Peter the First and the New Year. History of the New Year. What was it like before Peter I

Russian New Year is a holiday that has absorbed the customs of paganism, Christianity and European enlightenment. On December 20, 1699, the decree of Emperor Peter I “On the celebration of the New Year” was issued, overnight throwing the whole country three months ahead - the Russians, accustomed to the September meeting of the new year, should have met the year 1700 on January 1 ..

pagan echo

Until the end of the 15th century, spring was considered the end of the annual cycle in Russia (the same ideas still exist in some countries of Central Asia). Before the adoption of Orthodoxy, this holiday was associated exclusively with pagan beliefs. Slavic paganism, as you know, was closely intertwined with the cult of fertility, so the new year was celebrated when the earth awakens from its winter sleep - in March, with the first spring equinox.

During the winter solstice, it was preceded by 12-day "Kolyadas", from which the tradition of "mummers" to go from house to house and sing songs, scattering grain at the threshold, has survived to this day. And today, in many remote corners of Russia and the CIS, it is customary to give pancakes and kutya to “mummers”, and in ancient times these dishes were put on the windows to appease the spirits.

Caroling has come down to us from pagan times. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

With the adoption of Orthodoxy, the ritual side of the meeting of the new year, of course, has changed. The Orthodox Church did not attach much importance to it for a long time, but in 1495 it got to this holiday - it was officially appointed on September 1. On this day, the Kremlin held the ceremonies "On the Beginning of a New Summer", "For the Summer" or "The Action of Long-term Health". The celebration was opened by the patriarch and the tsar on the cathedral square of the Moscow Kremlin, their procession was accompanied by the ringing of bells. From the end of the 17th century, the tsar and his retinue went out to the people in the most elegant clothes, and the boyars were ordered to do the same. The choice fell on September, because it was believed that it was in September that God created the world. With the exception of a solemn church service, the New Year was celebrated like any other holiday - with guests, songs, dances and refreshments. It was then called differently - "The first day of the year."

Winter Is Coming

On December 20, 1699 (according to the old reckoning, it was 7208), on the threshold of a new century, the emperor issued a decree that read: our Orthodox faith is accepted, all those peoples, according to their years, count from the Nativity of Christ on the eighth day later, that is, from January 1, and not from the creation of the world, for many strife and counting in those years, and now 1699 comes from the Nativity of Christ year, and on the 1st of the next January, a new year 1700 begins, along with a new centennial century; and for that good and useful deed, he indicated that henceforth the years should be counted in orders, and in all deeds and fortresses to write from this January, from the 1st day of the Nativity of Christ, 1700.

Fragment of the decree of Peter I from 1699. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The decree was long and very detailed. It stipulated that everyone should decorate their houses with spruce, pine and juniper branches these days and not remove decorations until January 7th. Noble and simply wealthy citizens were ordered to fire cannons in the yards at midnight, shoot into the air with rifles and muskets, and a grandiose fireworks display was arranged on Red Square.

On the streets, the emperor ordered to burn firewood, brushwood and resin fires and keep the fire going throughout the festive week. By 1700, almost all European countries had already switched to the Gregorian calendar, so Russia began to celebrate the New Year 11 days later than Europe.

frightening change

September 1 remained a church holiday, but after the Peter the Great reform it somehow faded into the background. The last time the rite of summer conduct was performed on September 1, 1699, in the presence of Peter, who sat on the throne in the Kremlin Cathedral Square in royal clothes, received a blessing from the patriarch and congratulated the people on the new year, as his grandfather did. After that, the magnificent autumn celebration was over - by the will of Peter, the traditions of enlightened Europe merged with pagan nature, from which the rites of wild fun remained.

“Such a ringing has not been heard in Moscow for a long time. They said: Patriarch Adrian, not daring to argue with the tsar in anything, released a thousand rubles and fifty barrels of strong patriarchal half-beer to the sexton. The bells on the belfries and belfries rang out squatting. Moscow was shrouded in smoke, steam from horses and people ... Through the ringing of bells, shots crackled all over Moscow, cannons barked in bass. Dozens of sleighs galloped by, full of drunken and mummers, smeared with soot, in turned-out fur coats. They lifted their legs, waving damasks, yelled, raged, fell out in a heap at the feet of the common people, stupefied by the ringing and smoke. The tsar with his neighbors, with the prince-paw, the old dissolute Nikita Zotov, with the most joking archbishops - in the archdeacon's robe with cat's tails - traveled around noble houses. Drunk and fed up, they still swooped in like locusts, not so much eating as scattering, yelling spiritual songs, urinating under the tables. The owners got drunk to amazement and - let's go further. So that the next day they would not come from different places, they spent the night side by side right there, in someone's yard. They walked around Moscow with joy from end to end, congratulating them on the advent of the new year and the centennial century. The townspeople, quiet and God-fearing, lived these days in anguish, they were afraid to lean out of the yard. It was not clear - why such fury? The devil, or something, he whispered to the tsar to stir up the people, to break the old custom - the backbone, than they lived ... Although they lived closely, but honestly, they saved a penny, they knew that this was so, but it was not. Everything turned out to be bad, everything was not according to him. Those who did not recognize the roof and pinches gathered in the underground for all-night vigils. Again they whispered that they would live only until the oil day: from Saturday to Sunday the trumpet of the Last Judgment will sound ... "

On January 6, the first "pro-Western" celebrations in Russian history ended in Moscow with a procession to the Jordan. Contrary to the old custom, the tsar did not follow the clergy in rich attire, but stood on the banks of the Moscow River in uniform, surrounded by the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, dressed in green caftans and camisoles with gold buttons and braid.

The boyars and servants also did not escape the imperial attention - they were obliged to dress in Hungarian caftans and dress their wives in foreign dresses. For everyone, it was a real torment - the established way of life was collapsing for centuries, and the new rules looked uncomfortable and intimidating.

This way of celebrating the New Year was repeated every winter, and gradually New Year trees, midnight cannon volleys, and masquerades took root.

New Year is one of the calendar Russian holidays, celebrated on the night of December 31 to January 1 of each year.

The history of the holiday

Until the 18th century, the new year in Russia began not from January, as it does now, but from March (until 1492) or September (from 1492) according to the Julian calendar.

Information about the celebration of the New Year appears from the end of the 15th century. The Paris Dictionary of the Muscovites (XVI century) retained the Russian name for the New Year's holiday: the first day of the year.

New Year celebration before 1700

During the celebration of the New Year in the Kremlin, the ceremonies "On the Beginning of a New Summer", "For the Summer" or "The Action of Long-term Health" were held. The ceremony began at about 9 o'clock in the morning according to the modern account.

On the cathedral square of the Moscow Kremlin, opposite the northern doors of the Archangel Cathedral, in front of the Red Porch, a large platform was arranged. The platform was covered with Persian and Turkish carpets. Between the Archangel Cathedral and Ivan the Great, three lecterns were installed on the platform - two for the Gospels and one for the icon of Simeon the Stylite the Pilot. Large candles were placed in front of the lecterns, a table with a silver bowl for consecrating water. Two places were placed opposite the lecterns: on the left for the patriarch, on the right for the king.

The patriarch, accompanied by the clergy, went to the action from the western gate of the Assumption Cathedral. They carried icons, crosses and banners. When the patriarch entered the square, the tsar came out from the Annunciation porch. The processions of the Patriarch and the Tsar were accompanied by the ringing of bells on Ivan the Great. The ringing stopped after the patriarch and the king took their places.

The king went out in festive clothes. Since 1679, Fyodor Alekseevich began to go into action in the Great Royal attire - that is, in purple, a diadem, and the Cap of Monomakh. The retinue accompanying the king was dressed in gold, that is, in brocade clothes and throated hats. According to the decree of December 19, 1680, it was supposed to come to the celebrations of the new year in golden feryazs.

The tsar kissed the gospel and icons, and the patriarch blessed him. The patriarch in a special speech asked the king about his health. The king ended his response speech with the words "... God gave, he is alive."

The clergy and boyars took their places according to their rank at the places of the tsar and the patriarch. Cathedral Square was filled with service people. On the locker (platform) from the Annunciation to the Archangel Cathedral stood stewards, lawyers and nobles, followed by guests. On the locker between the Cathedral of the Annunciation and the Assumption stood the stewards of the junior ranks, followed by clerks, colonels, heads and half heads of archers. Foreign ambassadors and foreign guests stood on the porch of the Archangel Cathedral. On the locker between the Archangel and the Assumption Cathedral were generals, colonels, other initial people and foreigners. In the back rows on the lockers stood other ranks, dressed not in gold. Between the lockers and behind the lockers stood archers with banners, drums, and weapons.

The service began, metropolitans, archbishops, bishops and other clergy approached two by two with a bow to the king and patriarch. After the service, the patriarch addressed the tsar with a long "healthy" speech. The king answered with a short speech and kissed the gospel and icons. After that, the tsar and the patriarch were congratulated on the new year by the spiritual authorities; two in a row and with a low bow. The king answered with a bow of his head, and the patriarch with a blessing. Then the boyars and other secular officials congratulated the king with a bow to a great custom (almost to the ground). At the same time, one of the elders delivered a congratulatory speech. Then the boyars congratulated the patriarch. When mutual congratulations ended, the whole square congratulated the king. All those present in the square, including archers, beat their foreheads into the ground. The emperor answered with a bow.

After the end of the action, the king went to mass in the Church of the Annunciation.

Transformations of Peter I

Since 1700, by decree of Peter I, the New Year in Russia is celebrated, as in other European countries, on January 1, and still according to the Julian calendar.

“7208 December on the 20th day, the great sovereign, the tsar and the grand duke Peter Alekseevich, of all Great and Small and White Russia, indicated to say:

It became known to him by the great sovereign, not only in many European Christian countries, but also among the Slovene peoples, who agree with our Eastern Orthodox Church in everything, like: Volokhi, Moldavians, Serbs, Dolmats, Bulgarians, and the citizens of his great sovereign Cherkasy and all the Greeks from whom our Orthodox faith was received, all those peoples, according to their years, are counted from the Nativity of Christ on the eighth day later, that is, from January 1, and not from the creation of the world, for many strife and counting in those years, and now the year 1699 comes from the Nativity of Christ, and the next January, from the 1st day, a new year 1700 begins, and also a new century; and for that good and useful deed, he indicated that henceforth the years should be counted in orders, and in all deeds and fortresses to write from this January, from the 1st day of the Nativity of Christ, 1700.

And as a sign of that good undertaking and the new centennial century, in the reigning city of Moscow, after due thanksgiving to God and prayer singing in the church, and who will happen in his house, along large and passing noble streets, noble people, and at the houses of deliberate spiritual and worldly rank, in front of the gate to make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper, against the samples that are made at Gostiny Dvor and at the lower pharmacy, or to whom it is more convenient and decent, depending on the place and gate, it is possible to inflict, but for meager people at least someone should put a tree or a branch on the gate, or put it over his mansion, and so that now the next January will ripen by the 1st of this year, and that decoration of the January will stand until the 7th day of that well, 1700.

Yes, January 1 on the 1st day, as a sign of fun; congratulating each other on the New Year and the centenary, to do this: when fiery fun is lit on the Great Red Square and there will be shooting, then in the noble courts, boyars, and okolnichi, and duma and neighbors, and noble people, plat, military and merchant rank famous to people, each in his own yard, from small cannons, if anyone has, and from several muskets, or other small guns, fire three times and fire several rockets, as many as they happen, and along the large streets, where there is space, Genvara with 1 to 7, at night, light fires from firewood, or brushwood, or straw, and where there are small yards, five or six yards gathered, put such a fire, or, whoever wants, put one, two, or three on the columns tar and thin barrels, and filling with straw or brushwood, light, in front of the burmist town hall, shooting and such fires and decoration, according to their consideration, be the same.

Decree of Peter I No. 1736 "On the celebration of the New Year"

However, by 1700, most European countries had already switched to the Gregorian calendar, so Russia began to celebrate the New Year 11 days later than in European countries.

New style

With the transition to a new style by decree of the Bolsheviks in 1918, the first New Year, coinciding with the European one, fell on 1919. In addition, the so-called Old New Year, which fell on January 14, arose. Then the New Year was not widely celebrated, but Christmas was celebrated. In numerous stories about Lenin and the Christmas tree, we are talking about a Christmas tree, not a New Year's tree. Even in 1924, shortly before his death, in Gorki they gave a Christmas tree for children.

Beginning in 1929, the celebration of Christmas was officially abolished. However, already on December 28, 1935, Pravda published a letter from the First Secretary of the Kyiv Regional Committee, Pavel Postyshev:

“In pre-revolutionary times, the bourgeoisie and bourgeois officials always arranged a Christmas tree for their children on New Year's Eve. The workers' children looked enviously through the window at the Christmas tree sparkling with multi-colored lights and the rich children having fun around it.

Why do our schools, orphanages, nurseries, children's clubs, palaces of pioneers deprive the children of the working people of the Soviet country of this wonderful pleasure? Some, none other than "leftist" benders, denounced this children's entertainment as a bourgeois undertaking.

This wrong condemnation of the Christmas tree, which is a wonderful entertainment for children, should be put to an end. Members of the Komsomol and pioneer workers should arrange collective Christmas trees for children on New Year's Eve. In schools, orphanages, pioneer palaces, children's clubs, children's cinemas and theaters - there should be a children's tree everywhere! There should not be a single collective farm where the board, together with the Komsomol members, would not arrange a Christmas tree for their children on the eve of the New Year. City councils, chairmen of district executive committees, village councils, public education bodies should help arrange a Soviet Christmas tree for the children of our great socialist motherland.

Organizing a children's Christmas tree, our children will only be grateful.

I am sure that the Komsomol members will take the most active part in this matter and eradicate the absurd opinion that the children's Christmas tree is a bourgeois prejudice.
So, let's organize a fun New Year's Eve for children, arrange a good Soviet Christmas tree in all cities and collective farms!

From 1930 to 1947, January 1 was an ordinary working day in the USSR. December 23, 1947, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, January 1 became a holiday and a day off. According to the law of September 25, 1992 in Russia, January 2 became a day off. Since 2005, New Year holidays have been established in Russia from January 1 to January 5 (previously only 1 and 2), and these days are declared non-working, and taking into account the days off and Christmas - an official holiday, the weekend lasts 10 days. Since 2013, New Year holidays in Russia have been reduced to 8 days (from January 1 to January 8).

New Year traditions

Vasily Surikov “The Great Masquerade in 1772 on the streets of Moscow with the participation of Peter I and Prince Caesar I.F. Romodanovsky"

In Russia, the beginning of the year on January 1 was introduced by the first Russian emperor Peter I in 1699, becoming one of his reforms. New Year 1700 was celebrated in Moscow on the royal order for seven whole days; homeowners had to put coniferous trees in front of houses and gates, for decoration, and every evening tar barrels were lit, rockets were fired, two hundred cannons were fired in front of the Kremlin and in private courtyards from small guns. All this was done on a German model.

They say that the guests of the palace were locked in the dining room for three days, so that they would not stop eating and drinking until they fell dead, and when they came to, they continued. At the same time, the tradition of masquerades and folk festivals appeared.

With the change of rulers, the New Year holidays gradually acquired new traditions. Elizabeth I celebrated the New Year with balls, Catherine II introduced the custom of giving gifts.

The tradition of drinking champagne for the New Year appeared after the war of 1812, when a trophy drink was brought from France to Russia. During the reign of Nicholas I, public Christmas trees appeared on the streets.

They began to make Christmas decorations in factories in Russia only at the end of the 19th century, before that they were brought from Germany or made by hand.

But the New Year became a truly all-Union holiday only in the USSR. This was preceded by the abolition of Christmas in 1929 (it became the usual working day of the five-day period) and the introduction of a virtual ban on its celebration as part of the atheist campaign carried out in the USSR. Special patrols roamed the streets and peered through the windows to detect holiday preparations. For the first time, the New Year began to be celebrated in 1935: Santa Claus, the Christmas tree (the tree and the holiday itself), gifts under the Christmas tree - all the invariable attributes of the old Christmas, at the behest of atheists, became "New Year's". The Bethlehem star on the Christmas tree has become a Soviet five-pointed star, the same as those recently hung on the Kremlin towers. In January 1937, Santa Claus had an obligatory companion - the Snow Maiden, whose origins lie in pagan mythology.

The celebration of the New Year, as a new Soviet tradition, was one of the first described in the story "Chuk and Gek" by Arkady Gaidar in 1939 and in the story "Commandant of the Snow Fortress".

In Soviet times, the New Year's own attributes also appeared: Soviet champagne, tangerines, Olivier salad, the chiming clock, during which you must make a wish, the solemn address of the state leader to the citizens of the country. In the Russian Empire, balls were held on New Year's Eve, in Soviet times they were replaced, as in a number of other countries, by New Year's lights and feasts that accompany traditional songs such as “A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest” and “Five Minutes”.

In 1954, the main Christmas tree of the country, the Kremlin, was lit for the first time.

Since the late 1980s, a fashionable trend has appeared in Russia and other European countries to associate the arrival of the New Year with one of the animals of the Chinese horoscope (rat, bull, pig, etc.), even though the Chinese New Year comes later. Also, foreign (primarily American) symbols of the new year are becoming more and more popular: reindeer in a Santa Claus team, combinations of red and green in decorative elements, postcards depicting wreaths, which are usually not accepted in Russia.

After 1990, it gradually became a tradition to burn fireworks and launch fireworks immediately after midnight, both organized and impromptu, simply by residents of a settlement, district, quarter or house.

New Year's signs

A large number of folk signs are traditionally associated with the New Year in Russia (some of them passed to him from Christmas, which was not celebrated for a long time). On New Year's Eve, it is customary to dress in new and better clothes, because if you enter the new year with a new thing, then you will walk in new clothes for a whole year. It is also believed that you cannot give money on New Year's Eve, otherwise you will have to give it all year. Therefore, before the New Year, they paid off all debts in advance, forgave all insults, and those who were in a quarrel were obliged to make peace. Until now, they also believe that it is impossible to borrow on New Year's Eve, otherwise you will have to sit in debt all year. It is also impossible to sleep on New Year's Eve, otherwise the whole year will pass sluggishly and uninterestingly (the exception is children under the age of 7 years). The New Year's table should be bursting with dishes and wines so that the whole year can be lived richly and cheerfully. Before the New Year, it is also recommended to throw out all broken dishes from the house, wash windows and mirrors. Those who believe in signs associated with the belonging of the coming year to one or another animal according to the Chinese calendar, try to enrich the festive table with dishes that are considered pleasing to this animal (for example, cheese for the year of the Mouse, bananas for the year of the Monkey) and refrain from objectionable ( beef for the year of the Ox).

In Russia, celebrating the holidays, people danced
Later, scientists found out that the round dance is a special technique,
which can solve the psychological problems of the participants in the action and create a sense of unity
Painting by A. Ryabushkin "The guy got into a round dance" (1902)

Writer ALEXANDER PETROCHENKOV tells how and when the New Year was celebrated in pre-Petrine times, and why the date of January 1 was not favored.

Before the reforms of Peter I in Russia, the new year began on September 1. The day of January 1 was considered a pagan holiday and was not welcomed by the Christian church. Having celebrated in 1699 the onset of the new year for the last time according to the ancient custom in September, Peter issued a decree on December 19, according to which the new year began on January 1. Then the year 7208 for the first time began to be considered a new year 1700 from January 1.

September 1, since 1492, it was customary to celebrate the "First day of the year" according to the Julian calendar. The New Year used to start in March. According to the historian Vasily Tatishchev, in 1342 at the Moscow Council, chaired by Metropolitan Theognost, the issue of the correct date for celebrating the New Year was discussed. As a result of the debate, it was decided to celebrate the beginning of both the church and the civil year on September 1. This decision was confirmed for the second time in 1492 and 1505, since the Russian people still celebrated the holiday in the old fashioned way, in March. By the way, in March and September, the new year was celebrated in ancient Rome.

During the celebration of the New Year in the Kremlin on September 1, the ceremonies "On the Beginning of a New Summer", "For the Summer" or "The Action of Long-term Health" were held. The festive ceremony with the participation of the king and the patriarch began at about 9 o'clock in the morning according to the modern account.

Since 1700, by decree of Peter I, the New Year in Russia is celebrated, as in other European countries, on January 1, and still according to the Julian calendar. However, by 1700, most European countries had already switched to the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, Russia began to celebrate the New Year 11 days later than in European countries.

In the ancient Slavic calendar, as in the Byzantine and ancient Roman, there were 12 months.

So Russia switched to the era of Dionysius, that is, to the chronology from the "Christmas". Prior to this, the ancient Russian, or rather Byzantine, system was used, in which the chronology was carried out 5508 years earlier, separating the era of Dionysius to the era of the “creation of the world”. .

With the transition to a new style by decree of the Bolsheviks, the first Russian New Year, which coincided with the European one, fell on 1919. At the same time, the so-called Old New Year, which fell on January 13, arose.

The New Year was not widely celebrated then, but mainly Christmas was celebrated. In the cult Bolshevik myths about Lenin and the Christmas tree, we are talking about the Christmas tree, and not the New Year tree. Even in 1924, shortly before his death, in Gorki they gave a Christmas tree for children.

Happy New Old Russian Year, comrades! With new happiness!

P.S. If someone wants to understand all this confusion of Russian calendars, I recommend the work of 1944:
L.V. Cherepnin
Russian chronology

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Mikhailov Andrey 12/23/2014 at 18:30

On December 20, 1699, the Russian Tsar Peter I signed a decree on the transition of Russia to a new chronology and the transfer of the celebration of the beginning of the year from September 1 to January 1. Since then, we have been celebrating the main holiday of the year on this day. In general, the history of the New Year in Russia is quite curious. At different times, in addition to the above dates, we celebrated it on March 1, March 22, and September 14.

But first, let's return to the young Russian tsar. By his decree, Peter ordered on January 1, 1700 to decorate houses with pine, spruce and juniper branches according to the samples exhibited in Gostiny Dvor, as a sign of fun, be sure to congratulate each other on the New Year and, of course, on the new century.

As the historical chronicles say, fireworks, cannon and rifle salutes were arranged on Red Square, and Muscovites were ordered to fire muskets and launch rockets near their homes. In a word, it was ordered to have fun with all the might of the Russian soul, however, in the European manner! The boyars and servicemen were ordered to dress in other people's costumes - Hungarian caftans. And the women were also to be dressed in foreign dress.

In the decree of Peter the Great it was written: "... On the large and passing streets, noble people and at the houses of the deliberate spiritual and worldly rank in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper ... and meager people, each at least a tree or a branch on the gate or over their temple put…" In the decree, it was actually not specifically about the Christmas tree, but about trees in general. At first, they were decorated with nuts, sweets, fruits and even various vegetables, and they began to decorate a particular beautiful Christmas tree much later, from the middle of the last century.

On January 6, the mighty festivities ended with a procession to the Jordan. Contrary to the old custom, the tsar did not follow the clergy in rich attire, but stood on the banks of the Moscow River in uniform, surrounded by the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, dressed in green caftans and camisoles with gold buttons and braid.

In general, the celebration of the New Year in Russia has the same difficult fate as its history itself. The old folk tradition, even after the officially introduced changes in the calendar, preserved ancient customs for a long time. Here is what he told Pravda.Ru about the New Year's story Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Nikolai Kaprizov:

“In Russia, in the old, still pagan times, there was a long span, that is, the first three months, and the span month began in March. in the current three spring and three summer months - the last six months concluded winter time. The transition from autumn to winter was shading like the transition from summer to autumn. Presumably, the New Year was originally celebrated in Russia on the day of the vernal equinox, that is, March 22. Maslenitsa and The New Year was celebrated on the same day, the winter was driven away, which means that the new year has come.

Well, along with Christianity, that is, after the Baptism of Russia in Russia (988), naturally, a new chronology appeared - from the Creation of the world. There was also a new European calendar, the Julian, with a fixed name of the months. The beginning of the new year began to be considered March 1. According to one version at the end of the 15th century, and according to another in 1348, the Orthodox Church moved the beginning of the year to September 1, which corresponded to the definitions of the Council of Nicaea.

In general, the reform of the calendar system was carried out in Russia without taking into account the working life of the people, without establishing any special connection with agricultural work. The September New Year was approved by the church, which followed the word of the Holy Scriptures. In the Old Testament church, the month of September was celebrated annually, as if to commemorate peace from all worldly worries.

Thus, the new year began to lead from the first of September. This day became the feast of Simeon, the first Stylite, which is still celebrated by our church. This holiday was known among the common people under the name of Semyon Pilots, because this day summer ended and the new year began. It was both a solemn day of celebration, and the subject of parsing urgent conditions, collecting dues, taxes and personal courts.

Well, in 1699, Peter I issued a decree according to which January 1 was considered the beginning of the year. This was done following the example of all Christian peoples who lived not according to the Julian, but according to the Gregorian calendar. Peter I, in general, could not completely, immediately transfer Russia to the new Gregorian calendar, despite all his determination - after all, the church lived according to the Julian.

The history of the New Year holiday celebrated in Russia on the night of December 31 to January 1 refers to 1699, reign time Peter the Great. After the return of the king from the Great Embassy, ​​this is the name in historiography of Peter's trip to Europe, which lasted 15 months, 27 year old king issued order No. 1736. The document refers to the transition to the Julian calendar and the New Year's holiday on January 1. The year 7208 from the creation of the world became 1700 from the birth of Christ. Due to the difference in calendars, it was decided to count the beginning of the year from January, and not from September, as it was before. Peter tried at one moment to change the way of life of the country. The order was carried out by the subjects - a holiday, after all.

However, for a long time, two dates were indicated in the documents, according to the old and new calendars. January 1 was a day free from fasting, which means that nothing interfered with the stormy celebrations. The young Tsar Peter the Great in the very first year decided to continue continuous fun evenly. seven days in a row. New Year's Eve on Red Square staged a magnificent parade and fireworks. The 1700th new year, as well as the next four years, the main celebrations were held in Moscow, then in the new capital of St. Petersburg.

The celebration of the New Year at the beginning of the 18th century was of a mass national character. The squares were masquerades, cannons fired, fireworks, "fiery fun and shooting". Peter's decree ordered decorate houses and porches with spruce, pine and juniper branches. “... On the large and passable streets, for noble people and at houses of deliberate spiritual and worldly rank, in front of the gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine and juniper ... and for each meager people, at least put a tree or branch on the gate or over your temple ...”

Each Christmas decoration had its own meaning. Apples were a symbol of fertility, nuts - the incomprehensibility of divine existence. After the death of the indefatigable emperor, they stopped decorating spruce branches for some time. Only in taverns these elements of New Year's decoration were left, and they were there throughout the year - and this is how the name appeared "tree sticks".

It is worth noting that the subjects of Peter the Great were ready for the new winter holiday, since Christmas time was celebrated earlier in these days. Celebrations, bonfires, sleigh rides, round dances, fortune-telling, all this was intertwined with the innovations introduced by Peter. The evening before New Year's Eve is called "generous". It was customary to set as rich and beautiful a table as possible. The hosts treated the organization of the table with great attention, as it personified the prosperity that awaited the family next year. The main dish in wealthy families often became young pig roasted on a spit.

For those who are curious, I present an image of a historical document and an interesting text in which we hear a direct speech of the end of the 17th century, namely order of Peter the Great number 1736 :

“In December 7208, on the 20th day, the great sovereign, the tsar and the Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, of all Great and Small and White Russia, indicated to say:

It became known to him by the great sovereign, not only in many European Christian countries, but also among the Slovene peoples, who agree with our Eastern Orthodox Church in everything, like: Volokhi, Moldavians, Serbs, Dolmats, Bulgarians, and the citizens of his great sovereign Cherkasy and all the Greeks from whom our Orthodox faith was received, all those peoples, according to their years, are counted from the Nativity of Christ on the eighth day later, that is, from January 1, and not from the creation of the world, for many strife and counting in those years, and now the year 1699 comes from the Nativity of Christ, and the next January, from the 1st day, a new year 1700 begins, and also a new century; and for that good and useful deed he indicated that henceforth the years should be counted in orders, and in all deeds and fortresses to write from this January from the 1st day of the Nativity of Christ, 1700.

And as a sign of that good undertaking and the new centennial century, in the reigning city of Moscow, after due thanksgiving to God and prayer singing in the church, and who will happen in his house, along large and passing noble streets, noble people, and at the houses of deliberate spiritual and worldly rank, in front of the gate to make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper, against the samples that are made at Gostiny Dvor and at the lower pharmacy, or to whom it is more convenient and decent, depending on the place and gate, it is possible to inflict, but for meager people at least someone should put a tree or a branch on the gate, or put it over his mansion, and so that now the next January will ripen by the 1st of this year, and that decoration of the January will stand until the 7th day of that well, 1700.

Yes, January 1 on the 1st day, as a sign of fun; happy new year to each other and a hundred years, to do this: when on the big Red Square, fiery fun will be lit and there will be shooting, then through noble courts, boyars, and okolnichi, and duma and neighbors, and noble people, well-known people of the plate, military and merchant ranks, each in his own yard, from small cannons, if anyone has one, and from several muskets, or another a small gun, shoot three times and fire several rockets, as many as anyone happens to, and along large streets, where there is space, from January 1 to 7, at night, light fires from firewood, or brushwood, or straw, and where small yards, having gathered five or six courtyards, lay such a fire, or, whoever wants, put one, two, or three tar and thin barrels, and filling with straw or brushwood, light, in front of the mayor's town hall, shooting and such lights and decorations, according to their consideration, be the same.