Where did the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree for the New Year come from? New Year's adventures of the Christmas tree: the origins of the tradition of decorating the spruce
In December, we automatically buy a Christmas tree, decorate it, light it, and sometimes give it to the cat to be torn to pieces. At the same time, we rarely think about what kind of tradition this is and why we do it. SCAPP decided to delve into the history of the issue and find out who came up with the idea of decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year.
Legend
There is an ancient legend according to which the Christmas tree received its status thanks to the birth of Jesus Christ. If you don’t go into the details of the legend, you can schematically outline the rise of spruce along the career ladder of trees: modesty, humility and fruits and vegetables on the branches. As a result, the Star of Bethlehem is on the top of the head and the position of the main tree of the Nativity.
Ancient Germans
Some archaeological finds suggest that Germanic tribes celebrated a midwinter festival at the end of December. The symbol of the holiday was most often the spruce, since only it remained green in cold times. Later, when the pagan gods of the Germans began to be supplanted by Christianity, a story related to Saint Boniface happened. Trying to show the powerlessness of the pagan gods, Boniface cut down an oak tree dedicated to the thunder god Thor. And then the unexpected happened: the felled oak, falling, destroyed all the trees around, except for the spruce. But the resourceful preacher was not at a loss and called the coniferous tree “the tree of Christ.” You understand, after this, the Christmas tree was “carried in your arms.”
Martin Luther
Another version says that in 1513, on the eve of Christmas, Martin Luther, admiring either the beauty of the winter forest or the starry sky, decided to cut down one of the coniferous trees and make a splash in his house: decorating the Christmas tree with candles and bows. Luther’s fame and the novelty of his idea helped bring the new Christmas tradition into the masses.
The tradition of “dressing” the Christmas tree
Historians say that the Christmas tree began to be decorated in the 16th century in the city of Alsace (modern France), using mainly fruits. At first, the tree was decorated only with apples (a symbol of the tree of paradise), but over time they began to add other decorations that symbolized Christmas. For example, apples meant fertility, a star on the top - the Star of Bethlehem, bells - a symbol of the shepherds, candles and lanterns - stars and bonfires that illuminated the path to the baby Jesus. Later, decorations became more sophisticated and less religiously symbolic.
History of the Christmas tree in Russia
Yes, as you might guess, the tradition of using Christmas trees for Christmas came from Peter I. One of the newfangled decrees stated that Christmas trees should be displayed near “noble houses.”
Along large streets, near elaborate houses, in front of the gates, place some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and cerebellum
Nevertheless, the tree did not take root: only the rich people put it up - the poor people had no time for green fun. The non-survival of coniferous trees is also due to the fact that in Rus' fir branches laid on the path along which the deceased was carried to the cemetery. In the 19th century royal family began to use decorated Christmas trees in her residences, which increased the popularity of the latter. As a result, by the end of the 19th century, the tree became an invariable attribute of Christmas, although not for long. After the October Revolution, spruce was banned as it symbolized old royal customs.
The coniferous tree was saved from oblivion by the newspaper Pravda and Stalin’s famous phrase: “We need to live better, we need to live more fun.” On December 28, 1935, the Pravda newspaper published a material with the headline “Let's organize for the New Year for children nice Christmas tree! Soon the evergreen came under amnesty and has since become a symbol of the New Year in Russia.
It is impossible to imagine the New Year without a beautiful fluffy Christmas tree. For the New Year's holiday forest beauty Children and adults dress up. Several decades ago there was no tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in our country. So where did she come from? This is exactly what will be discussed in our article.
Where did the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree come from?
The Germans claim that the origins of the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came from Germany. Initially, trees were decorated for Christmas. The tradition began during the Middle Ages.
Residents believed that decorated trees at Christmas would bring a rich harvest. The ancient Germanic tribes had a belief that local forest spirits lived in the crowns of coniferous trees. Tribal residents treated with great honor and respect environment. They believed that if they appeased the spirits well, they would be protected.
People in the forests regularly decorated coniferous trees. Sprigs of pine needles were decorated with nuts, fruits, sweets and fresh homemade bread. The Celts believed that trees were endowed magical meaning and are not subject to destructive force. Over time, local residents began to dig up spruce trees with roots and replant them near their homes. It was believed that an old spruce would be a good talisman.
In European countries, most residents refuse standard Christmas tree decorations. They are happy to decorate the Christmas tree with sweets, candies, and dried fruits. It looks beautiful and original. Those with a sweet tooth can take off the sweets at any time.
The legend of Luther King: what does the Christmas tree have to do with it?
During the birth of Christianity in Europe, the ancient inhabitants still had the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree in the forest. Decorated with candies, sweets, gingerbread cookies, fruits, berries. The ritual of decorating coniferous trees was more like pagan rituals than traditions in Christianity. This worried a local priest named Martin Luther King.
One winter evening, he went to the nearest forest to understand why people come here to decorate their beautiful conifers. Walking along snowy forest paths, his gaze fell on a tall, beautiful spruce. It was dusted with silvery snow and illuminated by heavenly moonlight. The picture he saw reminded him of the biblical story about the Star of Bartholomew.
The priest got the idea to bring home a Christmas tree and decorate it with lights in the shape of stars. So he did. Since then, Christians around the world began to decorate the Christmas tree with toys, bright lights, streamers, rain and tinsel for the New Year.
In chronicles you can find records dating back to the 17th century that mention Christmas trees. Since the 19th century, the tradition from Germany of decorating the Christmas tree before Christmas has moved to other European countries: England, Finland, France, Hungary, Slovenia and others. At the beginning of the 20th century, the tradition moved 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 fir branches and various treats were served on the table. The first Christmas tree, as an attribute of a new celebration, came to Russia with the ascension to the throne of Tsar Nicholas I.
It was he who ordered the decoration of the coniferous fir tree in the palace for the New Year, according to European traditions. The subjects followed the example of Nicholas I and decorated their homes and estates with fir trees for the upcoming Christmas and New Year. From that time on, 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 levels of society.
Now it is difficult to imagine celebrating the New Year without its symbol - the fluffy evergreen beauty of spruce. On the eve of this wonderful holiday, it is installed in every home, decorated with toys, tinsel and garlands. The fragrant smell of fresh pine needles, the taste of tangerines - this is what is associated with New Year's celebration in most Russian children. The children find their gifts under the Christmas tree. At matinees, round dances are performed around her and songs are sung. But this was not always the case. Where did the New Year tree come from in Rus'? The history of the tradition of decorating it for the New Year is described in this material.
Pagan Totem Tree
Our ancestors believed that all trees are alive and spirits live in them. In pre-Christian times, the Celtic Druidic calendar included a day of worship of the fir tree. For them, it was a symbol of courage, strength, and the pyramidal shape of the tree resembled heavenly fire. Fir cones also symbolized health and strength of spirit. The ancient Germans considered this tree sacred and worshiped it. They identified it with the World Tree - the source of eternal life and immortality. There was a custom: at the end of December, people went into the forest, chose the fluffiest and tallest tree, decorated it with multi-colored ribbons and made various offerings. Then they danced around the tree and sang ritual songs. All this symbolized the cyclical nature of life, its revival, the beginning of a new thing, the arrival of spring. Among the pagan Slavs, on the contrary, spruce was associated with the world of the dead and was often used in funeral rites. Although it was believed that if you place spruce paws in the corners of a house or barn, this will protect the home from storms and thunderstorms, and its inhabitants from illnesses and evil spirits.
New Year tree: the history of its appearance in Europe after the Nativity of Christ
The Germans were the first to decorate the Christmas tree in their homes back in the Middle Ages. It is no coincidence that this tradition appeared in medieval Germany. There is a legend that the holy Apostle Boniface, an ardent missionary and preacher of the word of God, cut down an oak tree dedicated to the god of thunder, Thor. He did this in order to show the pagans the powerlessness of their gods. The felled tree felled several more trees, but the spruce survived. St. Boniface declared the spruce a sacred tree, Christbaum (tree of Christ).
There is also a legend about a poor lumberjack who, on the eve of Christmas, sheltered a little boy who was lost in the forest. He warmed, fed and left the lost child to spend the night. The next morning the boy disappeared, and in his place he left a small coniferous tree at the door. In fact, under the guise of an unfortunate child, Christ himself came to the woodcutter and thus thanked him for the warm welcome. Since then, spruces have become the main Christmas attribute not only in Germany, but also in other European countries.
The story of the appearance of the star on the top of the Christmas tree
At first, people decorated their houses only with branches and large spruce paws, but later they began to bring whole trees. But much later, the custom of decorating the New Year tree appeared.
The story of the appearance of a star on the Christmas tree is associated with the name of the founder of Protestantism - the German Martin Luther, the head of the burgher Reformation. One day, while walking down the street on Christmas Eve, Luther looked at the bright stars of the night sky. There were so many of them in the night sky that it seemed as if they, like small lights, were stuck in the treetops. Arriving home, he decorated the small fir tree with apples and burning candles. And he placed an asterisk on the top of the tree, as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced to the Magi about the birth of the infant Christ. Subsequently, this tradition spread among followers of the ideas of Protestantism, and subsequently throughout the country. Beginning in the 17th century, this fragrant conifer became the main symbol of Christmas Eve in medieval Germany. IN German even a definition appeared: Weihnachtsbaum - Christmas tree, pine.
The appearance of the Christmas tree in Rus'
The history of the appearance of the New Year tree in Russia began in 1699. The custom of erecting a Christmas tree appeared in the country during the reign of Peter I, at the beginning of the 18th century. The Russian Tsar issued a decree on the transition to a new account of time, the chronology began from the date of the Nativity of Christ.
The start date of the next year began to be considered the first of January, and not the first of September, as was previously the case. The decree also mentioned that the nobility should decorate their houses with pine and juniper trees and branches in the European style before Christmas. On January 1, it was also ordered to launch rockets, arrange fireworks and decorate the capital's buildings with pine branches. After the death of Peter the Great, this tradition was forgotten, except that drinking establishments were decorated with fir branches on Christmas Eve. By these branches (tied to a stake stuck at the entrance), visitors could easily recognize the taverns located inside the buildings.
Revival of Peter's customs in the first half of the 19th century
The history of the New Year tree and the tradition of decorating it for the holy holiday did not end there. The custom of placing lighted candles on the Christmas tree and giving each other gifts for Christmas became widespread in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. This fashion was introduced among the courtiers by his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, a German by birth. Later, all the noble families of St. Petersburg followed her example, and then the rest of society. In the early 40s, the Northern Bee newspaper noted that “it is becoming our custom to celebrate Christmas Eve” by decorating the cherished Christmas tree with sweets and toys. In the capital, on the square near Gostiny Dvor, grandiose Christmas tree markets are held. If poor people could not buy even a small tree, then noble people competed with each other in this: who had a taller, more magnificent, or more elegant spruce. Sometimes precious stones, expensive fabrics, beads, and gimp (thin silver or gold thread) were used to decorate the green beauty. The celebration itself, organized in honor of the main Christian event - the Birth of Christ, began to be called the Christmas tree.
History of the Christmas tree in the USSR
With the Bolsheviks coming to power, all religious holidays, including Christmas, were cancelled. The Christmas tree was considered to be a bourgeois attribute, a relic of the imperial past. For several years this wonderful family tradition became illegal. But in some families it was still preserved, despite the government ban. Only in 1935, thanks to a note by party leader Pavel Postyshev in the main communist publication of those years - the Pravda newspaper, this evergreen tree regained its undeservedly forgotten recognition as a symbol of the coming year.
The wheel of history turned back, and Christmas trees for children began to be held again. Instead of the Star of Bethlehem, its top is decorated with a red five pointed star- the official symbol of Soviet Russia. Since then, trees began to be called “New Year’s” and not “Christmas”, and the trees and holidays themselves were called not Christmas, but New Year’s. Appears for the first time in Russian history official document about non-working holidays: The first of January officially becomes a holiday.
Kremlin Christmas trees
But this is not the end of the story of the New Year tree in Russia. For children in 1938 in Moscow, in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions, a huge multi-meter Christmas tree with tens of thousands of glass balls and toys. Since then, every year in this hall there is a giant New Year's tree and children's parties are held. Every soviet child dreams of going to the New Year's party in the Kremlin. And until now, Muscovites’ favorite meeting place for next year is Kremlin Square with a huge, elegantly decorated forest beauty installed on it.
Christmas tree decorations: then and now
In tsarist times, Christmas tree decorations could be eaten. These were shaped gingerbread cookies wrapped in multi-colored metallic paper. Candied fruits, apples, marmalade, gilded nuts, paper flowers, ribbons, and cardboard angel figurines were also hung on the branches. But the main element of the Christmas tree decor were lit candles. Glass inflatable balls were brought mainly from Germany, they were quite expensive. Figurines with porcelain heads were highly valued. In Russia, only at the end of the 19th century did artels for the production of New Year's products appear. They also make cotton, cardboard toys and papier-mâché figurines. In Soviet times, starting in the 60s, mass production of factory-made Christmas tree decorations began. These products did not differ in variety: the same “cones”, “icicles”, “pyramids”. Fortunately, you can now find a lot on store shelves interesting products Christmas tree decorations, including hand-painted ones.
Where did the tinsel and garlands come from?
No less interesting is the history of the appearance of other New Year's paraphernalia: tinsel and garlands. Previously, tinsel was made from real silver. These were thin threads, like “silver rain”. Exists beautiful myth about the origin of silver tinsel. One very poor woman, who had many children, decided to decorate the tree before Christmas, but since there was no money for rich decorations, the decoration of the tree turned out to be very unattractive. During the night, spiders covered the fir branches with their webs. Knowing the woman’s kindness, God decided to reward her and turned the web into silver.
Nowadays, tinsel is made from colored foil or PVC. Initially, garlands were long strips intertwined with flowers or branches. The first appeared in the 19th century electric garland with many light bulbs. The idea of its creation was put forward by the American inventor Johnson, and brought to life by the Englishman Ralph Morris.
Stories about a small Christmas tree for children and their parents
Many fairy tales, short stories, and funny stories about the New Year tree have been written for small and large children. Here are some of them:
- “The Tale of a Little Christmas Tree”, M. Aromstam. A touching and kind story for kids about a little tree that was rewarded for its desire to bring joy to others.
- Comics from the Snegirev couple “Keshka in pursuit of a Christmas tree.” Short, funny stories about the cat Keshka and his owner.
- Collection of poems " Christmas tree" Author - Ag Jatkowska.
- A. Smirnov “Christmas tree. Ancient Fun" is an old edition of the 1911 Christmas Lotto reprinted in a modern way.
Older children would be interested in reading “The History of the New Year Tree” in the book by Alexander Tkachenko.
Let me start with the fact that there is no exact information about where the tradition of the Christmas tree came from, there are only a few theories, all of them have the right to exist, but decide for yourself which one is the most correct. And yes, exactly the Christmas tree, because for most people in the world main holiday winters are like Christmas, not like New Year.
Why exactly the Christmas tree?
Most likely, this choice is due to the fact that people have always and in all cultures, so to speak, revered trees. It’s not for nothing that they say the tree of life or the family tree, in Greece the cypress is a sacred tree, in Rus' the oak or birch to which everyone is partial, and there are a lot of such examples.
But the point is also that spruce, pine or fir for a long time remain unchanged even when they are cut down, and even in winter they are green, unlike other trees. Perhaps this is what led to their election.
The emergence of the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree for the New Year
Doctor of Philology E.V. Dushechkina adheres to the version that the Christmas tree appeared in the Middle Ages in Germany. She says that the Germans had a very ancient custom of going to the forest on New Year’s Eve and gathering near a decorated spruce tree.
And over time, people began to take the food home and celebrate the holiday without going out into the cold. When the German peoples became baptized, the holiday acquired a more Christian meaning, and spruce trees became a symbol of Christmas Eve.
So if you stick to this version, then the Germans were the first.
New Year tree in Russia
The tradition of putting up a Christmas tree for the New Year dates back to the era of Peter the Great in Russia (Peter 1), but with only one difference, the tree was not brought into the house, but was used to decorate the porch or the outside of the building. The fact is that before Peter the Great, the New Year was celebrated on September 1, but he introduced the Julian calendar and it turned out that the New Year should be celebrated on January 1.
He ordered to launch rockets on this day, organize festivities and decorate everything with candles and pine needles:
“On large streets, near elaborate houses, in front of the gates, place some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper against the samples that were made at Gostiny Dvor.”
But it is worth clarifying that the New Year became a separate holiday only in 1935, and before that it was simply part of the Christmastide (from December 24 to January 6).
The first Christmas tree in a Russian house was put up on December 24, 1817 by the Grand Duchess, and later the Russian Empress, Alexandra Feodorovna. She was originally from Prussia. But while no one else was going to put up Christmas trees, this tradition had been in fashion for a very long time, it would become commonplace only by the beginning of the 19th century.
What were the Christmas trees decorated with?
The festive tree was decorated with beautifully decorated nuts, apples, the best ribbons, paper decorations, beads and sweets. In general, the fantasy of decorating a New Year tree was limited only by financial capabilities and flights of fancy.
It is also interesting that Christmas decorations According to one version, they also appeared in Germany. The Germans often decorated the Christmas tree with apples, but one year there was such a bad harvest that there were no apples to be had, and a local glassblower made artificial ones; they turned out to be no worse substitute for natural ones, except that you can’t eat them.
It all started on January 24, 1918. The Council of People's Commissars introduced the Gregorian calendar, but the Church continued to use the old calendar, and as a result, Christmas and New Year swapped places. Along with the Christmas tree, it was also condemned, having become part of the festive ritual a couple of years before the revolution.
In 1922, the Christmas tree became simply a Komsomol tree, and in 1929, Christmas was completely abolished and this day became an ordinary working day. This continued until 1935 until Postyshev suggested the opposite to Stalin and he agreed to return the Christmas tree to the children.
Since then, the Christmas tree has remained an indispensable attribute of the New Year. Its decorations change depending on time and people's imagination, but no one can imagine the main winter holiday without a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
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Can you now imagine the New Year without a Christmas tree at all, without one forest beauty? The decoration of the Christmas tree is also symbolic. We hang garlands, balls, toys in the form of various animals, sweets, we put a star on the top of our heads, but we don’t think about why we decorate the Christmas tree this way and not otherwise. But it all makes sense.
The custom of decorating a Christmas tree and celebrating the New Year around it has pagan roots. Even in Ancient Greece and Rome, houses were decorated with green branches, and this had to be done, since it was believed that pine needles would bring health and happiness in the coming year. Coniferous trees are evergreen, so they have become a symbol of eternal youth, courage, longevity, dignity, fidelity, the fire of life and restoration of health.
The custom of decorating trees existed even before the advent of new era. In those days, it was believed that powerful spirits (good and evil) lived in their branches, and in order to find them mutual language and receive help, they were given gifts.
And the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree has Celtic roots, because it was the Celts who World Tree - the most important element of the picture of the world. It was believed that Yggra-sil supported the firmament, connecting heaven, earth and the underworld.
Coniferous trees first appeared in European city squares in the 16th century. The custom of decorating a Christmas tree came to England in the middle of the 19th century, and it came to Russia under Peter the Great, who commanded that “after thanksgiving to God and prayer singing in church, along large thoroughfares, and to noble people and at houses of distinguished (eminent) spiritual and worldly rank , in front of the gate, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper. And for poor people (that is, the poor), they should at least place a tree or branch over their gates or over their mansions. And so that the future January will be ready by the 1st of 1700 of this year. And this decoration will stand until the 7th of the same year. Yes, on the first day of January, as a sign of joy, congratulate each other on the New Year and the centennial century, and do this when the fiery fun begins on Big Red Square, and there is shooting, and at the noble houses of the boyars and okolnichi, and the Duma noble people, of the chamber, military and merchant ranks, famous people need something in their yard from small cannons, whoever has them, or from a small gun, shoot three times and fire several rockets, as many as anyone has. And on large streets, where it is decent, from the 1st to the 7th of January at night, light fires from wood, or from brushwood, or from straw. And where the small courtyards, gathered in five or six courtyards, also put a fire, or, whoever wants, on pillars, one or two or three, tar and thin barrels, filled with straw or twigs, light them, and in front of the burgomaster's town hall shooting and such decorations will be at their discretion.” The Tsar himself was the first to launch a rocket, which, soaring in the air like a fiery snake, announced to the people about the coming of the New Year, and after this, according to the Tsar’s decree, fun began throughout Belokamennaya... True, this custom could not take root on Russian soil for a long time, apparently , because spruce in Slavic mythology closely connected with the world of the dead. It can be considered that he was a stranger until the revolution. And then for some time (until 1935) the Christmas tree, as an accessory to a religious celebration, was prohibited.
There's a fire at the top of the tree star, denoting the top of the World Tree, it is the point of contact of the worlds: earthly and heavenly. And, in principle, it doesn’t matter what kind of star it is: the eight-pointed silver Christmas star or the red Kremlin star, with which until recently we decorated our Christmas trees (after all, it symbolized the power of power, and power was another world). Balloons- This is a modern version of apples and tangerines, fruits that symbolized fertility, eternal youth, or at least health and longevity. One has only to remember the tales of apples, about rejuvenating apples or myths about the apples of the Hesperides or the apple of discord. Eggs symbolized harmony and complete well-being, developing life, nuts- the incomprehensibility of divine providence. Various kinds of figures, like Christmas decorations, appeared not so long ago, but they are of great importance. These are mainly images of angels, fairy tale characters or cartoon characters, but they are all images of another world. And this allows us to say that these toys correspond to the ancient figurines of good spirits, from whom help was expected in the coming year.
Nowadays not a single Christmas tree is complete without Garlands light bulbs and sparkles, that is, without flickering lights. This is exactly how the presence of a host of spirits is represented in mythology. Another decoration - silver « rain", descending from the crown to the base, symbolizing the rain flowing from the top of the World Tree to its foot. There must be a figurine under the Christmas tree Santa Claus(possibly with the Snow Maiden), gifts are also placed there.
