Numerous opinion polls unanimously show that the favorite holiday of Russians is the New Year. All adults remember all their lives what awe they had in childhood was the approach of the fabulous New Year's Eve, how as children they were waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus in anticipation of gifts. Many continue to believe in New Year's signs even in adulthood, which helps to maintain Russian New Year's traditions and customs.

The history of the New Year's Eve in Russia

Christians in Europe consider Christmas to be the main holiday, paying the main attention to its celebration, and the New Year is already coming as a post-Christmas trail. In our country, the New Year prevails over Christmas, which, moreover, happens after its celebration.

• Before Peter the Great in Russia, the New Year began on September 1, but the first emperor of Russia decided that it was not worth falling behind Europe and postponed the celebration of the New Year to January 1.
• Only in 1897 this day was officially recognized as a holiday, and the first day of the new year became a day off.
• In 2004, the first five days of January were declared days off, and taking into account Saturday, Sunday and Christmas, the New Year holidays are extended by 10 days.

Video about Russian New Year traditions

A festive late dinner in decorated dwellings in Europe is mainly associated with Christmas, which occurs at the end of December. Once upon a time, all Christians celebrated Christmas at the same time, until in 1582, Pope Gregory the 13th converted Catholics from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian. The Orthodox remained with the Julian chronology. Then some of them switched to the New Julian calendar in the 20th century, and Russia switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1918, while the Orthodox Church remained with the Julian calendar. This is how two Christmases are celebrated in the world every year: one at the end of the year, and the other at the beginning - whoever likes it more.

The symbol of the New Year is a Christmas tree

New Year's customs and traditions in Russia, and almost all over the world, are associated with a festively decorated Christmas tree (or other tree). History has not preserved the founder of this tradition. Even in Russia, there are disagreements about who first brought this tradition into the country - Empress Catherine or the future wife of Nicholas I. In those days, Russia sought to imitate German culture in many ways, so it gladly accepted the idea of ​​a decorated Christmas tree. There is a belief that a good spirit settles in the sacred firs. Also, this coniferous plant is associated with immortality, and its cones - with good health.

The tradition of decorating a particular tree for holidays has been around for many centuries. The Christian tradition chose spruce to celebrate Christmas. There is an interesting legend according to which Saint Boniface, while preaching among the Druids and trying to convert them to Christianity, tried to prove that the oak is not a sacred tree. To do this, he had to arm himself with an ax and cut down one of the oaks, which fell down all the nearest trees, except for the spruce, when it fell. Boniface called it the tree of Christ.

Initially, various fruits and fruits were hung on Christmas trees as decorations, then candles were added to them. But it was hard for the flexible spruce branches, and they often caught fire from candles. Therefore, light and shiny glass balls and garlands gradually came into use.

The modern New Year is impossible to imagine without a Christmas tree, which has become the most important symbol of the holiday. Moreover, the Christmas tree takes an active part in the festival, because under it, as well as on its branches, gifts are hidden, and around it, children lead round dances - all these are Russian New Year traditions.

New Year's table traditions

In Russia, the New Year's table was always bursting with dishes. It is customary for us to think that a rich table promises greater prosperity for the family in the future. A variety of meat dishes were served at the festive table, pies with many fillings were baked, mead and compotes were cooked. In the center of the table there was usually a suckling pig roasted with buckwheat porridge on a spit. Previously, pork was especially popular because people wanted to eat it after abstinence during the Christmas Lent and before the onset of Lent. Geese fried with sauerkraut and apples were also typical New Year's dishes. One of the signs demanded that there be rabbit or poultry meat on the table so that happiness would not run away or fly away from home. For Belarusians and haiduks, kutya and pancakes were traditional New Year decorations. The guests were treated to figurines of pets baked from dough.

• In the first half of the 19th century, the New Year's table was simpler than the modern one. On the tables of the nobility, one could also see radish salad or pickles and fruits preserved from summer.
• In the second half of the same century, the table was already becoming more diverse - red caviar, salmon, European cheeses appeared.
• At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, alcoholic drinks began to appear on the table: sparkling, German white and fortified Spanish wines, traditional vodka and homemade beer.

In the following decades, the assortment of the New Year's table became more and more enriched, but the suckling pig stuffed with buckwheat remained the most desired dish.

Ded Moroz and Snegurochka

But the main New Year traditions in Russia are connected, of course, with an inseparable couple - Father Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka. This kind wizard from the North wears a long gray beard, a red (blue, white) sheepskin coat, the same hat and is armed with a magic staff, and behind him is a large bag with gifts. Santa Claus moves on a sleigh drawn by three horses, and the beautiful Snow Maiden helps the "forgetful" grandfather in everything.

Once, Santa Claus was a pagan deity, symbolizing a frosty winter, covering the ground with snow, freezing rivers with ice. He perfectly defended Russia from enemies - when they attacked, terrible colds set in, and the exhausted invaders retreated.

Christians tried to turn him into an evil spirit, but the Bolsheviks returned their beloved Santa Claus to the people. Since the 30s of the last century, he has already become an integral character of New Year's celebrations. They even came up with an official residence in Veliky Ustyug, where mail addressed to him arrives, and appointed his birthday on November 18, when severe frosts most often come in this area. Santa Claus has a granddaughter, the Snow Maiden, only in Russia, and her origins also lie in pagan mythology.

Modern Russian New Year

What is the New Year for the modern generation? This is a fun party all night long, fireworks and a festive table. Our ancestors, celebrating the New Year, cracked their rattles and made noise to scare away evil spirits. Now they are replaced by fireworks.

Mirrors and windows are decorated with snowflakes, images of the Snow Maiden, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, etc. In the New Year, it is also customary to give gifts, and, earlier, they were intended for Santa Claus to appease him. Now everything has turned upside down. Before the revolution, Santa Claus hid his gifts in socks, and then began to leave them under the Christmas tree.

As before, on the New Year's table you can see a greatly simplified Olivier salad or a herring under a fur coat, although there are supporters of lighter dishes that do not contain mayonnaise. But "Soviet champagne" is still the Russians' favorite New Year's drink. Unfortunately, a plentiful table and a half-wall TV killed New Year's contests and many entertainments. In recent decades, it has become customary to order Father Frost and the Snow Maiden at home so that they personally congratulate the children.

For more than 70 years, since 1935, when the first congratulation of the Soviet people took place on the radio, the leaders of the state have invariably addressed their fellow citizens before the chiming clock. Traditions are gradually changing, but the New Year remains a favorite folk holiday.

Video about Russian New Year traditions and customs

New Year's customs and signs

• To wear new clothes all year round, you need to put on a new outfit for the New Year.
• At the end of the outgoing year, you need to forgive people and forget their grievances.
• Before the holiday, the house needs to be washed, old things and broken dishes should be thrown away.
• At the moment when the chimes strike, you need to make a wish. There are wonderful variations of this sign, for example, to have time to write a wish on a piece of paper in a minute, burn it, throwing the ashes into champagne and drink the last one.
• On New Year's Eve, it was necessary to freeze water in a spoon: if air bubbles are visible in the ice, then the health of the "experimenter" will be strong, but if a depression forms in the center, this promises illness.

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New Year in Russia is loved and celebrated with pleasure and joy. This holiday is overgrown with traditions that have developed over the years. Over time, modern customs and orders appeared that are characteristic of our country. Traditions are important for every nation, because they are the connection of new generations with their ancestors, they reveal the essence of the nation, its character. Therefore, we advise all Russians to study New Year traditions in Russia.

Traditions of past centuries

Celebrating the New Year according to the new chronology in Russia began under Peter I. By his decree, everyone was ordered to decorate their houses with branches of pine, spruce or juniper, have fun and set festive tables, but do not do any disgrace. A fluffy and elegant Christmas tree came to Russian homes in the 19th century. This event is still considered controversial, since according to some sources, the future wife of Nicholas I brought the Christmas tree in 1830, according to others, Empress Catherine in 1855. In those days, the culture of Germany and its traditions were worshiped in Russia, and therefore they gladly accepted such a wonderful custom. It was believed that spruce is a sacred tree in which a good spirit lives. In addition, the evergreen plant was a symbol of immortality, and the cones personified health and strength of mind.

But Russian people learned how to decorate a Christmas tree beautifully from the French. They hung cookies, apples, bright flowers made of multi-colored paper on the branches of a tree. This tradition quickly spread throughout Germany and throughout Europe.

The custom of giving gifts to each other on New Year's Eve has survived to this day. Only in ancient times, these days, young men chose a bride for themselves and tried to appease her with all kinds of offerings.

Carols and fortune-telling in the month of prosinets

In the old days, January was called "prosinets" for the clear and blue sky between the clouds. At this time, everyone was watching the weather and events to determine the future in the coming year. The girls guessed at the betrothed-mummers, for good luck. The youth had fun from the bottom of their hearts, caroled and collected rich gifts, congratulating the owners on the New Year and Christmas. Carols are a glorious tradition of the New Year holidays. This is the Slavic spirit of joy and fun. Basically, in carols they sang goodness, wealth and generosity, asked for good luck and prosperity for themselves and for those to whom the carolers came. In gratitude for the good wishes, the hosts gave money and goodies.

Everyone tried to meet the holiday with a pure soul and without debts. Be sure to put on new clothes, give money, put up with relatives and neighbors, asked for forgiveness from each other.

New Year in modern Russia

Before the New Year, we are all preoccupied with preparations for the holiday - we are looking for gifts, we try to time our vacation to New Year's days, we empty supermarket shelves, we are idle in traffic jams. And yet, with trepidation and joy, we are waiting for the enchanted night to meet new joy, new happiness at the festive table. Modern customs include garlands, and sparkling balls, and Olivier, and pies with a surprise, and sparklers with champagne, and making wishes to the sound of chimes. In many houses, small garlands are hung on the windows so that they flicker friendly in the dark, reminiscent of the holiday. In some houses, snowflakes, Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden are painted on mirrors and glasses.

In the cities, loving parents invite fairy-tale characters home to congratulate their children on the holiday and give them gifts. Someone goes abroad to celebrate the New Year on the golden sands of the beaches.

Whatever the old traditions or the new ones that have arisen, this holiday will always be in a special account for the Russians. Maybe it's all about beautiful traditions? After all, belonging to a rich history fills any event with a special meaning. New Year's is no exception. We, too, someday will become part of the past for our descendants. Let them know only good things about our life.

The meeting of the New Year, without any doubt, can be called our most beloved and popular holiday. We love it so much that we celebrate it twice: the first time according to the Gregorian calendar adopted today, and then according to the old Julian calendar, used before 1918. This is the second in time, but not in importance, holiday, we can safely consider only our own, truly Russian New Year, because even the name of this holiday - Old New Year cannot be translated into any foreign language. And is it worth it? Can we afford to have such a special, homely, cozy and at the same time Russian-style cheerful and generous New Year's Eve celebration.

No matter how strange it may seem, the New Year holidays did not take root in Russia at all at once. Even more than that, such a beloved New Year by everyone today constantly met various obstacles on its way to Russia. The sovereign-reformer Peter I brought us this holiday from Europe, but it didn’t work out right away to make it Russian. Everything about this holiday was strange for the people: the new chronology from the Nativity of Christ instead of the usual chronology from the Creation of the world; and the meeting of the new year, transferred from the abundant time of the beginning of autumn to the stingy middle of winter; and even the order of the Sovereign to decorate houses with fir trees, pines, and juniper branches. Indeed, in Russia, joy and prosperity have always been identified with birch and oak, and spruce was a mourning tree. And it was not clear to the peasants and the common people what kind of a holiday it is when you need to decorate your house with funeral spruce branches. And so it turned out that with the death of Peter Alekseevich, the celebration of the New Year established by him immediately ceased.

New Year's celebrations returned in the reign of Catherine the Great. Surely someone, but the Empress knew a lot about holidays, and she felt and loved the Russian soul. It was She who first set up a Christmas tree in the Winter Palace, and not just a Christmas tree, like Peter I, but a festive, elegant Christmas tree, decorated with sweets, fruits and garlands. Such beauty, of course, pleased the Russian people, and it is from the reign of Catherine the Great that one can begin the countdown to the celebration of the real Russian New Year. In those days, the secular New Year was celebrated more with balls and festivities than with plentiful feasts, but the beginning of traditions was laid. It may sound somewhat unexpected, but the New Year's treats of those times were almost the same both in palaces and in peasant huts. Catherine the Great had great respect for sour cabbage soup - a fizzy kvass drink, which she called nothing more than Russian champagne, and the tables were lined with the simplest, typically Russian treats: pickles and pickles, baked piglets, fish dishes, pies - everything that they were treated to on New Year's Eve and in the simplest homes. Except that greenhouse exotic fruits and outlandish sweets distinguished rich New Year's balls from simple, but no less cheerful New Year's festivities of the townspeople and peasants. It is interesting that poultry dishes, so popular today, were not served at Russian New Year's tables in those days - it was believed that luck could fly away in the coming year. This is how the first New Year traditions were established.

The real popularity of the Russian New Year holidays was brought by the 19th century. Today, for some reason, it is believed that pre-revolutionary Russia widely celebrated only church holidays, for example, Christmas, and secular holidays, like New Year, were not widespread at that time. Sometimes even calls are heard to completely abandon the celebration of the "pagan and alien" New Year. Perhaps this confusion comes from the fact that, according to the modern calendar, the New Year holidays fall on the time of Philip's fast. But really, that is precisely why the Old New Year is of such importance for a Russian person, which embraces with its joy and binds together all layers of our society, allowing deeply religious people to boldly celebrate the New Year together with secular friends, combining ancient and modern New Year traditions.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, winter holidays in Russia began with the Nativity of Christ and continued until Epiphany. And in a series of cheerful balls and masquerades, plentiful feasts and festivities, there was certainly a place for New Year's Eve. In restaurants and general meetings, public Christmas trees were arranged, theaters gave New Year's performances, and after the performances they arranged New Year's masquerades and dances. At the same time, there was also a tradition of New Year's gifts, albeit a little more modest than Christmas ones.

And of course, by this time the tradition of New Year's feasts had already developed. And in big cities, and in provincial towns, and even in the most remote villages, a plentiful feast has become one of the most important attributes of the New Year. And it doesn’t matter how important it was already to what strata of society the celebrants belong. Whether it was palace balls of aristocrats, chic festivities of rich residents of both capitals, or home feasts of poor townspeople and peasants - everyone tried to celebrate the New Year as magnificently and cheerfully as possible, treating themselves and treating friends to the most delicious dishes and wishing themselves and everyone around prosperity in the coming year. . Regardless of income, each family tried to set the table with as many different dishes as possible, and it should be noted that the New Year's treat was much more varied and plentiful than even the Christmas treat. It is not in vain that the evening of December 31 was called generous! Even in the simplest families, they tried to serve as many meat dishes as possible to the table. There were also baked pigs, and jelly, and jellies, and boiled pig heads, and stuffed lamb sides and stomachs. In peasant families, rich kutya was certainly prepared, which was seasoned with pork fat and crushed poppy seeds. From the bins and cellars, the most delicious delicacies were obtained, specially prepared for the New Year's Eve: pickles and sauerkraut, salted and dried mushrooms, pickled apples and berries, berry marshmallow and jam - all the most delicious went to the preparation of New Year's dishes, all the most delicious were set New Year's table. Russian rich cabbage soup and the most generous porridges with meat did not remain forgotten either. As today, in those days it was believed that the more plentiful the New Year's meal, the more various dishes will be put on the table, the more full and plentiful the coming year will be.

New Year in Russian certainly included special New Year's pastries. Most often these were various figurines of animals, elegant gingerbread ones - in wealthy houses, or simple ones, baked from rich or the simplest unleavened dough - in poorer houses. Such figurines were baked so that cattle would multiply well in the new year. The peasants baked pancakes for the New Year's table, so that the cattle were smooth and well-fed, and various buns and rolls for a good harvest, and elegant loaves decorated with dough spikelets and flowers, so that wheat and rye were born to glory. And besides ritual baking, they did not forget about delicious pies with a wide variety of fillings, and about pies, cheesecakes, fried and yarn pies, levashniks (sweet pies with levash - dried apple or berry mass) and gingerbread. Pies and pies were prepared for the New Year a lot, a lot. So much to turn a simple meal into a whole New Year's ritual. The hostess folded them in a slide on the table, the owner of the house hid behind this slide, and only then the children were called. The children, entering the room, shouted: - And where did our father go? - Don't you see me? - cheerfully answered the owner of the house from behind a mountain of pastries, - We do not see! - the children rejoiced, - And God forbid that we don’t see you all year either. They said this with a view to the hope that the whole next year the table would also burst with dishes, as on New Year's Eve. And during the New Year's festivities, all these pies were presented to neighbors, friends and, of course, all the surrounding children.

Of course, we didn't forget about drinks on New Year's Eve. In peasant houses and families of poor townspeople, they certainly prepared sbitni, warming on a cold winter night, and for children they prepared non-alcoholic sbitni from water, honey, dried berries and spices, but adults got strong sbitni - with mead, wine, vodka. By the New Year holidays, both liqueurs and tinctures were ripe. In the richer houses, champagne was already flowing, a wide variety of wines, madeiras, ports and vodkas were served at the New Year's table.

In addition to delicious dishes and drinks, the newest desserts and sweets appeared. At the same time, the Napoleon cake, beloved by many today, appeared, decorating the tables of wealthy citizens. A newfangled dessert, ice cream, has become an indispensable attribute of the New Year's table of aristocrats.

In general, the New Year's tables of wealthy citizens and the aristocracy differed from our modern New Year's menus, except perhaps in an excessive abundance and an impressive assortment of dishes. But most of the rich New Year's dishes of that time are available to us today. Ducks and geese baked with apples, caviar, noble fish, a variety of delicious salads and snacks of that time, which came to us from European cuisine, have also taken root in Russian cuisine, over time they migrated from the tables of the old aristocracy to our festive New Year's menus. , often with only minor changes associated with products that have become too difficult or costly to obtain. And even simple, but such tasty and satisfying dishes of the New Year's table are available today to absolutely everyone. This means that, like centuries ago, today every family can not only celebrate the Old New Year, but also celebrate it, respecting many old New Year traditions, celebrate the real New Year in Russian on the night of January 13-14.

In Russia, the main holiday is the New Year, and the tradition of celebrating Christmas suffered significantly in the atheistic Soviet Union. However, for the last fifteen years we have been celebrating Christmas. A Russian person can never have too much holiday and fun!

Big holiday on January 1st

Most countries celebrate Christmas with great pomp on December 25th. But in Russia they celebrate the New Year on January 1st. Why?

To begin with, Tsar Peter I ordered the holiday and the calendar beginning of the year to be moved from September 1st to January 1st, so that everything would be like in the West. In 1897, the beginning of the new year was officially declared a holiday, and the first day officially became a day off. In 2004, days until January 5th were declared days off. We rest for ten whole days because Saturday, Sunday and Christmas are added to them.

But all our New Year's traditions, like a Christmas tree and a delicious dinner, are inherent in Christmas in most countries. And we love the New Year. This is due to the reform of 1918 - the Bolsheviks did not like the religious background of the holiday. And on January 7th, and not at the end of December, as in Catholic countries, because the authorities adopted the Gregorian calendar, and the Julian church remained.

Rich New Year's table

In Russia, it is customary to celebrate the New Year with family or friends. Close people gather together on the evening of December 31st to spend the Old Year and meet the New. And they gather not just like that, but at the set table, laden with all sorts of festive dishes.

To begin with, they usually remember what happened in the past year - good or, conversely, bad. They tell what happened in life important and wish each other happiness. And of course, do not forget to pay tribute to goodies and alcoholic beverages, which are customary to buy a lot in most families and companies.

Traditional dishes for the Russian New Year's table are salads "Olivier" and "herring under a fur coat." And the most "New Year's" fruit is tangerines. These dishes became obligatory in Soviet times. In addition, many more intricate, time-consuming dishes are usually prepared, some of which can be tasted no more than once a year.

Champagne - the most New Year's drink

It is believed that the tradition of drinking champagne for the New Year appeared in the 1960s - the authorities decided to provide every Soviet family with at least one bottle of Soviet champagne for the holiday. The tradition has taken root, and no wonder: the color of the drink, the sparkling bubbles in the glass, the cork flying out of the bottle - all this goes well with the seething joy of the holiday.

A glass of champagne must be drunk with the chimes. Don't forget to make a wish!

Christmas tree

The tradition of decorating a tree for a special holiday came from ancient times. And decorating a spruce for the New Year or Christmas is already a Christian tradition. According to legend, the holy monk Boniface tried to convert the Druids to Christianity and read a sermon about miracles, in particular, he tried to convince the pagans that the oak was not a sacred tree at all. The saint took an ax and cut down one oak tree, and that one, falling, knocked down all the trees in its path. Only the spruce survived, and Boniface called it the tree of Christ.

The tradition of decorating a fir tree came to us from Catholicism. At first, fruits were hung on it, then candles were added, but for fragile branches it was all too hard, and glass balls and garlands gradually replaced them.

Now it is impossible to imagine the New Year without a Christmas tree - it has become one of the most important symbols of the holiday. It is under it that children find gifts on the first morning of the new year. By the way, gifts are another important tradition. If you have not prepared them for all dear people, then it's time to start.

Cakes with wishes

In many families, it is customary to bake special pies with wishes for the New Year's table: a piece of paper in foil is wrapped in a pie, on which a pleasant wish is written. You can wish for anything - fantasy will come to the rescue.

Instead of a wish, there is also a surprise. For example, a coin is put into one pie from a large batch, one is baked very salty, and another one is very sweet. Anyone who pulls out a pie with a coin to the chiming clock will become rich this year. A salty pie symbolizes difficulties and trials, a sweet one - a “sweet” life.

By the way, it can be not only a pie. In some families, dumplings are cooked for the New Year, among which the “lucky one” will pull out a peppered dumpling. The one who gets this will be lucky in the New Year.

Snowflakes on the windows

You won't see snowflakes on windows outside of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. Our snowflakes are special. We cut them out of paper ourselves, stick them on the windows ourselves, so that the atmosphere in the house becomes even more festive.

By the way, you can make snowflakes even with the symbols of the year - for the upcoming 2015, this is a goat or a sheep. It is easy to find stencils on the Internet.

Address of the President

It cannot be said that the New Year's address to the people of the head of state exists only in Russia - in other countries this is also a common thing. Nevertheless, in Russia, the parting speech of the President is treated with special attention. On December 31 at 11:55 p.m., the head of the country addresses the citizens with a speech through several channels, where he usually sums up the results of the year.

After the Kremlin chimes beat off 12 strokes, marking the beginning of the new year. Then the national anthem of the country is played, and in all houses and restaurants people raise glasses of champagne, “clink glasses”, congratulate each other. This is how the New Year comes.

Ded Moroz and Snegurochka

Santa Claus is the main character of the New Year, a kind magical old man with a white beard in a red, white or blue fur coat and felt boots. Santa Claus rides on a troika of horses, and his granddaughter Snegurochka helps him.

Initially, Santa Claus would have been a powerful pagan god and the personification of Russian frosts. He bound the water with ice, covered the ground with snow, and also protected from enemies - if Russia was attacked, then he sent terrible cold, which the newcomers could not cope with.

Under the influence of Christianity, Grandfather "got angry" and became just an evil and eccentric spirit. The Bolsheviks “returned” it again as a symbol of the holiday, and since the 1930s it is no longer possible to imagine the New Year without Grandfather Frost. By the way, he has an official residence in Veliky Ustyug, his own mail and birthday on November 18 - according to statistics, around that time the most severe frosts come in Veliky Ustyug.

The Snow Maiden has been accompanying Father Frost since 1937. The origins of her image also lie in pagan mythology. Such a Snow Girl is an exclusive Russian character.

Old New Year

And one more feature inherent only in Russia and the CIS countries is the Old New Year. This funny oxymoron and amazing tradition comes from the differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The Church continues to use the Julian calendar, and the new year comes "according to the old style", so that it falls on Advent.

And in Russia they love holidays. So, after the decree of Peter I, the Russians happily began to celebrate the secular New Year on January 1st, but they didn’t forget the “church” holiday in January, in order to certainly observe all the traditions. And it got accustomed - for 300 years we have been celebrating both holidays.

Christmas traditions

Christmas Vigil Service

Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, and the 6th is Christmas Eve (from the word "sochivo" - a special porridge made from wheat grains and seed juice). Christmas Eve is the last day of the Advent (which is rarely observed in Russia, because its middle just falls on the New Year) and the eve of the Nativity of Christ.

On the night of January 6th to 7th, All-Night Services are served in all Orthodox churches in Russia. It starts in the evening and lasts about three hours. Then they serve the liturgy, and immediately after it comes Christmas. People congratulate each other and go home to fast. On the morning of January 7th, another liturgy is served.

Christmas divination

On Christmas Eve, it is customary for Russian girls to guess: the pagan tradition has survived to this day. It is believed that on this special night you can find out exactly your fate and find out when and whom you will marry, what life will be like and so on. Some sources say that one should guess not on Christmas, but on Christmas Eve.

Fortune-telling is an interesting, fun, but sometimes creepy activity. What is worth only one fortune-telling with mirrors on the betrothed! On Christmas night, one should sit between two mirrors, light a candle and peer into the "corridor of reflections" from where the groom should come. In the old days, such fortune-telling was considered dangerous - supposedly something evil could appear from the corridor. Say, nonsense, not scary at all? And you try. The fortuneteller should be alone in the house, no friends in the next room. Young people can also guess at their future wife this way.

Do not take Christmas divination seriously, of course. But this is definitely a great way to have fun and celebrate Christmas, especially for girls: there are also collective fortune-telling, usually accompanied by jokes and laughter.

Christmas table

At Christmas, it is customary to set a special table, which is very different from New Year's. On Christmas Eve, you need to cook juicy. You can’t eat on this day until the first star appears in the sky.

Also at Christmas they bake wafers - thin round slices of unleavened dough. They are placed on clean hay in the middle of the table. The wafer symbolizes the Christ child in the manger. During dinner, you should break the wafer with your companions and wish them all the best from the bottom of your heart.

First they eat juicy. Hearty appetizers like salads and herring are then served. Then - soup and pies. And at the end of the meal, sweet dishes are put on the table - honey gingerbread, poppy seed rolls, nuts, jelly, cookies.

It is important to taste each dish, at least a little. And yes - no alcohol, meat, milk or sour cream. If a guest comes, then he must certainly be invited to the table - it is customary to feed everyone on Christmas. Some also feed birds and homeless animals.

Carols - Christmas festivities

Now caroling is quite rare, especially in big cities, but earlier it was a fun and beloved period that came immediately after Christmas and lasts until Epiphany. It's called Saints. At this time, they used to dress up in different costumes, arrange fun games on the streets, sing, dance and congratulate everyone on the fact that winter has finally subsided and spring is coming.

Carols were fun, festivities. People rode down the hills and arranged plentiful feasts. However, nothing prevents us from returning the tradition and having fun from the heart in the last days of the New Year holidays.

Special Christmas Decorations

Christmas decorations are similar to New Year's, but there are differences. For example, at Christmas, candles are placed throughout the house, stars and wreaths are hung, and the house is decorated with images and figurines of angels. In fact, you can simply complement the New Year's decoration of the house. It is better to remove the garlands - candles will be enough.

The traditional Christmas colors are red and gold. The more of them, the more festive the atmosphere will be.

Christmas post

Advent fast lasts from November 28th to January 6th. During this period, you should refrain from plentiful food, exclude meat, dairy products and eggs from the diet. True, in view of the fact that fasting falls just on the New Year, it is difficult to resist.

But if you still want to touch this sacrament, keep in mind: fasting is not only abstaining from certain foods. John Chrysostom said that "true fasting is the removal from evil, the curbing of the tongue, the laying off of anger, the taming of lusts, the cessation of slander, lies and perjury."

It's true. Holidays, especially New Year and Christmas, are an opportunity to become kinder, enjoy life more and forgive all old grievances. This is an opportunity to start life from a new page. That is the main tradition. Be kind, and have a nice holiday! With coming!

There is very little time left before the holiday. Salads are being prepared, the house is being decorated, and for sure everyone already has a smart Christmas tree. But few people know where these pleasant chores of the holiday came from in Russia.

The tradition of celebrating the New Year in Russia was introduced in Russia by Peter I. Prior to this, the New Year in Russia fell on September 1, and even earlier on March 1. However, the tsar, wishing to keep pace with the West, forbade celebrating the New Year in the fall, moving the holiday to January 1 by a special decree. The capital then was Moscow, Petersburg had not yet been built and all the celebrations took place on Red Square. However, in 1704 the holiday was moved to the northern capital. True, the main thing at the New Year's holiday in those days was not a feast, but mass celebrations. Peter not only himself took part in the festivities, but also obliged the nobles to this. Those who did not appear at the festivities under the pretext of illness were examined by physicians. If the reason turned out to be unconvincing, a fine was imposed on the offender: he had to drink a huge cup of vodka in front of everyone.

After the holiday, the inexorable tsar invited a narrow circle of especially close associates (80-100 people) to his imperial palace. The doors of the dining room were traditionally locked with a key so that no one would try to leave the premises before 3 days later. Such an agreement operated at the insistence of Peter. They frolicked immensely these days: by the third day, most of the guests quietly crawled under the bench, without disturbing the others. Only the strongest survived such a New Year's feast. That's who introduced the tradition of drinking alcohol on New Year's Eve.

Christmas trees and masquerades

Empress Elizabeth I continued the tradition of celebrating the New Year started by her father. She was a great lover of balls and amusements, arranged luxurious Christmas trees and masquerades in the palace, to which she herself liked to appear in a man's costume. On January 2, 1751, Petersburg Vedomosti described in detail the New Year's ball given in the imperial palace. The nobles arrived at the masquerade in rich dresses and gathered in a large hall, "where at the eighth hour music began on two orchestras and continued until 7 o'clock in the afternoon." After the dances, tables were laid, "on which a great many pyramids with sweets were placed, as well as cold and hot food." More than 15 thousand people took part in the masquerade, who were "different vodkas and the best grape wines, as well as coffee, chocolate, tea, orshat and lemonade and other drinks."

Culinary masterpieces on the New Year's table

Under Catherine II, the New Year was also celebrated on a grand scale. In the 18th century, the Russian New Year's table became more refined and tasty: the culinary art was inspired by the desire to surprise, amuse guests with unusual and unusual dishes. Historians tell a legend about an outlandish dish that the French court cook prepared for the Empress as a surprise for the New Year's meal. A very intricate treat was expensive and required extraordinary skill from the cook. The recipe for the dish was as follows: instead of stones, pieces of anchovies were put into fleshy olives, olives were the filling for a gutted lark, which should be put into a fat partridge, and that one into a pheasant. The last shell was a piglet. At first, the secret of the "royal" New Year's treat was kept a strict secret, but then a rich nobleman found out about it. This roast was called "Empress" and enjoyed great success with the St. Petersburg nobility.

Champagne

At the beginning of the 19th century, champagne became popular in Russia - a drink without which not a single New Year's feast can do today. True, at first, Russians perceived sparkling wines with suspicion: they were called the “drink of the devil” because of the flying cork and the foamy jet from the bottle. According to legend, champagne gained wide popularity after the victory over Napoleon. In 1813, having entered Reims, Russian troops, as winners, devastated the wine cellars of the famous Madame Clicquot house. However, Madame Clicquot did not even try to stop the robbery, wisely deciding that "Russia will cover the losses." The perceptive madam, as if looking into the water: the fame of the quality of her products spread throughout Russia. Three years later, the enterprising widow received more orders from the Russian Empire than in her homeland.

Christmas tree

The appearance of the first public Christmas tree in Russia and St. Petersburg dates back to the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. Before that, as already mentioned, the Russians decorated the house only with coniferous branches. However, any tree was suitable for decoration: cherry, apple, birch. In the middle of the 19th century, only Christmas trees began to be decorated. The first dressed-up beauty lit up with lights indoors in 1852. And by the end of the 19th century, this beautiful custom had already become familiar not only in Russian cities, but also in villages.

Table decoration

In the solemn feast of those times, no less than the quality of the cooked food, the beauty of the table decoration was appreciated. Moreover, not only serving and served dishes were supposed to be beautiful. A special fashion during the reign of Alexander III and Nicholas II included the art of compiling and designing menus. Dishes were named beautifully and magnificently, and menu cards were decorated with exquisite drawings, monograms, vignettes. The menu has become a masterpiece of applied art. Often, menu cards remained in the family archive, as a memory of the holiday at which they ate.

New Year's entertainment

At the beginning of the 20th century, according to tradition, Russians celebrated the New Year and Christmas at home, with their families. But after New Year's Eve, they booked tables in restaurants or entertainment establishments. At that time, especially in St. Petersburg, there were a great many restaurants - for every taste and budget. There were aristocratic restaurants in the northern capital: "Kyuba" on Bolshaya Morskaya Street, or "Bear" on Bolshaya Konyushennaya. The more democratic "Donon" gathered writers, artists, scientists, graduates of the School of Law at their tables. The traditional drink here was zhzhenka. The attraction of this restaurant was the "Album of Diners", in which the minutes of meetings, impromptu, jokes, caricatures were entered. The metropolitan St. Petersburg beau monde - people of art and literature - arranged their evenings in the fashionable "Kontana", on the Moika. The program of the evening includes a lyrical divertissement with the participation of the best Russian and foreign artists, a virtuoso Romanian orchestra; flowers were brought to the ladies free of charge. Literary youth preferred artistic cabarets to ordinary restaurants. The most colorful of them was the "Stray Dog" on Mikhailovskaya Square.

Picture: Robert Duncan