The Christmas tree for Red Square is the main New Year's decoration of the whole country. Her choice is approached with special attention. The spruce must meet certain standards, because the mood of such long-awaited and beloved winter holidays depends on the appearance of the green beauty.
Celebrating the New Year in Russia has a glorious tradition. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the famous reformer, Tsar Peter, approved by decree the command to celebrate the New Year on the night of January 1 and decorate houses with spruce, pine and juniper branches.
Decades have passed, and instead of branches, the custom has appeared to install live fir trees for this holiday. They were decorated with wooden toys, sweets, nuts and fruits. For the first time, at the New Year celebrations in 1850, spruce trees were decorated with glass beads.
The first Soviet Christmas tree in 1937 was filmed with hundreds of photographs and sent to all corners of the country. It was from this year that the country's main Christmas tree was invariably installed on Red Square on the eve of the New Year holidays.
Where does the green beauty come from to Moscow
Every year, a lush green beauty is installed on the main square of the country. Her choice is an extremely responsible matter. It is selected according to the strictest standards, and we are mainly talking about the quality of spruce wood: spruce should decorate the area for 3 weeks at temperature extremes. A tree with high-quality wood will not crumble for a long time.
A "green" beauty is selected to decorate Red Square in the forests near Veliky Ustyug, which is considered the birthplace of Santa Claus, in Klin or Naro-Fominsk near Moscow. Experts select a suitable tree in the summer and it meets the following standards:
- The height of the tree is from 28 to 30 meters;
- trunk girth - 70 cm;
- The span of the lower branches is 3 meters.
Young trees cannot participate in such a selection, therefore a New Year tree is installed on the square, which is in no way less than 100 years old.
Setting the symbol of the New Year
The felling of the tree is traditionally accompanied by the wires of the forest beauty to the city. It is delivered to Moscow by a special road train. On the square, a team of installers installs a multi-meter tree in a special concrete structure so that it cannot be blown down by the wind.
After installation, the festive decoration begins. The Christmas tree on Red Square is decorated with thousands of glass toys - balls, bows, silver bells. To top it off, a garland of lights representing the colors of the Russian flag is hung along the branches, its length is more than a kilometer. A skating rink is poured next to an elegant spruce, ice sculptures are installed. All the days of the Christmas holidays, colorful folk festivals and concerts are held here.
Merry holiday New Year is not complete without its traditional symbol. A richly decorated spruce tree is installed on Red Square next to GUM and marks the happy and carefree Christmas holidays.
