19.12.2014

Christmas and New Year are closely connected in the minds of Russians with a smart Christmas tree, which is placed in a prominent place in the house. I wonder where such a tradition came from - to bring an evergreen inhabitant of the forest into the house and decorate it?

An old legend tells: in those time immemorial, when the Divine Infant was born in the cave of Bethlehem, his birth was announced by a star that suddenly lit up in the dark sky. All life on Earth rejoiced, and not only people, but also animals and plants rushed to the cave to look at the Savior and give him some gift. Everyone carried what they could.

The spruce that lived in the northern forests also gathered on the road. She approached the cave, but did not dare to go inside, because. she was afraid to prick the Baby with her sharp needles, and was embarrassed that everyone brought gifts, but she had nothing. Then other plants helped her: they put flowers, apples and nuts on her branches. The dressed up Christmas tree timidly approached the Savior. Seeing her, elegant, beautiful, little Jesus smiled.

And since then, the spruce tree has become a symbol of Christmas, it is put in both the richest and the poorest house, decorating everything that is found: shiny tinsel, colorful balls, figures of fairy-tale characters and animals. But such is the legend. In fact, it is likely that the Christian custom has some common roots with pagan beliefs. As, for example, the feast of Ivan Kupala, which combined in the popular mind the celebration of the triumph of life with the birth of John the Baptist.

So here - the tree, being an evergreen, never fading tree, has always evoked mixed feelings of respect and fear in people's minds. The Slavs both revered her and were afraid. According to historians, it could play the role of the World Tree. Its trunk - modern world people and animals, the crown goes to heaven, i.e. eternal life, the roots are the Lower World with demons, the souls of dead ancestors and other mysterious creatures.

To appease the spirits, which were especially raging on the long December nights, it was necessary at that time to go to the forest and leave gifts for them on the branches of the Christmas tree: dried fruits, nuts, coins. Be that as it may, the custom of decorating the Christmas tree eventually became an integral part of the Christmas holidays. In Russia, it really took root only from the 40s of the XIX century, when a lot was borrowed from European countries, in particular from Germany.

Under Pushkin, this was not yet the case. In the second half of the 19th century, with the light hand of the wife of Nicholas I, it took root in Russia new custom- dress up an evergreen forest beauty for Christmas. Today we do this without thinking about the reasons for the emergence of tradition. The main thing is that people liked it and added a sense of fun and joy to a bright holiday.

Christmas is the most important among the twelfth holidays of the Orthodox Church. We know from the Gospel that the Blessed Virgin Mary, before the birth of her Son, together with righteous Joseph, came to Bethlehem. In those days, the census was taking place, and there were a lot of people in the city. Joseph and Mary had nowhere to spend the night, and they settled in a cave where the shepherds usually took shelter with the sheep in bad weather and spent the night. The born Christ Child was placed in a trough for livestock - a manger. An angel appeared to the shepherds who were not far from the cave and announced great joy about the birth of the Savior, they also had a vision of many angels who glorified God. The shepherds were the first to come to worship Christ. The event of the coming into the world of the Savior, born of the Virgin Mary, is very important for the entire human race. All the writings of the Old Testament are permeated with the expectation of the Messiah, who will save people from sin and death, reconcile with God after the fall of Adam. This great day for the entire Christian world has always been accompanied by beautiful folk customs. It is considered one of the main family holidays.

In the first place in the festive celebration, of course, is the divine service - the all-night vigil and the liturgy, which, according to tradition, is celebrated at night. It is believed that you can not sleep - the night is special, Christ is born. Liturgical texts: stichera, irmos, troparia of the canon - reveal the dogmatic meaning of this great holiday. They are masterpieces both in meaning and in poetics and melody, because they were written by the saints with the grace of God.

But the feast of the Nativity of Christ does not remain within the framework of the liturgical, church celebration. This event, to a greater or lesser extent, affects all sectors of society, marches through the streets in decorations, folk festivals, songs, gathers and unites people in various events, congratulations and gifts. Temples, streets, houses are filled with various attributes characteristic of this great holiday. The Nativity of Christ revives in the souls of people kindness, love for each other, faith in miracles.

Although in Russia the main civil winter holiday is the New Year, all the same, even among non-church people, the triumph of the born Savior is not left unattended. Even in the smallest manifestation, in a simple congratulation “Merry Christmas!”, not even fully realized, but simply because it is customary - people glorify the Christ who came into the world, become participants in the Old Testament promises being fulfilled about the salvation of the whole world.

The constant companion of the holiday of the Nativity of Christ is the Christmas tree. Lush and fluffy Christmas trees are considered the most beautiful. Temples are decorated with fir trees, decorations are made from fir branches for icons, large fir trees with garlands and balls are placed in squares and streets. And, of course, the Christmas tree is brought into the house, where it immediately gives a feeling of celebration, creates an atmosphere of celebration. On the day before Christmas Eve, multi-colored light bulbs, toys, sweets, garlands are hung on the Christmas tree. Gifts are placed under the tree.

Nowadays, most people bring home and decorate Christmas trees for the New Year. But it was not always so. Before the Petrine era, the New Year in Russia fell on September 1, and even earlier - on March 1. However, Peter I, wishing to keep pace with the West, forbade celebrating the New Year in the fall, moving the holiday to January 1 by a special decree. Then he introduced decorations "from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper." The decree was not specifically about the Christmas tree, but about trees in general.

At first, they were decorated with nuts, sweets and fruits, and they began to decorate the Christmas tree much later, from the middle of the 19th century. At that time, Russia lived according to the Julian calendar, and Christmas was celebrated before the New Year - on December 25, so it was customary to decorate Christmas trees just for Christmas.

In Europe, this custom came from Germany. The first mention of spruce is associated with the monk Boniface, who read a sermon about the Nativity to the Druids. To convince the idolaters that the oak was not a sacred tree, he cut down one of the oaks. Falling, this oak knocked down all the trees in its path, not affecting only the young spruce. The monk glorified the spruce as the tree of Christ, and in the future it became the main attribute of the holiday. The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree spread to Germany and the Scandinavian countries in the 17th century. The first Christmas trees were decorated with fresh flowers and fruits, as well as figurines and flowers cut out of colored paper. Later, sweets, nuts and other foods were added, and then Christmas candles.

Such a load was too heavy for wood, and German glassblowers began to produce hollow glass Christmas decorations to replace fruits and other heavy decorations.

Wax candles were also an indispensable attribute of New Year's Christmas decorations until the spread of electricity. It was a very dangerous decoration, so buckets of water were always kept in the living rooms in case of fire. The first electric garland appeared in 1895 in the USA and decorated the Christmas tree in front of the White House. The idea to use electric garlands instead of wax candles belongs to the English telephone operator Ralph Morris.

At the beginning of the 20th century, in view of the political events taking place then, and in particular Russia's entry into the First World War, the Christmas tree was in exile in our country - in 1914, an active anti-German campaign began. The Holy Synod called the Christmas tree "an enemy, German invention" alien to the Orthodox Russian people, and issued a decree prohibiting the arrangement of Christmas trees in schools and gymnasiums.

After the revolution of 1917, Christmas trees were again renewed for several years. At the end of January 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree transferring Russia to the Gregorian calendar, which "overtook" the Julian by 13 days. But the Orthodox Church did not accept this transition and announced that it would celebrate Christmas, as before, according to the Julian calendar. Since then, Orthodox Christmas in Russia has been celebrated on January 7, that is, after the New Year. Since 1925, a planned struggle began with religion and with Orthodox holidays, which resulted in the final cancellation in 1929 of the celebration in the country of Christmas. Christmas Day has become a normal working day. Along with the Christmas holiday, the Christmas tree was also canceled, which had already firmly “merged” with it. The Christmas tree, which was once opposed by the Orthodox Church, has now come to be called a "priestly" custom. And then the Christmas tree “went underground”: they secretly continued to put it up for Christmas, tightly curtaining the windows.

Christmas trees were allowed only at the end of 1935. This happened at the suggestion of the first secretary of the Kyiv regional party committee, Pavel Postyshev, and was approved by Joseph Stalin. We can say that this coniferous tree has become a symbol of a new holiday, which received a simple and clear wording: "The New Year tree is a holiday of joyful and happy childhood in our country." Holiday device - Christmas trees- for children of employees of institutions and industrial enterprises becomes mandatory. The connection of the Christmas tree with Christmas was forgotten. The Christmas tree has become an attribute public holiday New Year, and now for most Russian people, the tree is associated with the New Year. So the Christmas tree became a New Year's tree.

Christmas wreath

From spruce branches create another decoration for the house - a Christmas wreath. Usually it is made not very large, so that it is convenient to hang it on the front door, but not very small, so that it can be seen from afar that guests who come with Christmas greetings are welcome in this house. Such wreaths are very diverse, as far as imagination is enough. They are decorated with colorful ribbons, cones, flowers, angel figures, apples, artificial snow, snowflakes and stars. If a bell is placed in the center of the wreath, then when the front door is opened, it will definitely ring and notify the owner of the arrival of guests.

A Christmas wreath is also made to decorate a festive meal - candles are placed on it.

Initially, the Christmas wreath appeared in Western countries as a decoration around Christmas time. For Catholics and Lutherans, the time of the pre-Christmas period, during which they prepare for the holiday, similar to the period of Advent in Orthodox countries, is called Advent. On the first of the four Sundays of Advent, the first candle is lit, the next week the second, then the third and fourth.

The Christmas wreath was introduced by the Hamburg Lutheran theologian Johann Wiehern, who adopted several children from poor families. During Advent, children constantly asked the teacher when Christmas would come. So that children could count down the days until Christmas, in 1839 Wiehern made a wreath from an old wooden wheel, decorated with twenty-four small and four large candles. Every morning in this wreath he lit one small candle, and on Sundays a large one.

Such a wreath is also called "advent wreath". The successive lighting of the candles symbolized the growing expectation of the birth of Christ, Who is the "Light of the World."

A Christmas wreath with four candles is associated with the globe and the four cardinal points. His circle also symbolizes the eternal life that the resurrection brings.

The Christ Child was born in Bethlehem, in the Shepherds' Cave. In Church Slavonic, a cave is a nativity scene. Such a nativity scene as a three-dimensional image of the event of the Nativity of Christ on Christmas Eve is installed in a temple or in a churchyard.

The nativity scene has no standards in terms of size or number of characters. Only the scene at the manger remains constant, where the Mother of God and the righteous Joseph bowed over the born Christ Child. The nativity scene is decorated with spruce branches, flowers and luminous garlands.

The composition of the nativity scene can depict not one moment of the Nativity of Christ, but a set of events; most often it depicts the adoration of the shepherds and the adoration of the Magi together, which, according to Christian tradition, occurred in different time. There may be other plots of the Gospel story: the flight of Joseph and Mary with the Baby to Egypt, the Magi on the way, the Magi at Herod.

In Orthodox churches, sometimes instead of the main characters - the Holy Family - the icon of the Nativity is used, while other participants in the scene are represented by three-dimensional figures.

As additional characters, an ox and a donkey may be present near the Baby, which, according to legend, warmed the Baby with their warm breath. Despite the fact that this element of the plot is absent in the canonical Gospels, these animals can already be seen in early Christian images. Among shepherds with sheep, one of the shepherds is often depicted carrying a lamb on his shoulders or in his arms as a symbol of the Lamb of God.

Depending on the scale of the den, regional traditions and the author's imagination, other characters can be included in the composition of the den, for example, servants of the Magi, their camels, horses and even elephants, numerous inhabitants of Judea, various animals and birds. In traditional nativity scenes in Catholic countries, instead of a cave, a hut or other structure that could be used by shepherds is often depicted. In most cases, it bears the features of regional architecture. This is explained by the fact that in the canonical Gospels there is no direct mention of the cave. It speaks only of the manger in which the Infant Christ lay. In the Orthodox tradition, a cave is invariably depicted, which is determined by the traditions of iconography.

The three-dimensional depiction of the events of Christmas originates from St. Francis of Assisi, who in 1223 seated people and animals in a cave, creating a vivid picture of the holiday. Since then, the tradition of creating Christmas scenes has become an annual event. Over time, smaller-scale figures began to be carved from wood, skillfully executed compositions were made from them. At first, the cribs were exhibited only in churches, but over time, their content became more and more thorough, showing in detail the life of the Italian peasant, and as a result, the cribs were taken out into the street and began to be displayed outside the temples. Then the noble inhabitants began to compete with each other, whose nativity scene was made more skillfully, thus influencing the development of this type of applied art.

In Russia, the arrangement of nativity scenes began to spread from the 17th century.

star of bethlehem

The constant companion of the event of the Nativity of Christ in iconography is a bright star, which, according to the Holy Scriptures, appeared “in the east” and led the Magi to the cave of Bethlehem. Theophylact of Bulgaria writes about the star that it "was a divine and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star." Since the Magi were engaged in the science of the stars, God led them to Christ with this familiar sign for them. In addition, she shone brightly during the day, walked when the Magi walked, and stopped when they stopped.

When arranging a nativity scene, the Star of Bethlehem is often placed above the baby Christ, lying in a manger.

The star, as a symbol of the holiday, occupies an important place in the decoration of Christmas trees, crowning the top of the tree. Even in the Soviet period, the star on the Christmas trees remained, only it was smoothly replaced from the eight-pointed Bethlehem to the five-pointed.

Christmas treat

An important stage in the celebration of the Nativity of Christ is the meal. Since the Christmas holiday precedes a long forty-day fast, believers after the service go home to break their fast. For the festive meal, a plentiful treat is prepared in advance, which is comparable to Easter. There are meat dishes, and various salads, and dairy products, and a wide variety of pastries. The table is covered with a festive tablecloth, and for greater comfort, lighted candles are placed on it.

The main and obligatory dish for the Christmas table in many European countries is the Christmas goose, Christmas turkey or duck. Usually they take a large bird so that there is enough treats for all participants in the feast. The goose is prepared in Germany, Denmark, Greece, Russia. According to the classic recipe, the whole fat goose is baked in the oven, seasoned with potatoes and vegetables, apples and prunes are also used. Cut the finished dish already directly into festive table.

The Christmas turkey is more common in England and the USA. In Russia, the tradition of whole roasting large poultry or large pieces of meat is associated with the peculiarities of the Russian oven, which made it possible to successfully cook large-sized products.

There are many different baked goods prepared for Christmas. You can highlight flat gingerbread, which have a unique flavor. They are made completely different: in the form of stars, and in the form of Christmas trees, and in the form of animals. Gingerbread cookies are decorated with multi-colored icing, given to each other, and also hung as delicious decorations on the Christmas tree.

But perhaps the most desirable decoration of the Christmas table is pastries in the form of a lamb or a lamb. The very idea of ​​depicting sheep is very ancient, it is about two thousand years old. During archaeological excavations of the temples of early Christianity in the ancient catacombs, scientists find images of lambs on the walls. Ancient Christians depicted such lambs on the walls as a symbol of Jesus Christ, because in many places Holy Scripture It is called "The Lamb of God". Therefore, beautiful lambs are baked for the Christmas holiday.

The taste of the Christmas lamb is something between a cupcake and Easter cake. Raisins or candied fruits can be added to the dough. Such lambs are baked in special forms. After the finished product has cooled, it is recommended to cut off the bottom a little so that the lamb stands exactly on the festive table, and sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

Present

At Christmas, it is customary to give gifts to each other. Of course, when Christmas was replaced by the New Year in the Soviet period, for many of our fellow citizens, the tradition of giving gifts moved to New Year's Eve. But church people understand that, despite the importance of the date of January 1 as the beginning of the year, the beginning of a new stage in public civil life, nevertheless festive mood, spiritual and spiritual rejoicing are more appropriate after the end of the fast, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

When the baby Christ was born, the Magi brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They foresaw the birth of the Messiah and when they saw a special star in the sky, they went after it and came to the poor Bethlehem manger. Their names were Caspar, Melchior and Belshazzar. Eastern sages presented gold to Christ as a royal gift, showing that Jesus was born to be a King. Frankincense is a gift to Christ as God. It is also a priestly symbol, since Jesus came to become the new Teacher and the true High Priest. Smyrna was an indication of the atoning sacrifice of Christ for all mankind, since it was anointed with the body of a dead person. In the image of the gifts presented by the Eastern sages to Christ, a tradition arose to give each other gifts for Christmas.

The gifts of the Magi the Mother of God carefully kept all her life. Shortly before Her Dormition, She handed them over to the Jerusalem Church. Frankincense and myrrh, brought by the Magi separately, were later combined into small dark-colored balls. There are about seventy of them left. This union is very symbolic: frankincense and myrrh, brought to God and Man, are connected as inseparably as two natures, Divine and human, were united in Christ.

Also, the custom of giving Christmas gifts comes from ancient stories about St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The feast of St. Nicholas of Myra is celebrated on December 19, shortly before Christmas. It is known from his life that he helped the poor and the needy. The story of how he helped one poor man who had three daughters and fell into despair from the fact that he could not feed them stands out in particular. Saint Nicholas helped a desperate man by throwing a sack of gold into his house three times, and the girls were then able to get married. Saint Nicholas tried to help people, while remaining unnoticed. From here, the tradition subsequently went to leave gifts under the tree at night, while everyone was sleeping. In the Western tradition, Nicholas the Wonderworker became the prototype of the well-known character - Santa Claus.

In the Russian literary tradition, Ded Moroz appeared in 1840. In the tale of V.F. Odoevsky "Moroz Ivanovich" Santa Claus from Slavic mythology and the fabulous Morozko are turned into a kind, but fair educator and mentor. For quite a long time, Moroz Ivanovich and the celebration of the New Year existed separately. Their unification took place in the second half of the 19th century, when the first attempts were made in Russia to create an original "Christmas grandfather" who would give gifts to Russian children, like St. Nicholas from their Western peers. The image of Santa Claus familiar to us was formed by the beginning of the 20th century. The attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards Santa Claus was ambiguous. Indeed, in its origins it is a pagan image of the forces of nature - winter and frost, and it is also a magician, which contradicts Christian teaching. On the other hand, it is a well-established cultural tradition.

Religious canons do not impose any special restrictions and regulations on Christmas gifts to relatives and friends. It is believed that gifts must necessarily carry something warm, personal, sincere. They should never be formal. And how nice it is to find something special for loved one and make him happy! When the tradition of decorating a tree for Christmas arose, it did not immediately become associated with gifts. The first to associate gifts with the Christmas tree were the English Queen Victoria and her husband Albert. In 1841, they set up a smartly decorated Christmas tree for their children and hung gifts right on the branches.

Christmas sock

Today, many people in our country are adopting the curious Western custom of hiding gifts in Christmas stockings. In European countries, it is customary to hang a boot or sock for gifts by the fireplace or near the bed. This custom goes back to different interpretations of the same story about St. Nicholas helping a poor man with three daughters. One of these legends says that the saint allegedly threw gold coins into the chimney of the poor sisters' house, which fell into stockings drying by the fireplace. So European children leave their socks by the hearth in the hope of finding something pleasant in them in the morning. Whatever the history of the appearance of Christmas socks is connected with, both adults and children really like this way of presenting gifts, largely due to the fact that these products become a bright element of the festive decor.

Christmas socks can be made independently from felt or any dense fabric, or knitted from thick woolen threads. To make the sock a truly festive decorative element, it will need to be additionally decorated. For example, on top of the product you can decorate with white fluffy fur or shiny rain, decorate with embroidery, satin ribbons, lace, figurines of deer or snowflakes and bells. If socks are made for several family members, then they are personalized by embroidering beautiful letters names.

Christmas socks are designed not only for giving gifts, but also for decorating the interior, so you can hang them anywhere: near the child's bed, above the door, on the wall, on the window frame, and even make garlands out of small socks.

caroling

The time from the feast of Christmas to the Epiphany of the Lord is called Sviatki - holy days. Orthodox people, united by the joy of the Savior who has come into the world, visit each other, exchange gifts and congratulations. Singing expresses the festive mood.

On holy days, special ritual songs are sung, composed over the centuries by the Russian people - these are carols. The tradition of caroling was especially widespread in villages and villages. Initially, the history of caroling in Russia was associated with pagan gods. So, the sun was considered a deity, and on the day of the winter solstice, the "birthday" of the sun, the peasants went to sing songs with the wishes of health, happiness, wealth and a good harvest. Later, when Russia became Christian, the pagan tradition was filled with new content, and caroling was timed to coincide with the Nativity of Christ. Biblical motifs appeared in carols, and people began to glorify the birth of Christ.

The carolers were called mummers, as they dressed up in fur coats and sheepskin coats inside out, they had animal masks on their faces, and bags for collecting gifts in their hands. Ahead of the procession was a man carrying on a pole or stick a brilliant star as a symbol of the holiday.

But the most important thing in this procession is carols. As a rule, a carol is a small Christmas story about the greatest event in the gospel history - the coming of Christ into the world, the glorification of the born Savior.

In our time, the tradition of caroling is being revived, carols are sung not only in churchyards, but Christmas fairs are organized throughout the city, festivities with the invariable "mummers" singing carols. “Praise Christ”, that is, to sing some liturgical chants and carols, they go to Orthodox friends, to familiar priests, as well as to children's festive evenings, where performances are also staged on the theme of the holiday.

Christmas cards

No matter how long the weekend associated with the New Year and Christmas is, not all friends and acquaintances can be visited, not everyone can be reached by phone even in our age of the development of the Internet and video communications. Therefore, another good tradition that still has not lost its relevance is sending Christmas greeting cards to different parts of the world.

Father, bless! Tell me, please, how long ago and where did the tradition of the Christmas tree come from in Orthodoxy, what is it connected with?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

Tradition connects the emergence of the custom of putting fir trees in houses on the feast of the Nativity of Christ with the name of the Apostle of Germany, St. Boniface (+ June 5, 754). While preaching to the pagans and telling them about the Nativity of Christ, he cut down an oak tree dedicated to Thor, the god of thunder, to show the pagans how powerless their gods were. Oak, falling, knocked down several trees, except for spruce. Bonifatius called spruce the tree of the Infant Christ. Apparently, at first the spruce was placed on the feast of the Nativity of Christ without decorations. She herself, slender, beautiful, exhaling a thick pleasant smell, was the decoration of the house. The custom of dressing a fir tree appeared after the Reformation in Protestant countries.

In Russia, the establishment of the Christmas tree, apparently, dates back to the reign of Peter the Great. The Orthodox Church celebrated the beginning of the new year on September 1 in memory of the victory won by Constantine the Great over Maxentius in 312. In 1342, under Metropolitan Theognost, it was decided to start both the church and the civil year on September 1, which was also confirmed at the council of 1505 d. The celebration of the new civil year and the church year were closely intertwined.

The year 1700 was celebrated twice in Russia. First September 1st. And on December 20, 1699, Peter I adopted a decree "on the celebration of the New Year." He ordered the beginning of the year to be moved from September 1 to January 1, 1700. At the same time, Peter I ordered that houses be decorated that day with “pine, spruce and juniper branches, according to the samples exhibited in Gostiny Dvor; as a sign of fun to each other, be sure to congratulate each other on the new year. Fire fun was arranged on Red Square.

The custom introduced by Peter I took root with difficulty. Even at the beginning of the 19th century, Christmas trees were put up only in the houses of St. Petersburg Germans. The Christmas tree became a ubiquitous decoration in Russia only at the end of the 19th century. However, in the 40s of the same century, it began to enter the life of Russian society. This can be judged from the story of F.M. Dostoevsky Christmas tree and wedding, published in the September issue of Notes of the Fatherland for 1848: “The other day I saw a wedding ... but no! I'd rather tell you about the tree. The wedding is good; I liked it very much, but another incident is better. I don’t know how, looking at this wedding, I remembered this tree. This is how it happened. Exactly five years ago, on the eve of the New Year, I was invited to children's ball».

Putting up and decorating a Christmas tree for Christmas was a favorite thing not only for children, but also for adults. In the story of A.P. Chekhov. boys(1887) Katya, Sonya and Masha with their father are preparing decorations for the Christmas tree: “After tea, everyone went to the nursery. The father and the girls sat down at the table and began to work, which was interrupted by the arrival of the boys. They made flowers and fringes for the Christmas tree out of multi-colored paper. It was exciting and noisy work. Each newly made flower was greeted by girls with enthusiastic cries, even cries of horror, as if this flower had fallen from the sky; Papa also admired. The Christmas tree was put up not only at home, but also in the city in the squares: “Before Christmas, three days, in the markets, in the squares, there is a forest of Christmas trees. And what trees! This goodness in Russia as much as you want. Not like here - stamens. At our Christmas tree ... as it warms up, straightens its paws, - a thicket. There used to be a forest on Theater Square. They stand in the snow. And the snow will fall - lost the way! Guys, in sheepskin coats, as in the forest. People walk, choose. Dogs in Christmas trees are like wolves, right. Bonfires are burning, get warm. Smoke pillars "(I. Shmelev. Summer of the Lord).

In the first poetry collection of O.E. Mandelstam Stone(1913) captured his adolescent experiences:

Burning with gold leaf
There are Christmas trees in the woods;
Toy wolves in the bushes
They look with terrible eyes.
Oh, my sadness,
Oh my quiet freedom
And the inanimate sky
Always laughing crystal!

With the beginning of the persecution of Orthodoxy, the Christmas tree also fell out of favor. Putting it in the house became dangerous. But on December 28, 1935, the Pravda newspaper published an article "Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the children for the New Year!" Its author was P. P. Postyshev, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Since January 1933, he was the second secretary of the Central Committee of the CP(b) of Ukraine with the task of "unconditionally fulfilling the grain procurement plan." Postyshev together with V.M. Molotov was the organizer of the famine that claimed 3.5-4 million people in Ukraine (including hundreds of thousands of children). Two years later, he takes special care to ensure that children have a fun New Year: “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 "leftists", benders denounced this children's entertainment as a bourgeois invention. This wrong condemnation of the Christmas tree, which is a wonderful entertainment for children, should be put to an end. Komsomol members, pioneer workers should arrange collective New Year's parties for children. In schools, orphanages, in the palaces of pioneers, in children's clubs, in 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 meeting of the new year for children, arrange a good Soviet Christmas tree in all cities and collective farms! It was the period of the "godless five-year plan" (1932 - 1937). Actively created rituals for new holidays in order to completely abolish Orthodox holidays. At the top of the Christmas tree, instead of the Star of Bethlehem, a five-pointed star appeared.

Decades have passed. Millions of children again saw the guiding star of Bethlehem over the decorated Christmas tree. And below it is the Divine Infant, Who was born so that the spiritual night would end for us.

He slept, all radiant, in an oak manger,
Like a ray of moon in the hollow of a hollow.
He was replaced with a sheepskin coat
Donkey lips and ox nostrils.
They stood in the shade, as if in the twilight of a barn,
They whispered, barely choosing the words.
Suddenly someone in the dark, a little to the left
He pushed the sorcerer away from the manger with his hand,
And he looked back: from the threshold at the Virgin,
As a guest, the star of Christmas watched.

(Boris Pasternak. 1947)

Today, everyone everywhere decorates the Christmas tree, some for the New Year, some for Christmas. Where did the tradition of decorating the spruce come from, Valentina Novikova figured out.

It may seem strange to some, but perhaps there is no other tree that causes so much controversy as ... a Christmas tree. Yes, yes, this festive joy of all small and not so children, around which they dance to the well-known children's hit "A Christmas tree was born in the forest", often causes controversy among adults, especially on New Year's and Christmas days. Why such attention to this representative of the coniferous world?

"Broken Reputation"

Over the centuries, the attitude towards wood has changed, sometimes quite radically. Some peoples considered spruce a symbol of death, others, on the contrary, given its evergreen crown, a symbol of life. Either houses and premises were decorated with its branches, or funeral pyres. At one time, the tree, as one of the symbols of religious propaganda, was even banned. And a little later they changed their minds and decided to make it a permanent attribute of Soviet children's new year holidays, which significantly "spoiled" the tree's reputation. As a result, many have forgotten about its original purpose and that in pre-revolutionary Russia this green beauty dressed up for Christmas. True, at present, more and more often there is talk that such a custom, which came to us from Lutheran Germany, is alien to the original Orthodox traditions and even has pagan roots. Today, everyone everywhere decorates the Christmas tree, some for the New Year, some for Christmas. It can be seen both in children's institutions and in churches.

Spiny Christmas tree and a little silly donkey

But is there really at least some relationship between the Nativity of Christ and the custom of putting up a Christmas tree? Now it is difficult to judge this for sure. The various legends and stories that exist seem too fantastic to be even slightly believed in. One of these legends tells us that when Christ was born, not only the magi and shepherds came to worship the miraculous Divine Infant, but also representatives of the animal and plant world. It turned out that among animals and plants everything is the same as among people. Someone, pushing others aside, was in a hurry to be the first to see the Newborn, someone tried to excessively show their respect, considering themselves better than others. As a result, only a thorny Christmas tree and a stupid little donkey, who most of all wanted to see Christ, mature trees and creatures were not allowed to see Him. And those humbly, considering themselves unworthy, stood behind everyone. But it was on them that little Jesus turned his attention. So the Christmas tree became a symbol of Christmas, and the legend is silent about the further fate of the donkey. But, knowing certain gospel narratives related to the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem, it is not difficult to guess why the Savior entered the city on this simple, hardworking animal, where He was expected to die on the Cross.

One can relate differently to such naive and implausible stories, but they contain a certain instructive meaning, which is worth considering not only for children, but also for adults. You can smile kindly, or you can, like one familiar young Orthodox pope, say with all seriousness: “There is no need for children to fill their heads with such utter inventions and nonsense, especially since in the country where Christ was born, Christmas trees do not grow.”

But our overly adult and strict approach to such legends rather testifies to the excessive rationality of our faith and the absence of that childlike immediacy, purity and innocence that Christ spoke to His disciples about (Matt. 18: 3). Perhaps that is why we have forgotten how to perceive Christmas as the one and only miracle, and we treat the celebration as another occasion to gather for a feast and take a break from work. For me personally, this story about a Christmas tree and a donkey evokes certain evangelical associations, and I involuntarily recall the words from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians that “God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong; and the lowly things of the world, and the humble and the meaningless, God chose to make the things that are significant…” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). Combining such simple stories with the gospel narrative, you can convey to the child the essence of the events that took place many centuries ago and changed the course of the whole world. human history and also to give him an idea of ​​such Christian virtues as modesty and humility.

Germanic tribes and Christmas tree

Some researchers associate the custom of putting fir or pine in houses with the name of St. Boniface, the enlightener of the Germanic tribes, who brought them the news of Christ in the 8th century. While preaching to the pagans, who, by the way, also worshiped trees, believing that spirits live in them, St. Boniface, in order to prove the impotence of the pagan gods, cut down the most important of them - an oak tree dedicated to the god of thunder Thor. Falling, the mighty tree knocked down all the other trees in its path, except for a small, barely noticeable Christmas tree. She became the tree of the Christ Child.

It is difficult to say whether another story with a Christmas tree, in which the name of the founder of the Reformation, Martin Luther, appears, has any basis. But there is a legend among the Germans that on one of the Christmas nights, walking through the forest, Luther saw a star in the sky, which suddenly fell on the top of one of the fir trees and then went out. Luther cut down this spruce and brought it home. So it was or not, but it was from the 16th century that the Germans began to put Christmas trees everywhere in their homes instead of pyramids, under which they used to put gifts. Initially, Christmas trees were placed or hung from the ceiling without decorations. Then, before the advent of toys, they began to decorate with apples, nuts and flowers.

miracle of miracles

As you can see, indeed the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for Christmas is not entirely Orthodox. But this does not mean at all that it was forcibly imposed on the Orthodox people only as a result of Tsar Peter I's excessive enthusiasm for everything foreign. After all, it was under him that the first Christmas trees began to appear in Russia. Although at first this custom did not really take root, by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries it became widespread. By the way, at the same time, in 1903, the well-known children's New Year's song “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” appeared, which many unknowingly consider a creative product of the Soviet period. The author of this hit for more than one generation is the modest children's poetess Raisa Kudasheva (1878–1964). Recognition and fame came to her almost at the very end of her life, because for many years she hid her name under various pseudonyms. A cheerful and unpretentious melody for a song about a Christmas tree was written by an agronomist and biologist by profession, candidate of natural sciences, L.K. Beckman in 1905. Currently, the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree is being revived. This joyful activity not only creates a festive mood for children and adults, but provides another opportunity to remember amazing events and touch the miracle of miracles, which reveals to us the deep ontological mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God.

Nika Kravchuk

Do you know what the Christmas tree symbolizes?

In Soviet times, the Christmas tree almost imperceptibly began to be called New Year's. She was decorated with a five-pointed red star and almost completely deprived of deep religious meaning. But is the decorated spruce, the smell of pine needles, the lights of garlands and various balls on thorny branches - this is such an addition to the celebration and nothing more? It turns out that everything is not so simple. The Christmas tree has a Christian connotation and symbolizes ... However, about this and about many interesting facts read on.

Christmas tree - a tree with religious overtones

It is believed that the tradition of decorating a fir tree for Christmas originated in medieval Germany. When this event first happened, only God knows. It is often said that the first tree in history was the tree that Martin Luther planted in his house. Again, the exact date is unknown.

What did the decorated coniferous tree symbolize? On the one hand, the Christmas tree was reminiscent of paradise tree of life, the Garden of Eden and the fall of Adam and Eve. Just before Christmas, on December 24, Western Christians celebrated the day of memory of the ancestors of Adam and Eve.

But the Christmas tree is not a tree of sad memories. Because, on the other hand, it is symbol of the born Christ. God became Man in order to come into the world and redeem all people, to reconcile them with the Creator. In other words, to restore the connection that Adam and Eve broke at one time.

What do Christmas decorations symbolize?

After you have learned about the deep Christian symbolism of the Christmas tree, you understand why it is dressed up that way.

The Christmas tree is necessarily decorated with lanterns, garlands and an eight-pointed star on top. Why does it have to be a star? And remember the story of the Magi who came from the East to worship Christ. The Christmas star showed them the way.

According to one German legend, Luther, going into the forest, also saw how an angel decorated the top of a spruce with a star.

Why various fruits were attached to the Christmas tree is also understandable: after all, it reminded of the Paradise Tree of Life.

What do all sorts of other decorations indicate - Christmas decorations? If the tree is Christ, then the colored balls and lights are all believers who are in Christ, that is, the true Church.

This is the deep Christian symbolism of a decorated Christmas tree. It is clear why the Bolsheviks immediately abolished this pious custom, and then, at the request of "Soviet citizens", they allowed it, turning the symbol of Christ into an ordinary Christmas tree. But more on that later, but first we'll tell you how the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree came about.

Who first dressed up a coniferous tree for Christmas?

In historical sources, the first mention of the Christmas tree comes down to 1510 and no longer to Germany, but to the Latvian capital - Riga. True, the residents of Tallinn categorically disagree with this. The Estonians allegedly proved that their tree decorated for Christmas appeared four centuries earlier than the Latvians.

It got to the point that before the New Year 2011 a diplomatic scandal broke out between Riga and Tallinn: in which country did the Christmas tree appear for the first time? Who should celebrate the birthday of the Christmas tree?

But be that as it may, we know exactly when the tree first appeared in the future Russian Empire - after the decree of Peter I of December 20, 1699.

How the Christmas tree took root in the Russian Empire

Before issuing the decree, Peter I visited Europe, and during the trip he really liked the trees decorated for Christmas. After returning home, he carried out a calendar reform: the chronology was now conducted from the Nativity of Christ, and the New Year began on January 1. To convey the atmosphere of the holiday, Peter I ordered to decorate Christmas trees and light fires.

But this custom did not take root right away: at first, Christmas trees were installed and decorated only by German families living in the Russian Empire.

But by the middle of the nineteenth century, the situation had changed: in 1852 the first public Christmas tree appeared in St. Petersburg, followed by a whole parade of fir trees, installed in places of meetings of nobles, merchants, in clubs and theaters. Then, first in wealthy families, to show their status, and then in ordinary ones - to the delight of children - they began to decorate Christmas trees.

A corresponding Christmas business appeared all over the world: they made decorations and sweets. Such commerce brought good income and joy to both adults and children.

New Year's or Christmas?

With the advent of Soviet power, everything gradually changed. Christmas and Christmas tree like "priest's custom", were abolished to prevent children from imbibing religiosity from an early age.

True, the persecution of the coniferous beauty did not last long. Already in 1935, the party leader Postyshev achieved the rehabilitation of the Christmas tree from Stalin. She returned, but not as a symbol of Christ, but as a New Year's tree. And it was no longer an eight-pointed Bethlehem star, but a five-pointed red one.

But time brings everything back to normal: the celebration of Christmas, and carols, and solemn services, and, of course, a decorated tree with garlands and an eight-pointed (or six-pointed) star on top.

We invite you to watch the "Legend of the Christmas Tree" with your children:

Take it, tell your friends!

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How to spend Christmas Eve? Is it possible to eat food before the appearance of the first star in the sky? What does the tradition of preparing 12 Lenten dishes symbolize and does it justify itself? Why is it so important to prioritize: first worship services, and only then cleaning-cooking? Read the article about all this.