Today, Russian New Year traditions cannot be imagined without Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden.
Numerous polls public opinion unanimously show that the favorite holiday of Russians is 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 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 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 a birthday on November 18, when people in this area most often come very coldy. 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 TV in half of the wall 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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In Russia, for many people it is one of the main celebrations, and the traditions of its celebration are an integral part of the life of every child and adult. Each of us associates this event with the smell of tangerines, Christmas tree decorations, children's laughter, the crunch of snow underfoot, fireworks and a richly decorated table. But only a few think about why the traditions of the New Year are such a vital element for everyone.
Russian New Year - traditions
For more than 300 years, the Russian people have been celebrating this celebration. During this time, a huge number of European, American and Soviet traditions have become part of the celebration of the modern New Year. Today we cannot imagine this event without its main symbols: Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden. An old man with a white beard and his assistant made of snow have been attending various matinees and events since the beginning of December.
This couple is also expected on the eve of the holiday itself in ordinary apartments, where the owners of the house, guests and relatives gathered at a round table. This event can be considered a family celebration, which is usually celebrated together with loved ones.
How can you do for the New Year without? Any of us take this matter very seriously. And for almost the whole of December, we are preparing to please our loved ones with gifts, gifts, a richly decorated table and a new selection of good jokes.
On the day before the New Year, people remember the traditions and customs associated with the celebration. They also finish all their unfinished work, pay off debts, clean the house, prepare a festive dinner, the menu of which must include Olivier salad, and dress up the green beauty. In the evening, everyone is waiting for guests, watching old films, opening champagne, listening to the speech of the head of state and the chiming clock. Loud congratulations are then heard and fireworks explode in the street. From this moment begins the fun, which will continue until the morning.
Russian traditions of celebrating the New Year are very rich and colorful. Therefore, it is always interesting for foreigners to visit this celebration and see with their own eyes the broad soul of the people. After all, Russians celebrate this holiday like no other.
When was the New Year?
The ancient Slavs celebrated the New Year on March 1 - with the onset of heat and the beginning of field work.
At the end of the 10th century, with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the Julian calendar was introduced. The account of years in it was conducted from the “creation of the world”, which, according to the church, took place 5508 years before our reckoning.
In 1492, the beginning of the year in Russia was officially postponed to September 1.
In 1699, a few months after the Russians had already celebrated the New Year on September 1, they had to repeat the celebration. Because on December 19, Peter I issued a decree on the reform of the calendar in Russia. According to this document, the New Year began to be celebrated on January 1 and the Christian chronology was adopted - from the Nativity of Christ. In this decree, the great sovereign ordered, on the occasion of the holiday, after due thanksgiving addressed to God and prayer singing, to make some decorations for trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper ... As a sign of fun, congratulating each other on the New Year and the centenary, make fiery fun, and in each of their yards, noble people should arrange firing from small cannons, muskets ...
On New Year's Eve, 1700, Peter I himself lit the first rocket on Red Square. The streets were illuminated with illumination. The ringing of bells and cannon fire began, the sounds of trumpets and timpani were heard. The festivities continued all night.
Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on January 24, 1918 "in order to establish in Russia the same time calculation with almost all cultural peoples" a new calendar was introduced, a new style, which differed from the old style by 13 days.
Therefore, the celebration of the New Year since then comes 13 days earlier. However, the old New Year has been preserved in the memory of people and continues to be celebrated to this day.
January 1 became a non-working day in December 1947.
The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree
Once among the ancient Slavs, Lithuanians and Estonians, spruce was considered a tree that brings peace and happiness.
For the first time in Russia, a Christmas tree as an attribute of the New Year appeared in the times of Peter the Great. Among the ancient Germanic tribes, the cult of the spirits of vegetation was widespread. The Germans believed that spirits lived on the branches of trees, and above all on evergreen firs.
Since the 16th century, in Germany and Switzerland, small Christmas trees decorated with apples were placed in houses, which, at the end of the holiday, were allowed to be removed by children and the poor.
This custom later passed to Scandinavia, France and other countries, and even to those where they do not grow at all.
Ancient German custom Christian church included in the Christmas ritual. Christmas decorations easily fit into the gospel story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sweets symbolized the gifts presented to the little Christ. The candles were reminiscent of the warmth of the home of Bethlehem, which was denied to Mary and Joseph. The star at the top of the Christmas tree was associated with the Star of Bethlehem, which showed the Magi the way to the cave where Christ was born.
The first public Christmas tree in Russia was lit in 1852 at the Ekateringof railway station in St. Petersburg. Carnival masks at the New Year tree were put on for the first time in our country in early XVIII century, when a magnificent masquerade was arranged on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with Sweden.
Since the ceremony of decorating the Christmas tree was timed to coincide with Christmas, a religious holiday, the Soviet authorities banned the festive Christmas tree. This custom was restored only in 1935, however, they began to decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year.
In order for the Christmas tree to retain its freshness for a long time, you need to put it in a bowl with wet sand, and in the room choose a place for it, remote from heating radiators or stoves.
Toys. Do-it-yourself toys are always original: houses, funny animals made of eggshells, chains, lanterns and baskets glued from multi-colored paper, walnuts wrapped in colored foil, crackers and sweets. At the end of the holiday, all decorations can be presented to guests.
If you do not have enough toys, you can decorate the Christmas tree with ordinary balls of the same size and color - 30 or 40 pieces. And you can decorate the Christmas tree with only one rain, without toys.
In a house where there are small children, decorate the Christmas tree with toys prepared by the children. Let ships and snowmen hang on the Christmas tree, little animals and baskets filled with sweets ...
Christmas decorations can decorate not only the Christmas tree, but also the room. Hang, for example, toys from the chandelier. From the chandelier, stretch garlands and a silver thread in different directions. You can also transform the chandeliers or lamps themselves if you attach a sheet of thick paper rolled into a cylinder on them.
New Year's compositions. The traditional Christmas tree can be successfully replaced with New Year's compositions.
It is enough to take a branch of any coniferous tree (spruce, pine, arborvitae, cypress), 1-2 cones, a candle, a small toy, tinsel. Arrange the candles so that there is no danger of fire. The composition can be installed on a small tray, a plastic tray for flower pots, in a wide flat vase, in a large transparent glass. You can also use natural materials such as saw cut wood, driftwood, tinder fungus. Details of the composition are attached with wire or plasticine. The color of candles should be in harmony with the color of toys or tinsel. Dried flowers (immortelle, acroclinium, gomphrena), 2-3 cyclamen, chrysanthemums or a sprig of azalea blooming at this time really enliven such a composition. Of the toys, shiny colored balls or bells are most suitable. If they are bright, for example red, it is better to take a white candle, and, conversely, shiny silver balls and tinsel will suit a red candle.
Interesting compositions on wooden hoops. Two hoops are hung horizontally one above the other, connected by vertical wires, cord or ribbon. Small candles are strengthened on the upper hoop, decorating them with sprigs of needles, ribbons, and toys. The same compositions can be made from wire by wrapping it in foil or threading the wire inside the tinsel.
You can put the hoops vertically, crossing them with each other to make a ball. Decorate the crossing points with branches, Christmas tree decorations. Such compositions are suspended on ribbons, cords or braid from the ceiling, a chandelier or on a wall bracket.
Looks interesting christmas composition in the form of a short garland. You can fix it on a piece of any tree. For a garland, they take a thick wire, wrap it with any fabric, and then, starting from the top, weave a garland of short double branches on this frame, distributing them in rows. Each row is wrapped with a thin wire, positioning the next row so that it covers the ends of the previous one. At the same time, any suitable material is woven - cones, toys, dried flowers, sweets, ribbon bows, small fruits.
A small garland is good to decorate the New Year's table. Each device can be revived with a small spruce twig or greenery of arborvitae, asparagus. The same sprigs of needles with fresh flowers or dried flowers are used to decorate New Year's gifts, attaching them with a beautiful ribbon.
All animals visit us
From ancient times it was believed: what will be the first day of the year, this will be the whole year. Therefore, it was necessary to put on everything new in the New Year, put aside worries and have fun from the heart all night.
mummers. Not a single village Christmas time passed without the guys having fun with dressing up. Home-made masks, linen beards and clownish costumes were prepared in advance from the thinnest zipuns turned out with wool, sheepskin coats and so on. At dusk, those who wanted to dress up gathered in someone's hut and dressed up as a gypsy, someone as an old grandfather, someone as a freak hunchback. At the same time, they almost always knitted a scarecrow from straw, a bit like a horse, which was then carried by four guys. Then everyone went around the village with songs and shouts. A hunchbacked old man with a long beard rode ahead of everyone on a mare (a teenage boy was dressed up for this). Then the gypsies and soldiers led the bear on a rope, and a whole crowd of mummers and teenagers followed them. A noisy, merry band of mummers broke into the houses, danced, sang, offered fortune-telling and begged for tobacco and money. Having bypassed the houses of wealthy neighbors, this crowd tumbled into the Christmas hut and began to carouse.
Modern suit. It is easy and relatively simple to dress up a child in an animal - a bear, a hare or a cockerel. The child needs to be dressed in overalls corresponding to the chosen "hero" color and prepare a hat-mask. For the rooster, you will also need a tail made from multi-colored paper strips glued together and sewn to the jumpsuit.
You can make masks of a gnome, an alien, a king, a pirate, a pig.
The face of the gnome is cut out of pink paper, the beard is cut out of white, cut into fringes. The hat is colored, and on both sides, since its end with a fringed pom-pom should bend forward (make sure that this fold is soft).
The alien mask is made from pale green paper. The cheeks and snout are hot pink, the eye rims are purple, as is the mouth. The nose and mouth are cut out, the nose in its wide part is bent up (the place of the fold is marked with a dotted line), in the narrow part it is bent down. Piglet is glued in such a way that its upper part remains free.
The mask of the king has a pink face, brown mustache and beard, eyes and nose are drawn with a black felt-tip pen. Eyelashes are cut in such a way that they can be bent upwards along the dotted line. The golden crown is painted with multi-colored felt-tip pens. Curls (27-30 cm long) are made from Narrow strips of white paper, they must be wound on a pencil - as if curled - and then glued to the Mask from the wrong side.
The pirate has a yellow or light brown face. Red or black beard. One eye is covered with a black bandage. A blue kerchief, from under which a tuft of hair sticks out. The nose is purple and the earring is yellow.
For the piglet mask, it is better to use velvet pink paper. Cheeks, snout and mouth are bright red. The outlines of the eyes are outlined in black, as are the ears and nose folds. Rubber bands are attached to the masks.
You can create a memorable image with the help of several details in a suit. A boy in jeans and a cowboy shirt, a hat with a drawstring and twisted brim on his head, a scarf around his neck. This is a cowboy.
The girl is wearing green sunglasses, shoes decorated with foil, in her hands is a small toy dog. This is Ellie from The Wizard of Oz.
Or take two boxes of different sizes. In the larger one, holes are cut for the head and hands, in the smaller one - for the face. Got a robot suit.
Or they paint the girl with red lips with a bow, a bright round blush and long eyelashes to the eyebrows, and two huge starched bows are attached to her head and belt. It turned out to be an elegant doll.
It is easy to make a pirate costume without a mask: a black cocked hat made of paper, a bandaged eye, an earring in the ear, a scarf around the neck, a bright wide belt made of a piece of fabric, and a knife on the side. On his face, you can mark the stubble with black dots.
You can paint the child's face under a clown (put a cap on the head, a collar and a bow tie on the neck).
Huge eyes and colored wings on the back will turn the girl into a butterfly.
The girl can be dressed up in a camomile. To do this, cut out petals (large and medium) from white or yellow paper. Sew large petals in a circle to any light skirt. Smaller petals - glue to the hat - the base is yellow. Put on the girl a white blouse, yellow or white tights. Tie green bows around the neck and shoes.
In order to dress up a baby under a cornflower or a bell, you only need to make a hat from colored paper, and a belt from petals and leaves.
A colorful skirt, a red or yellow blouse or T-shirt, a string of bright beads around the neck, an artificial rose or a carnation in her hair - and the Spanish beauty will become the decoration of the holiday.
The same bright skirt and blouse, beads, earrings, monisto, bracelets and a colorful scarf tied at the hip, in the hands of a deck of cards - why not a gypsy?
You can easily make a puss in boots costume. Over the tracksuit, put on a large white collar and cuffs, decorated with a frill or lace. Stick cuffs made of bright thick paper on rubber boots. Wear a hat or beret with a feather on your head.
On the face with a soft black pencil or charcoal, draw thin stripes of a mustache.
For a winter costume, you need to cut out two circles from tulle or gauze, collect each on an elastic band. One will be a skirt, and a smaller one will be a blouse. Sequins, foil and rain stars are glued or sewn onto the costume. You can wear a crown on your head.
Have fun in the New Year
You can arrange a "Forest Buffet" in the children's room. Decorate the walls with snowflakes, rain, spruce branches, put real stumps, scatter "snow" (cotton wool), finely chopped "rain" -. On the clearing you can build a fabulous house, covered with "snow" -. Let the children find a letter from Baba Yaga in the house. She will congratulate everyone on the holiday and give the coordinates by which she will offer to find a surprise, and at the same time herself.
Surprise can be sweets and a split picture, by folding which children can find out where Baba Yaga is ...
Treats in the "Forest Buffet", of course, should be "forest": fungi baked from dough, nuts, cones, koloboks, strawberries.
Then you can organize a puppet show-fairy tale "Three Bears", a festive concert, a win-win lottery, a round dance around the Christmas tree, games.
Gift from Santa Claus
"Happy New Year! With new happiness!" - such familiar words are pronounced, congratulating each other on the New Year. Something similar was said as early as 153 BC. It was then that the ancient Romans introduced the custom of having fun all night and giving gifts on New Year's Eve with wishes of good luck and happiness. Gifts were with meaning: candles are a symbol of the sun, gold is a sign of wealth, honey is a sign of a pleasant life.
This custom of giving gifts for the New Year has been preserved. Individual congratulations from the invitees can be placed directly under the table napkin. Gifts can be given by Santa Claus or left under the tree. In Santa Claus's bag, you can put a note addressed to a small family member, "look for a note from Santa Claus", for example, in icicles on a Christmas tree. And in the note found in the icicle, give the child a new task, as in a fairy tale: move five Steps to the right from the tree, turn around and take ten steps forward, etc. - there will be a gift from Santa Claus.
But the gift can also be played among the participants of the holiday. For example, choose the queen of the evening. To do this, bake a coin or a bean in one of the pies. The one who gets it, let it be the queen (for the queen, you can make a crown in advance). If the man gets the bean, let him choose the queen. The “coronation” ceremony can be made fun - arrange a procession around the table, give the queen some kind of playful wand - for example, an umbrella with a bow or a ladle.
A New Year's gift should be wrapped in beautiful paper, put in a plastic bag and tied with a bow, but it is better to make a special box for it - from cardboard pasted over with a patterned fabric, or paper painted with bright colors.
Boxes can be made in the form of a cube, parallelepiped, pyramid, cylinder. Fasten the details of the boxes with a narrow tape, pulling it through the holes made every 2 cm on the details. The length of the tape is twice the length of the required seam. The ends of the ribbon are tied in a bow.
Santa Claus
Pierre Genvier used to bring gifts to French children.
In Greece, Saint Basil became such a guest.
Italian children are waiting for gifts from "grandmother Morozikha" - Saint Epiphany, who comes dressed in a white fur coat and a red hat.
In Switzerland, it was believed that the fabulous Aunt Aria brought gifts to children. On the night before Christmas, she came down from the mountains with a stick in her hand, accompanied by a donkey with two heavy baskets on her back and bells around her neck. The old woman entered the house through a keyhole, a half-open window, and sometimes through a chimney. She brought sweets to obedient children, and to naughty children she threw rods instead of gifts.
In Spain, Saint Catherine leaves gifts on the windowsills.
In England, America and a number of countries in Northern Europe, children are waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus - St. Nicholas (Santa is a saint, Klaus is a diminutive of Nikolaus).
Our Russian Santa Claus - the ruler of cold, snow, blizzards and winds - wears warm felt boots and a red fur coat.
Once upon a time, our ancestors considered Santa Claus to be an unsightly and mischievous old man who ran through the fields, shaking his long beard and causing bitter frosts with a knock. From his blows on the hut logs split. Over time, he turned into a blacksmith hero and fettered the water with iron frosts.
The peoples of Eastern Siberia identified Santa Claus with a big-nosed, horned monster. Among the Yakuts, at the time of the onset of the New Year, the king of birds, the eagle, entered into single combat with this monster. He flew in specifically to drive away old year and start a new one.
The Slavs had a special ritual of appeasing Santa Claus. On the eve of Christmas, the head of the family looked out the window or beyond the threshold of the hut and offered: “Frost, Frost! Come eat kissel! Frost, Frost! Don't eat oats!" Now, in all countries of the world, Santa Claus is a good-natured and merry fellow.
Recently, Grandfather Frost has a granddaughter, the Snow Maiden, who was invented by the Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky.
Signs. New Year is one of the most important events in the life of a farmer. On the first day of the year, they tried to find out about the nature of the following days and months, about the harvest, about the fate of oneself and loved ones in the coming year.
If the sky is starry on New Year's Eve - to the harvest. On New Year's Eve there are a lot of stars - there will be berries.
Severe frost and a little snow - to the harvest of bread, and if it is warm and there is no snow - to a crop failure.
To ensure the well-being of the coming year, according to tradition, he should arrange a joyful, friendly meeting. The main treat of the table was a suckling pig.
Everywhere it was not allowed to do hard and dirty work on the first day of the year - otherwise the whole year would pass in continuous hard work without rest.
You should not pay debts on the New Year - you will pay off the whole year.
It was believed that if you knock on a pear or apple tree on New Year's Eve, then this tree will have a bountiful harvest.
On New Year's Eve, the first buyer is given the goods cheaply, adhering to the proverb - "the beginning is expensive."
The girls attached special meaning to the custom of dressing up on the first day of the New Year in everything new and changing clothes several times so that everyone had updates.
Neighbors, relatives, children went from house to house under the guise of "sowers", threw a handful of grain into the red corner and congratulated the owners, wished them health and harvest. In gratitude, the hosts had to treat the "sowers".
The most correct divination
They tell fortunes both at Christmas and at Epiphany, but fortune-telling on New Year's Eve is considered the most faithful and valid (if only the fortuneteller will guess without a cross, without a belt and without blessing).
Divination for marriage. In the Kursk province, girls went to the barn on New Year's Eve and tied sheep and cows with belts, and in the morning they looked: if a sheep or a cow turns its head to the gate, then the girl will marry; .
In the Vologda province, instead of sheep and cows, girls guessed on horseback. The fortune-teller put a bag on the horse's head and tied it around the neck, after which she sat on horseback, backwards, took the tail in her teeth and drove the horse. If at the same time the horse went to the gate, then the girl will be given in marriage today, and vice versa - if it goes to the barn or to the fence, then this year no one will marry.
Fortune-telling in the bathhouse consisted in the fact that, having poured heaps of ashes, the girls went to inspect them the next day. If a footprint in boots is visible on a pile, then the girl will marry the rich, if in bast shoes - for the poor, if, finally, traces of a blow with a whip are visible, then an angry husband will beat his wife.
Sometimes girls and boys would tell fortunes together at the crossroads. They sat in a circle, outlined themselves around, covered themselves with a white linen tablecloth and listened intently into the silence of a frosty winter night. If someone hears the ringing of the bell, then the girl will marry in that direction, and the guy from there will take a wife. In the same way, the barking of a dog foreshadowed a wedding, and even the properties of the groom (or bride) were determined by the nature of the bark. Hoarse, rude barking - the groom will be old, grouchy. Lay sonorous - the groom is young. The sound of an ax foreshadowed death, the sound of a kiss - a loss of honor for a girl. None of the fortune-tellers was supposed to leave the circle until everyone was “lined”, that is, until one of those present here, but not participating in fortune-telling, again outlines the circle of fortune-tellers - otherwise the fortune-telling will not come true.
All types of divination (especially the so-called terrible divination with a mirror) are considered sinful. But an even greater sin is committed by those who dress up and put on “hari” (masks). In particular, this entertainment is considered indecent for women and girls.
Divination for the harvest. The peasants believe that if the sky is starry on New Year's Eve, then in the coming year there will be a large harvest of berries and mushrooms.
After standing for the morning mass, the first in the new year, the peasants usually went to the threshing floor and pulled blades of grass from the haystacks with their teeth. If a blade of grass with an ear full of grain pulls out, then the year will be fruitful, if with a skinny one, it will be lean.
Sometimes on New Year's Eve they baked a separate loaf of bread, weighed it, put it at night with the icons. In the morning, they weighed the bread again and noticed: if the weight is added, then the coming year will be fruitful (in this case, the family ate the loaf), if, on the contrary, the weight decreases, then the year will be lean (then the loaf was given to cattle so that it would be less hungry during the lack of food) .
Also, the peasants, after matins, went to the crossroads, drew a cross with a stick or a finger on the ground, then fell to this cross with their ear and listened: if they heard that a sleigh was driving with a load, the year would be fruitful, if empty - there would be a crop failure.
Festive table
Table setting. Most New Year's table should be occupied by all kinds of snacks, salads, vegetable mixes.
The table setting should also be New Year's. If there is no tablecloth, you can cover the table with ordinary tulle. And you can also prepare special New Year's napkins.
Well, if the candles on this holiday will burn on the table. You can make small bowls from the orange peel, put them on the cake or around the edges of the dish, pour a little strong liquor and set it on fire.
Glasses or ordinary thin glasses in which juices, drinks, cocktails are served can be made very spectacular. Moisten their edges with water, then dip in granulated sugar and let dry.
When preparing ice for drinks or cocktails, you can put a cherry berry (from compote or jam) in each cell of the ice bath. Then fill the mold with water and put in the freezer.
It is not difficult to make Santa Claus. To do this, they stick a match into a large apple, they prick it Walnut. The match is covered with a collar made of corrugated paper. A pointed foil cap is attached to the nut, hair and a beard are made of cotton wool, eyes are glued. Under the figurine, you can put a few green branches folded in the shape of a star, and cut out snowflakes from foil and arrange them in a row on the tablecloth.
Or you can make candlesticks. To do this, you need to take 2-3 apples, hollow out a hole for a candle in each of them, stick spruce needles with rowan and wild rose berries, previously soaked in water, pricked on them.
In a pie or cake, you can bake surprises for happiness and good luck.
Menu. The menu of the New Year's table includes stuffed and jellied fish, fried and stuffed poultry, stewed and fried meat, various pickles, snacks from meat, chicken, liver, all kinds of salads.
We think that the New Year has always been celebrated. However, it is not. The history of this holiday has at least 25 centuries.
For the first time this custom appeared in Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia). According to some scientists, it was here, in the ancient civilization of the Sumerians, for the first time (in the third millennium) they began to celebrate the New Year.
New Year firmly entered the life of the ancient Babylonians. All agricultural work began at the end of March, after the water arrived in the Tigris and Euphrates. For 12 days, a solemn event was celebrated - the onset of the time of the victories of the bright god Marduk over the forces of destruction and death. The holiday was accompanied by processions, carnivals and masquerades. At this time, it was forbidden to work, punish, and administer courts.
How did the Slavs learn about this ancient holiday?
Scientists have proven that the Jews who were in Babylonian captivity (during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar) borrowed this story and included it in the Bible. From the Jews, the tradition of New Year's celebration passed to the Greeks, and through them to the peoples of Western Europe.
The time of the New Year holidays is the time of a beautiful, kind fairy tale that comes to every home at the end of each year with the onset of winter cold. New Year brings us hope for the best and gives us many gifts. At this time, we begin to feel like the heroes of a fairy tale. A child wakes up in each of us, we begin to perceive what is happening with children's eyes, although we have long grown up. But we also want to believe in Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden, who will definitely, someday, come to our house. To believe that somewhere far away, in the vast expanses dominated by snow and ice, lives the beautiful Snow Queen. You may not agree with me, but in my heart it happens to everyone. And the New Year is to blame for everything - the time when the most cherished desires and dreams come true. We just need to believe in the good, the good, and everything will work out for us.
The celebration of the New Year carries the most joyful feelings and is associated with peace, love and mutual understanding. This holiday, like many others, has its roots in ancient times. On this day, the closest people gather. The charm of New Year's Eve will be remembered by everyone for a long time.
In Russia The New Year began to be celebrated by decree of Peter the Great from January 1, 1700. Prior to this, the beginning of the new year was celebrated on September 1. This holiday with a Christmas tree (although under Peter the Great, the Christmas tree was not decorated, but decorated with paws, twigs), decorations, carnivals were very fond of the Russian people. Now it is one of our favorite holidays. Did you know that earlier, instead of the Christmas tree, other trees were decorated. These were cherries specially grown in tubs. Formerly people It was believed that all trees are endowed with good powers, that good spirits live in them. And hanging treats on trees - gifts, they tried to appease these spirits. Well, the evergreen spruce occupied a special place among all the trees. She was a sacred center, a "world tree", symbolizing life itself and a new rebirth from darkness and gloom. Previously, instead of toys, various fruits were hung on trees, for example:
apples are a symbol of fertility
nuts - the incomprehensibility of divine providence
eggs are a symbol of developing life, harmony and complete well-being.
As is known, custom to decorate the house with spruce branches, went from Peter the Great. In the 30s of the 19th century, Christmas trees were put up for a holiday only in the houses of St. Petersburg Germans. By the end of the 19th century, Christmas trees became the main decoration of both city and village houses, and in the 20th century they were inseparable from the winter holidays until 1918, when, due to the fact that the decorated Christmas tree belonged to Christmas (that is, the religion of the church), it was banned for as much as 17 years ( until 1935). And only in 1949, January 1 became a non-working day. So putting Christmas trees in houses is not such an ancient invention as it might seem. In Russia, he is 60-65 years old (no more).
Not a single New Year's holiday is conceivable without a richly and brightly decorated Christmas tree. In many countries, in addition to the Christmas tree, the house is decorated with bouquets of mistletoe. This custom originated from England. On a festive evening, the houses of the British are decorated with these plants. There are even bouquets of mistletoe on lamps and chandeliers, and, as is custom, you can kiss a person standing in the middle of the room under a bunch of mistletoe.
For a family with children, it is more important not to celebrate the New Year together, but to prepare for it together. Even the youngest children can be involved in decorating the Christmas tree (by the way, if children are under 5 years old, it is better to decorate the Christmas tree with unbreakable large toys that will not suffer from being tasted or thrown on the floor), hanging tinsel, inventing fancy costumes and learning songs and poems about winter, New Year and Santa Claus. At the same time, it’s worth telling the child how the year changes, why it’s cold in winter, where Santa Claus lives and what New Year’s traditions are in other countries - you get a festive unobtrusive lesson in geography and country studies. Tell me what's in France for the New Year's Eve baked in a gingerbread bean. And the best New Year's gift to a fellow villager is a wheel. French Santa Claus - Pere Noel - comes on New Year's Eve and leaves gifts in children's shoes. The one who gets a bean baked in a New Year's cake at the New Year's Eve receives the title of "bean king" and on the festive night of the New Year's Eve everyone obeys his orders. Santons are wooden or clay figurines that are placed near the Christmas tree before the New Year. According to tradition, a good owner-winemaker should certainly clink glasses with a barrel of wine, congratulate her on the New Year holiday and drink for the future harvest. The New Year itself, which the French call "Saint Sylvester's Day" is a very cheerful holiday, it is customary to celebrate it with a large circle of friends. The windows of cafes and restaurants, painted with attractive drawings and inscriptions, invite everyone to taste New Year's dishes, exquisite French delicacies whose preparations are passed down from generation to generation.
New Year holidays in Italy pretty simplified. Old traditions are rarely observed, mainly in the villages. On the day before Christmas, they work only until lunch, and in the afternoon they decorate Christmas trees and prepare gifts.
Germans love holidays and celebrations and celebrate them with special solemnity. In the villages there are many ancient customs and rituals, especially carefully observed during the celebration of the New Year of Christmas, which is considered the greatest holiday. The atmosphere of the holiday is released on the streets of cities long before its onset. The Germans decorate their houses with pine and spruce wreaths, in which they put candles, lighting one every Sunday from the first of December.
Spain. Sparkle, joy and fun, endless fantasy - these are the main features of Spanish holidays. Throughout the year, the people meet the dates of major holidays both as the main participant and as a spectator, realizing themselves simultaneously in these two hypostases. Folklore is an expression of the deepest spiritual feelings and joys of the Spaniards. Almost all regions of the country have a rich original treasury, where they keep their dances, songs and traditions, inspiring many performers of lyrical performances, as well as spectators.
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IN Czech Republic And Slovakia young girls are looking forward to this holiday with great impatience, because it is on the night before Christmas that they will find out if they will get married this year? The proof is... a house slipper, which they must throw over their heads towards the door. If the slipper falls with its toe to the door, the groom will soon appear, and if towards the room, the bride will have to wait another 1 year.
In the land of the rising sun Japan- all residents of cities and villages on the morning of February 1 go outside to meet the sunrise. When the first rays of the sun illuminate the earth, the Japanese congratulate each other on the coming year and exchange gifts. Evenings are usually spent with family. And in order not to let evil spirits into their homes, they hang wreaths of straw in front of the entrance to the house. They think it brings them happiness. And they also have such a custom - to laugh at the time of the New Year.
In another eastern country - Vietnam- The New Year is celebrated at night. With the onset of dusk, the Vietnamese light fires in parks, gardens or on the streets. Several families gather around them, they cook special delicacies from rice on the coals. On this night, all quarrels are forgotten, all insults are forgiven, because the New Year is a holiday of friendship! The Vietnamese spend the whole next day in the family. The Vietnamese believe that the first person who enters their house in the New Year will bring them good luck, or vice versa - grief and misfortune. Therefore, my advice to you is to meet only trusted people these days, just in case.
New Year's Eve at Tibet called Losar. New Year is celebrated at the end of January or at the beginning of February - during the new moon. Especially important are the two days before the meeting of the new year, which are called Gutor. On the first day of Gutor, it is customary to do a general cleaning in his house. Moreover, special attention is paid to the kitchen as the most important, according to Buddhists, place in the house. In Sri Lanka, New Year's Eve is celebrated on April 13 or 14. Before the New Year holiday, the housewives clean their houses so that all the troubles of the outgoing year will go along with the garbage. On the last day of the old year, before the meeting of the New, it is not customary to eat something. And also turn on the lights in the houses. The first dish of the New Year, which you can try after 12 at night - rice with milk. Moreover, it must be prepared by the father or the head of the male family.
Very beautiful during the celebration of the New Year in China. The whole country is like a big luminous ball. And this happens because during the festive procession that flows through the streets of China on New Year's Eve, people light a lot of lanterns. This is done in order to light your way into the New Year. Since they believe that the new year is surrounded by evil spirits and unclean forces, they scare them away with crackers and fireworks.
A thousand-year-old Chinese tradition says that on New Year's Eve it is supposed to gather in the family circle. In the northern part of the country, dumplings are always served for dinner, while niangao (glutinous rice slices) are more popular among southerners. New Year's Eve is accompanied by many signs, which in other countries would be called superstitions. But the Chinese (not only the villagers, but also more than half of the townspeople) observe them sacredly. For example, on the first day of the year one should not pronounce words that have a negative meaning: death, poverty, disaster, etc. - so that these misfortunes do not really happen to a person. The house must have red decorations (it accompanies any joyful event in China). It is strictly forbidden to throw away garbage, so as not to sweep away your future wealth with it.
Because the predominant religion Egypt is Islam, then Christian holidays like the New Year or Christmas are not widely celebrated here. But for tourists, New Year's celebrations with a gala dinner, shows and fireworks are planned in every Egyptian hotel. During the celebration, the customs of all religions are mixed, and along with Santa Claus, you can see a half-naked girl performing an exotic belly dance. And the festive Egyptian feast can impress any gourmet: whole fried lambs, baked sea fish the size of a decent shark, stuffed pigeons, fragrant oriental sweets and some insane amount of cakes, pastries and pies. The imagination of local chefs knows no bounds - for example, beef and oranges are mixed in salads, but it turns out delicious.
IN Mongolia The New Year coincides with the festival of cattle breeding, so it is characterized by sports competitions, tests of dexterity and courage. Even Santa Claus comes to them in the clothes of a cattle breeder.
IN Burma The New Year comes at the hottest time of the year, so its arrival is celebrated with the so-called "water festival", when people pour water on each other when they meet. The tradition of dousing with water is a kind of wish for happiness in the New Year.
And in Iran New Year is celebrated on March 21st. There, a few weeks before the New Year, people plant grains of wheat in small pots. By the New Year, they rise - this symbolizes the beginning of spring and the New Year.
Happy New Year's Eve Bulgaria. When people gather at holiday table, in all houses the lights are extinguished for three minutes. These minutes are called "minutes of New Year's kisses", the secret of which is kept by darkness.
IN Romania It is customary to bake various small "surprises" in New Year's pies - small money, rings, hot pepper pods. If you find a ring in the cake, it means that the New Year will bring you happiness.
For residents of the capital Netherlands Amsterdam, the main New Year's event is the appearance of the local Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, in the city port. The guest arrives in the country by sea, through Rotterdam, and a meeting is organized for him in the tiny fishing village of Monnickendam not only by ordinary citizens, but also by the city authorities, including the mayor of the capital. This usually happens in early December. And all the subsequent New Year's Eve, the Dutch kids try not to be naughty in order to earn long-awaited gifts from Nicolas and his servant, nicknamed "Black Pete".
In this country, festive celebrations are very traditional, except for the obligatory skating on the city skating rink, built specifically for the holiday period. By the way, a similar skating rink exists in Copenhagen, and many Danes specially come to the capital with their families to "test the ice".
For the rest of the Scandinavian peoples, the New Year's week between Christmas and December 31 is especially fabulous. In the small town of Lapland, Romaniemi, on the very Arctic Circle, according to legend, the real Santa Claus lives. It is from here that he sets off on his journey on Christmas night in order to have time to distribute gifts to the children of the entire planet.
Very exotic New Year's celebrations are held in Australia. The absence of snow, Christmas trees, deer and other familiar attributes of the holiday does not at all sadden the inhabitants of the continent. Santa Claus marks the beginning of the New Year by his own appearance on a special brightly decorated surfboard on the beaches of Sydney. Moreover, observing the traditions of the Old World, his clothes always contain a white beard and a red cap with a pom-pom at the end, as for the rest, the tanned body of the giver of gifts covers a swimming suit.
Traditions of celebrating the New Year
In Russia, for the New Year, domestic animals were baked from dough: horses, cows, bulls. And when they came to the house to carol, the guests were presented with these figurines, various sweets, nuts. They also believed that the New Year should be celebrated in a new dress and shoes - then the whole year to walk in new clothes. Usually, before the New Year, they paid off all debts, forgave all insults, those who were in a quarrel were obliged to make peace.
Folk signs for the New Year
Whoever sneezes a lot during the New Year's feast will live happily all year. "How many times you sneeze - so many girls will love you."
If in January the echo goes far, the frosts get stronger
Clouds go against the wind - to the snowfall.
As you celebrate the New Year, so you will spend it.
IN new year's eve with a new thing, a whole year to walk in new clothes.
You can’t give money before the New Year, otherwise you will have to give it all year.
French women, celebrating the New Year, always put on new red underwear. They believe that this will scare away evil and prudent men, and will attract decent gentlemen.
On New Year's Eve, the starry sky is for the harvest.
By the New Year, they try to finish all their affairs, especially unpleasant ones, so that they do not pass into the next year. However, haste and the inevitable weakening of attention to the environment is your main enemy on the very eve of the New Year. Take a realistic look at life: what you do not have time to do before 5 pm, let it go to another year.
The New Year is coming - it's time for gifts and congratulations, banquets and feasts, green fluffy Christmas trees and the same fluffy white snow.
Organization of the New Year is one of the most interesting and exciting directions in the organization of holidays, because this is the kindest and most fabulous holiday, the time frame of which has recently stretched for a whole week, connecting the New Year and Christmas.
Let's celebrate the New Year in the costume of Santa Claus (Snow Maiden)!
Have you ever experienced envy at the sight of Santa Clauses and Snow Maidens? They are so businesslike pacing the streets, they are so welcome. They know some secret, despite the "cotton beard" and cheap makeup. Most do not dare to imagine themselves in their place, but in vain. Who is stopping you from getting a Santa Claus (Snow Maiden) costume and going outside? In this form, you can come to any company, to any restaurant or club - you are unlikely to be required to have a certificate. You will get so much attention, such a portion of smiles and compliments, that you will want to celebrate the new year every weekend. In addition, you will be in a better position than the "real" Santa Claus and Snow Maiden: you will not have to entertain anyone, and the Zarya company will not require you to report on gifts.
Ideal for those who are looking for new acquaintances. You will be out of competition.
How to meet the new 2007 year of the pig - wild boar
Trust the old legend that says: how you celebrate the New Year, so you will spend it. Celebrate the holiday to the fullest and do not deny yourself anything, at least one day a year.
Do you want to celebrate the New Year with numerous friends according to all imaginable and unimaginable rules? Great, then book a banquet hall, there will be enough space for everyone and there will still be extra. Decorate the hall with balloons, be sure to warm colors.
So that you and your friends are not bored, order entertainment program. Dancing, music, a fun show will certainly set you in the right mood. Do not forget to put in a conspicuous place the main symbol of the coming year - a figurine of a pig. It does not matter the size and material of your figurine, the main thing is that it be. Rejoice and please everyone around you, infect everyone around with the virus of good mood.
Do not forget that the New Year is a holiday of good mood and, of course, gifts. Call and congratulate, at least in words, all your friends and relatives. And for those closest to you, prepare pleasant and original surprises that will bring them a lot of pleasant sensations and stay in their memory for a long time. A gift is an obligatory attribute of a New Year's fairy tale. It doesn't matter if Santa Claus brought it under the Christmas tree, or the dwarfs put it in a stocking, or you bought it in "Children's World" together - the gift is important in itself, as a symbol of change.
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 celebration of the New Year.
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 in this holiday was strange for the people: and 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.
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 the New Year, were not widespread at that time. Sometimes calls are even 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 they began with the Nativity of Christ and continued until the 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 a tradition New Year's gifts, albeit a little more modest than Christmas.
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 piglets, 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, soaked apples and berries, berry marshmallow and jam - all the most delicious went to the preparation of New Year's dishes, the New Year's table was set for all the most delicious. 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 townspeople and the aristocracy differed from our modern New Year's menus only 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, various gourmet salads and the snacks of that time, which came to us from European cuisine, have taken root well in Russian cuisine, over time having migrated from the tables of the old aristocracy to our holiday New Year's menus, often undergoing only minor changes associated with products that have become too much to get difficult or costly. And even simple, but such tasty and satisfying dishes of the New Year's table are available today to absolutely everyone. So, 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.
