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 on 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' spruce branches were laid along the path along which the deceased was carried to the cemetery. In the 19th century, the royal family began to use decorated Christmas trees in their 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 must live better, we must live more fun.” On December 28, 1935, the Pravda newspaper published a material with the headline “Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the children for the New Year!” Soon the evergreen came under amnesty and has since become a symbol of the New Year in Russia.
The tradition of celebrating New Year's holidays with a Christmas tree has entered our everyday life so much that almost no one asks the questions: where did the Christmas tree come from? What does it symbolize? Why is the tree an integral attribute for Christmas and? When did our Christmas tree appear and where did it come from, we will try to find out in this article. In 1906, the philosopher Vasily Rozanov wrote: “Many years ago I was surprised to learn that The custom of the Christmas tree is not one of the indigenous Russian customs. The Christmas tree has now become so firmly entrenched in Russian society that it would never occur to anyone that she's not Russian…»
As you already know from the article, he brought the tradition of celebrating the New Year with a Christmas tree to Russia by decree in 1699. Here is a small fragment from this decree (letter " ъ"at the end of words is not readable):
“...now from the Nativity of Christ the year 1699 has reached, and on the 1st of January the new year 1700 and a new centenary age will begin, and for this good and useful purpose, the Great Sovereign has indicated that henceforth in the Orders and in all matters and fortresses to write from the present January from the 1st of the Nativity of Christ 1700. And as a sign of that good beginning and the new centenary century in the reigning city, after due thanksgiving to God and prayer singing in the church and whoever happens in his home, along the large and well-traveled streets of noble people and at houses of deliberate spiritual and temporal rank in front of the gate it is possible to make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper against the samples that were made in the Gostin Dvor and at the lower pharmacy, or to whomever is more convenient and decent, depending on the place and the gate...”
However, the decree of Emperor Peter had only an indirect relation to the future Christmas tree: firstly, the city was decorated not only with spruce trees, but also with other coniferous trees; secondly, the decree recommended the use of both whole trees and branches, and, finally, thirdly, decorations from pine needles were ordered to be installed not indoors, but outside - on gates, roofs of taverns, streets and roads. This turned the tree into a detail of the New Year's city landscape, and not of the Christmas interior, which it became much later. The text of the sovereign's decree shows us that for Peter, in the custom he introduced, which he became acquainted with during his European trip, aesthetics were important - houses and streets were ordered to be decorated with pine needles; so is the symbolism - decorations from evergreen needles should have been created to commemorate the celebration.
It is important that Peter’s decree of December 20, 1699 is almost the only document on the history of the Christmas tree in Russia in the 18th century. After the death of the impostor, they stopped putting up New Year trees. Only tavern owners decorated their houses with them, and these trees stood on taverns. all year round– hence their name – “ tree sticks».
The sovereign's instructions were preserved only in decoration drinking establishments, which continued to be decorated before the New Year. Taverns were identified by these trees, which were tied to a stake, installed on the roofs, or stuck at the gates. The trees stood there until the next year, on the eve of which the old ones were replaced with new ones. Having arisen as a result of Peter's decree, this custom was maintained throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Pushkin in “The History of the Village of Goryukhin” mentions “an ancient public building decorated with a Christmas tree and the image of a double-headed eagle”. This characteristic detail was well known and was reflected from time to time in many works of Russian literature. Sometimes, instead of a Christmas tree, pine trees were placed on the roofs of taverns: “The tavern building... consisted of an old two-story hut with a high roof... At the top of it stood a red withered pine; its thin, withered branches seemed to be calling for help.”
And in the poem by N.P. Kilberg’s 1872 “Yolka”, the coachman is sincerely surprised that the master cannot recognize it as a drinking establishment based on the Christmas tree driven at the door of the hut:
“We’ve arrived!.. we’re rushing through the village like an arrow,
Suddenly the horses stood in front of a dirty hut,
Where there is a Christmas tree at the door...
What is this?.. - What an eccentric master you are,
Don't you know?.. After all this is a pub!..»
That is why people began to call taverns “Yolki” or “Ivan-Yolkin”: “ Let's go to the Christmas tree and have a drink for the holiday»; « Apparently, you were visiting Ivan Yolkin, that you are swaying from side to side»; « the tree (tavern) sweeps the house cleaner than a broom" Soon, the whole complex of “alcoholic” concepts gradually acquired “Christmas tree” doublets: “ raise the tree" - to get drunk, " go under the tree" or " the tree has fallen, let's go pick it up" - go to the tavern, " be under the tree» – to be in a tavern; " Yolkin» – state of alcoholic intoxication, etc.
Where did the Christmas tree holiday originate?
It turns out that many Europeanized Slavic-Aryan peoples have long used Christmas or yuletide log, a huge piece of wood or stump, which was lit on the hearth on the first day of Christmas and gradually burned down during the twelve days of the holiday. According to popular belief, carefully storing a piece of Christmas log throughout the year protected the house from fire and lightning, provided the family with an abundance of grain, and helped livestock bear offspring easily. Stumps of spruce and beech trunks were used as Christmas logs. Among the southern Slavs, this is the so-called badnyak, among the Scandinavians - juldlock, among the French - le buche de Noel(Christmas block, that, in fact, if you read these words in Russian, we get bang - Russian butt - back side ax-axes, there is quite a block or log; and no-yol is like a fusion of words - Norwegian Christmas tree or new Christmas tree, or the best and most accurate hit night tree).
The history of the transformation of spruce into a Christmas tree has not yet been accurately restored. All we know for sure is that it happened on the territory Germany, where spruce in Vedic times was especially revered and was identified with the world tree: “ The queen of German forests was the evergreen spruce" It was here, among the ancient Slavs, the ancestors of the Germans, that it first became a New Year’s symbol, and later a Christmas plant symbol. Among the Germanic peoples, there has long been a custom of going to the forest for the New Year, where the spruce tree chosen for the ritual role was illuminated with candles and decorated with colored rags, after which appropriate rituals were performed near or around it.
Over time, spruce trees began to be cut down and brought into the house, where they were placed on the table. Lighted candles were attached to the tree, and apples and sugar products were hung on it. The emergence of the cult of spruce as a symbol of undying nature was facilitated by its evergreen cover, which made it possible to use it during the winter holiday season, which was a transformation of the long-known custom of decorating houses with evergreens.
After the baptism and Latinization of the Slavic peoples (pure-blooded Germans are not Aryans, but Slavs, or rather the Holy Russians - blue-eyed and fair-haired) inhabiting the territory of modern Germany, customs and rituals associated with the veneration of spruce began to gradually acquire a Christian meaning, and it began to be used in quality christmas tree, installing in houses not on, but on Christmas Eve, i.e. Christmas Eve of the Sun (god), December 24, which is why it received the name of the Christmas tree - Weihnachtsbaum (an interesting word, which if read in parts and in Russian is very similar to the following - holy night log, where if to Weih add “s”, we get Russian word holy or light). From now on on Christmas Eve (Weihnachtsabend) festive mood began to be created not only by Christmas carols, but also by a Christmas tree with candles burning on it.
A Christmas tree with candles and decorations was first mentioned in 1737 year. Fifty years later there is a record from a certain baroness who claims that in every German home “a fir tree is prepared, covered with candles and sweets, with magnificent lighting”.
In France, the custom persisted for a long time burn a Christmas log on Christmas Eve (le buche de Noël), and the Christmas tree was digested more slowly and not as readily as in northern countries. In the story-stylization of the emigrant writer M.A. Struve’s “Paris Letter,” which describes the “first Parisian impressions” of a Russian youth who celebrated Christmas in 1868, says: “The room... greeted me decorated, but Christmas trees, dear to me according to St. Petersburg custom, even if only the smallest one, in it it didn't turn out…»
Charles Dickens, in his 1830 essay “Christmas Dinner,” while describing the English Christmas, does not yet mention the tree, but writes about the traditional mistletoe branch in England, under which boys, according to custom, kiss their cousins, and the holly branch adorning the top of the giant pudding ...
Now, knowing the truth about the tree and the holidays associated with it, you can perfectly celebrate the Christmas of the Sun (read my article for details) without a tree, and without Santa Claus, and without and not at midnight, and most importantly - on the present day Birth of the Sun, which is celebrated in the evening from December 24th to 25th, and not in our style from January 6th to 7th.
It turns out that the entire Christian world is celebrating correctly Christmas of the Sun, and us Russians, as always, deceived And slipped We have alien gods, alien traditions and holidays, and on days alien to the truth! As you celebrate, don’t forget why everyone has gathered at the table and whose Christmas you are celebrating...
The custom of decorating the New Year tree came to us from Germany. There is a legend that the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree was started by the German reformer Martin Luther. In 1513, returning home on Christmas Eve, Luther was fascinated and delighted by the beauty of the stars that strewn the sky so thickly that it seemed as if the crowns of the trees were sparkling 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 place a small beech tree in the middle of the table, decorated with small apples, plums, pears and hazelnuts boiled in honey.
In the second half of the 17th century, it was already common in German and Swiss houses to complement the decoration of the Christmas meal not only with deciduous trees, but also with coniferous trees. The main thing is that it is toy size. At first, small Christmas trees were hung from the ceiling along with candies and apples, and only later the custom of decorating one large Christmas tree in the guest room was established.
In the 18th-19th centuries, the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree spread not only throughout Germany, but also appeared in England, Austria, the Czech Republic, Holland, and Denmark. In America, New Year 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 in his youth was visiting his German friends for Christmas, was pleasantly surprised to see a strange tree: it looked like a spruce, but instead of pine cones there were apples and candies on it. The future king was amused by this. Having become king, Peter I issued a decree to celebrate the New Year, as in enlightened Europe.
It prescribed: “...On large and well-traveled streets, for noble people and at houses of special spiritual and secular rank, in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper...”.
After the death of Peter, the decree was half forgotten, and the Christmas tree became a common New Year’s attribute only a century later.
In 1817, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich married the Prussian princess Charlotte, who was baptized in Orthodoxy under the name Alexandra. The princess convinced the court to accept the custom of decorating New Year's table bouquets of fir branches. In 1819, Nikolai Pavlovich, at the insistence of his wife, first put up a New Year's tree in the Anichkov Palace, and in 1852 in St. Petersburg, in the premises of the Ekaterininsky (now Moscow) station, a public Christmas tree was decorated for the first time.
The Christmas tree rush began in the cities: expensive ones were ordered from Europe. Christmas decorations, children's New Year's parties were held in rich houses.
The image of the Christmas tree fits well into the Christian religion. Christmas tree decorations, sweets and fruits symbolized the gifts brought to the little Christ. And the candles resembled the lighting of the monastery in which the Holy Family stayed. In addition, a decoration was always hung on the top of the tree, which symbolized the Star of Bethlehem, which rose with the birth of Jesus and showed the way to the Magi. As a result, the tree became a symbol of Christmas.
During the First World War, Emperor Nicholas II considered the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree to be “enemy” and categorically forbade it.
After the revolution the ban was lifted. The first public Christmas tree under Soviet rule was organized at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School on December 31, 1917 in St. Petersburg.
Since 1926, decorating a Christmas tree was already considered a crime: the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks called the custom of erecting the so-called Christmas tree anti-Soviet. In 1927, at the XV Party Congress, Stalin announced the weakening of anti-religious work among the population. An anti-religious campaign began. The 1929 party conference abolished the “Christian” Sunday: the country switched to a “six-day week”, and the celebration of Christmas was prohibited.
It is believed that the rehabilitation of the Christmas tree began with a small note in the Pravda newspaper, published on December 28, 1935. We were talking about the initiative to organize a nice Christmas tree for children for the New Year. 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 a dressed up forest beauty. And on New Year's Eve 1938, a huge 15-meter tree with 10 thousand decorations and toys was erected in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions, which has since become traditional and was later called the main tree of the country. Since 1976, the main Christmas tree began to be considered the Christmas tree in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (since 1992 - the State Kremlin Palace). Instead of Christmas, the tree began to be put up for the New Year and was called New Year's.
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 Politburo members. During the war - pistols, paratroopers, paramedic dogs, Santa Claus with a machine gun. They were replaced by toy cars, airships with the inscription “USSR”, snowflakes with a hammer and sickle. Under Khrushchev, toy tractors, ears of corn, and hockey players appeared. Then - cosmonauts, satellites, characters from Russian fairy tales.
Nowadays, many styles of decorating the Christmas tree have appeared. The most traditional of them is decorating the Christmas tree with colorful glass toys, light bulbs and tinsel. In the last century, natural trees began to be replaced with artificial ones; some of them very skillfully imitated living spruce trees and were decorated in the usual way, others were stylized, requiring no decoration. A fashion arose for decorating New Year trees in a certain color - silver, gold, red, blue, and the minimalist style in Christmas tree decoration became firmly in fashion. An immutable attribute The only decorations left on the Christmas tree are garlands of multi-colored lights, but even here, electric light bulbs are already being replaced by LEDs.
Now it is difficult to imagine celebrating the New Year without its symbol - the fluffy evergreen beauty of spruce. On the eve of this have a 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 knocked down 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 a 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 There was even such a definition as 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, everything 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. For the first time in the history of Russia, an official document about non-workers appears 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 was installed. Since then, every year in this hall there is a giant Christmas tree and children's parties are organized. 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 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, and 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 decorations. These products did not differ in variety: the same “cones”, “icicles”, “pyramids”. Fortunately, now on store shelves you can find many interesting 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”. There is a 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, the spruce branches were covered with spiders' 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. In the 19th century, the first electric garland with many bulbs appeared. 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. Touching and good story for kids about a small tree that was awarded 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.
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. Also in Ancient Greece and in 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 the new era. In those days, it was believed that powerful spirits (good and evil) lived in their branches, and in order to find a common language with them 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 - essential element pictures 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 centenary, 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 is 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 tree 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.
