One of the most large-scale and favourite holidays in Russia is the new year. And as it gets closer and closer, I suggest you plunge into the history of this celebration and to learn as traditions of celebration of New year changed.
We will begin with pagan Russia. Though data since that period remained a little, some data nevertheless reached our days. Ancient Slavs had two holidays reminding new year: kolyadal (day of a winter solstice | on December 21) and komoyeditsa (day of a spring solstice | on March 21).
The kolyada is considered a celebration of the updating of the sun and worship of Velez, god of cattle breeding and all wandering on the ground. At this time the “Big Christmas-tide of Velez” was carried out. The company went around the village and sang carols - wishes for the coming year. For this, they received gifts - specially prepared pies, fruits and money. And if the owners didn't give a treat and banished going round carol-singers, then sang Christmas carols-curses for them.
Usually going round carol-singing carried with themselves on a pole the image of the sun as a symbol of the birth of the new sun. Many people put on different suits of animal or mythical beings to be protected from evil spirits which gains strength in connection with increase in length of night-time. Besides, the Christmas carol is considered a time of fortune-telling. Young girls guessed on the promised meeting, the main-person in the family for a harvest and diseases. Arrival on the sleigh from the mountain was one of fortune-telling. Was considered that at whom further the sleigh will leave, at that and the harvest will be better.
As for a komoyeditsa, it is a holiday of a farewell to winter and a meeting of spring. And also worship of a bear, embodiment of god Velez. The second name of this holiday - Maslenitsa. He was carried out the whole week for which every day certain ceremonies were planned. For example, Monday of this week was called "Vstrecha", this day began to bake pancakes - thin round flat cakes from the test, a symbol of the sun - and did of straw a scarecrow - a symbol of the leaving winter. Thursday - "Razgulyaj" - I was in the noisiest afternoon to which festivities and feasts were held. Sunday - "Proshenie voskresenie" - all apologized to each other for all offenses of the expiring year and burned an effigy. This holiday remained and is annually celebrated in Russia still, though slightly changed.
After the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988 nothing especially changed, people continued to celebrate new year as earlier because innovations were given hard. But by 14-15 century Orthodoxy nevertheless received serious influence on the life of society and in this regard decided to postpone new year to September 1 (this date remained in Orthodoxy still, as an alternative to civil new year). The problem turned out that it was made without taking into account the working life of the population. And since the troublesome harvest time began in September, the celebrations were not so active. During this period the celebration was church. Also, the tsar and the patriarch and also all confidants, organized a beautiful ceremony in the Moscow Kremlin though national scale and wasn't.
However everything changed with the reform of Peter I, one of the most significant reformers in the history of Russia. He postponed celebration of new year from September 1 for January 1 according to the Julian calendar, as in Europe:
"To the 7208th year of December 19 the great sovereign the tsar and grand duke Pyotr Alekseyevich, of all Velikiye and Malyya and Belyya of Russia specified to tell:
It became known to him to the great sovereign, not only in many European Christian countries, but also in the Slovenian peoples, who agree with our Eastern Orthodox Church in everything, as: volohs, Moldavians, Serbs, Dolmats, Bulgarians, and his greatest sovereign, Cherkasy subjects and all Greeks, from which our Orthodox faith is accepted, all those peoples according to the summer count their own from the Nativity of Christ ... and not from the creation of the world ... and now the year 1699 comes from the Nativity of Christ, and next January, on the 1st, the new year 1700, a new century, also comes..."
It was ordered to decorate the main streets of cities and rich houses with coniferous trees by this day, and to give out to all the poor at least a branch so that they could also decorate their home. On January 1, congratulate everyone on a new year and have fun, as well as arrange a festive palb of cannons and fireworks. However, by this time Europe had already switched to the Gregorian calendar, and in Russia the new year was celebrated 10 days later than there. But with the death of Peter, the tradition of decorating houses with coniferous trees disappeared, and was revived only in the 19th century, as a Christmas custom.
The first new year that coincided with Europe was 1919, after the Bolsheviks came to power. In the same year, the so-called "old new year" arose, falling on January 14. By this year, the holiday had completely lost its religious significance and became completely secular. In 1929, Christmas was completely canceled, and the New Year received the status of an official weekend. In the same year, it was decided to organize collective Christmas trees for the children of workers of the USSR, according to a letter from the First Secretary of the Kiev Regional Committee of the CPSU (B.) Pavel Postyshev. It was in Soviet times that the new year received a nationwide scope.
The symbols of the new year were Grandfather Frost, a Christmas tree and gifts. And in 1937, the Snegurochka joined them - the granddaughter of Grandfather Frost. Also during the USSR, modern traditions of celebrating the new year in Russia appeared: Olivier's salad, tangerines and champagne, which was opened and poured into chimes, became obligatory guests on the table. We owe the same time to the appearance of beautiful Soviet films(like “The Irony of Fate” or “the Brilliant Hand”) and songs(Like “Small Christmas tree” or “5 minutes”), which have now become traditional for the New Year festival.
Since the 1970s, it has become popular to associate the new year with one of the animals of the Chinese horoscope (for example, 2021 will be the year of the blue water tiger), and since the 1980s, North American symbols (Santa Claus and deer stubble) have been added to the images of the new year. Around the same time, the tradition of buying and lighting fireworks returned.
How is the new year celebrated in modern Russia? A few days (up to a month) before the new year, New Year's trees are put in the apartments and decorated with various balls, toys, garlands and tinsel. They agree with whom they will celebrate the new year (usually gather with family or friends), and prepare gifts for them. Children write letters to their grandfather frost and put them on the window or mail them to Veliky Ustyug, because it is the residence of Grandfather Frost.
Before the new year, olivier is definitely prepared and some meat is baked, purchased by tangerines and alcohol, watched "The Irony of Fate", "Diamond Hand" and in recent years "Harry Potter" and a series of Russian films "YOlki". Young children are taken to collective Christmas trees, which are arranged by trade unions or city authorities, and thematic discos are arranged for adolescents.
By 23:00, usually everyone is already at the table, they recall the past year and summarize. 10 minutes before midnight, they begin to look for congratulations from the president, after which they always listen to the blow of the chimes. There are traditions for chimes to light Bengali lights and open champagne, and also make a wish: write it on a small piece of paper, burn it, and interlace ashes in a glass of champagne and drink it. It is believed that if you have time to do this until the 12 blow of the chimes sounds, the desire will be fulfilled. After that, they definitely call dear people who could not come or celebrate elsewhere, and then go to the courtyard to launch fireworks. Immediately afterwards the children run home to unpack New Year's gifts as soon as possible.
So, the new year has always been one of the largest and most fun holidays in Russia. And whatever we call it and whatever we celebrate, one thing remains unchanged: the new year is a miracle that will come to everyone. Happy New Year!
Written by Bogacheva Anastasiya