allowed to decorate the Christmas tree with anything, but not with bourgeois-religious symbols. So the Bethlehem star at the top of the festive tree was replaced by a communist one - and that was the end of it.
The Christmas tree, without exaggeration, gave a fairy tale and a sense of miracle on cold dark days, not only to children, but also to adults. Helped me survive the terrible war years. Then the Christmas tree fashion was not intricate - it was decorated with handmade toys or improvised materials that reflected the essence of the time. Military Christmas tree decorations are nurse dogs, pistols, paratroopers. Later, Soviet ideology had a hand in this as well. Red Army soldiers, flags, pioneers, Pobeda cars, snowflakes with a hammer and sickle began to appear on the Christmas trees. In the 50s, during the heyday of agriculture and the famous Khrushchev agricultural reforms, toy corn appeared on the New Year tree. And in the 60s, the era of astronautics - satellites, astronauts, aviators and even a peaceful atom. I wonder what it looks like?
The custom of decorating the Christmas tree came to us from Germany. There is a legend that the beginning of the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree was laid by the German reformer Martin Luther. In 1513, returning home on Christmas Eve, Luther was fascinated and delighted with the beauty of the stars, which strewed the firmament so densely that it seemed as if the crowns of the trees sparkled 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.
It is also known that in the 16th century in Central Europe on Christmas night it was customary to put a small beech tree in the middle of the table, decorated with small apples boiled in honey, plums, pears and hazelnuts.
In the second half of the 17th century, the custom was already widespread in German and Swiss homes to complement the decoration of the Christmas meal not only with deciduous, but also with coniferous trees. The main thing is that it should be a toy size. At first, small Christmas trees were hung from the ceiling along with sweets and apples, and only later the custom was established to decorate one large Christmas tree in the guest room.
In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree spread not only throughout Germany, but also appeared in England, Austria, the Czech Republic, Holland, and Denmark. In America, Christmas trees also appeared thanks to German emigrants. At first, Christmas trees were decorated with candles, fruits and sweets, later toys made of wax, cotton wool, cardboard, and then glass became a custom.
In Russia, the tradition of decorating the New Year tree appeared thanks to Peter I. Peter, who was visiting his German friends for Christmas at a young age, was pleasantly surprised to see a strange tree: it seems to be a spruce, but instead of cones there are apples and sweets. The future king was amused. Having become king, Peter I issued a decree to celebrate the New Year, as in enlightened Europe.
It prescribed: "... Along the large and passing streets, noble people and at the houses of the deliberate spiritual and worldly rank in front of the gate to make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper ...".
After Peter's death, the decree was forgotten, and the tree became a common New Year's attribute only a century later.
In 1817, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich married the Prussian princess Charlotte, baptized in Orthodoxy under the name of Alexander. The princess convinced the court to adopt the custom of decorating the New Year's table with bouquets of spruce branches. In 1819, at the insistence of his wife, Nikolai Pavlovich put up a New Year tree in the Anichkov Palace for the first time, and in 1852 in St. Petersburg, a public Christmas tree was decorated for the first time in the Ekaterininsky (now Moscow) station.
Christmas tree hype began in the cities: expensive Christmas tree decorations were ordered from Europe, children's New Year's parties were held in rich houses.
The image of the Christmas tree fits well into the Christian religion. Christmas decorations, sweets and fruits symbolized the gifts brought to the little Christ. And the candles were reminiscent of the illumination of the monastery where the Holy Family stayed. In addition, an ornament was always hung on the top of the tree, which symbolized the Star of Bethlehem, which ascended with the birth of Jesus and showed the way to the Magi. As a result, the tree has become a symbol of Christmas.
During the First World War, Emperor Nicholas II considered the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree "enemy" and categorically forbade it to be followed.
After the revolution, the ban was lifted. The first public Christmas tree under the Soviet regime was arranged at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School on December 31, 1917 in St. Petersburg.
Since 1926, decorating a Christmas tree has already been considered a crime: the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks called the custom of installing the so-called Christmas tree anti-Soviet. In 1927, at the 15th Party Congress, Stalin announced the weakening of anti-religious work among the population. An anti-religious campaign began. The party conference of 1929 canceled the "Christian" Sunday: the country switched to the "six-day period", the celebration of Christmas was forbidden.
It is believed that the rehabilitation of the Christmas tree began with a small note in the Pravda newspaper, published on December 28, 1935. It was about the initiative to organize a good New Year's tree for children. The note was signed by the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Postyshev. Stalin agreed.
In 1935, the first New Year's Eve was organized. children's party with dressed up forest beauty. And on New Year's Eve 1938, a huge 15-meter Christmas tree with 10,000 decorations and toys was placed in the Hall of Columns in the House of the Unions, which has since become traditional and later called the main Christmas tree of the country. Since 1976, the Christmas tree in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (since 1992 - the State Kremlin Palace) has been considered the main Christmas tree. Instead of Christmas, the tree began to be put on New Year's Eve and was called the New Year's tree.
At first, Christmas trees were decorated in the old fashioned way with sweets and fruits. Then the toys began to reflect the era: pioneers with bugles, faces of members of the Politburo. During the war - pistols, paratroopers, orderlies, Santa Claus with a gun. They were replaced by toy cars, airships with the inscription "USSR", snowflakes with a hammer and sickle. Under Khrushchev, toy tractors, corn cobs, and hockey players appeared. Then - cosmonauts, satellites, characters of Russian fairy tales.
Nowadays, there are many styles of decorating the Christmas tree. The most traditional of them is decorating the Christmas tree with multi-colored glass toys, electric bulbs and tinsel. In the last century, natural trees began to be replaced by artificial ones, some of them very skillfully imitated living spruces and decorated in the usual way, others were stylized, not requiring decorations. There was a fashion for the decoration of Christmas trees in a certain color - silver, gold, red, blue, the minimalist style in the design of the Christmas tree has firmly entered the fashion. Only garlands of multi-colored lights remained an invariable attribute of decorating the Christmas tree, but here, too, LEDs are already replacing electric bulbs.
