As the New Year approaches, interest in everything that is somehow connected with the traditions and history of this holiday is growing. One of the important attributes of the New Year holidays is the New Year tree.
It seems that nothing is more eternal than a Christmas tree. Decorated New Year's houses have delighted adults and children throughout the entire existence of mankind. However, if you delve into history, you can be convinced that not only the New Year tree, but the very beginning of the new year was not always perceived as a national holiday. During pagan times, the onset of a new calendar year was associated primarily with agricultural cycles, and so on - up to the transformations of Peter I.
From this period, the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree also went. True, the tree was a Christmas attribute rather than a New Year's. There is already a phenomenon of intersection and unification of pagan and Christian traditions, which in the 20th century were supplemented by secular ones.
From birch to Christmas tree
At the time of the early development of mankind, nature, in particular vegetation, played a fundamental role in human life, so it is not surprising that almost all peoples of the planet have their own holidays, one way or another associated with trees. One of the obligatory rituals at these holidays was the decoration of the totem tree. For a Russian-speaking person, it is enough to remember the folk song “In the field there was a birch tree”.
With the adoption of Christianity, pagan customs gradually assimilated into Christian rites - a natural process of creating cultural traditions. The custom of decorating a tree acquired chronological boundaries, uniform (relatively) for the entire Christian world.
How to decorate a Christmas tree so as not to deviate from tradition?
Until the second decade of the last century, the concept of a New Year tree did not exist. In the homes of the intelligentsia, a Christmas tree was decorated - a tradition that came from Germany. After the 1917 revolution, the celebration of Christmas, like everything connected with religion, was banned from the state. Only in 1937, in the Soviet Union, the Christmas tree was again decorated, but it was already a New Year tree.
Today, there is a return to old traditions, so there is a reason to decorate the Christmas tree in an original way in the Christmas style. To learn how to decorate a Christmas tree, you need to look at the history of Christianity.
The Magi learned about the birth of Christ by the ascended Star of Bethlehem. In memory of this event, the top of the tree is crowned with a star, which can be purchased in the store, but you can make a star with your own hands. The Magi presented gifts to the Savior. This is reflected in the tradition of hanging candies, nuts and other sweets on the Christmas tree. The lights on the tree symbolize immortality and purity. But it is not safe to use live fire, so it is advisable to buy a New Year's garland.
From Germany came the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree with apples, which can successfully replace Christmas balls. Artificial rain and tinsel will add sparkle and solemnity.
The key question facing a modern metropolitan resident is which tree to give preference to, live or artificial. You can buy a Christmas tree today at special Christmas tree markets. Artificial Christmas trees are in no way inferior in quality to the real ones, but their service life is practically innumerable. The only drawback of the artificial Christmas tree is the lack of a holiday smell, but this issue can also be resolved.
