New Year is a holiday celebrated in all countries of the world. In ancient times, every nation used its own dating, dedicated to some important event in history or mythology. The custom to celebrate the new year existed already in the third millennium BC. The countdown of new years from January 1 was officially established in 46 BC Julius Caesar. This date was dedicated to the deity of all beginnings, entrances and exits - Janus.
Do you know that the history of the celebration of the new year in our country has more than three hundred years? Let's look at the history and compare how the New Year is celebrated in Russia today with how it was celebrated several hundred years ago.
The holiday beloved by all the children of the world was brought to Russia from Europe by Peter the Great. In Russia, the celebration of the new year has been dated from time immemorial to the first autumn day. Since 1700 in Moscow they began to celebrate it on January 1, and gradually the tradition spread throughout the country. Festivities, as a rule, began on the night of December 26 (Christmas according to the Julian calendar).
The New Year in Russia has always been vibrant, noisy and fun. The central streets of cities and houses were decorated with branches of juniper, pine and spruce. Festive services were held in chapels and churches of the country. The traditional New Year's set - Santa Claus, Snow Maiden, salad Olivier and champagne, appeared a little later. But fireworks and holiday firecrackers - Peter the Great's favorite pastimes, became familiar for Muscovites in the early 18th century. Magnificent spectacles with a huge number of colorful stars exploding in the sky were held on the main and largest squares, a special role in the design of these squares was given to special decorations in the form of arbors, statues, pools and obelisks. The onset of the new year was reported by multiple cannon volleys.
The New Year in Russia during the time of Peter the Great became more secular than a church holiday. As we know, Peter loved to have fun on a grand scale, which terrified and despair many clergymen of those times. It was a young emperor who looked at European life that laid the foundation for conducting entertainment events in Russia with dancing and a lot of alcohol. Christmas balls and masquerades have become a traditional way of spending time. They were first given freedom to women in clothing and behavior. Now a noble lady could appear in public in a completely “shameful dress” and not be ashamed of it. Each new year in Russia under Peter the Great acquired a special meaning, and its celebration was always devoted to military victories, or the signing of peace treaties.
For two centuries, the celebration of the new year has remained unchanged. The 1917 revolution brought people a lot of suffering and grief, this was the period when no one wanted fun. Only in 1935, having recovered from the turmoil, did the people of our country again talk about the new year as a holiday, and not about the day of the calendar change. The new year in Russia in Soviet times could not do without spruce decorated with glass toys and tinsel and without a red star rising above its crown, symbolizing the Kremlin. With the 1917 revolution , the Western Gregorian calendar came to us , but all the Orthodox continued to follow the traditions of their predecessors. Therefore, today we celebrate the new year already twice: according to the "old" and "new" style.
Everyone knows how to celebrate the New Year in Russia today. In no city is a holiday complete without establishing a joy for the children of the central Christmas tree and building an ice town, a clock at midnight and congratulations to the president. Perhaps the celebration of the new year in the era of Peter the Great will seem boring to a modern person, but there was a special charm at that time!