New Year is one of the most beloved holidays among the people. It is celebrated on the night of December 31 to January 1. It is curious that until the 18th century, New Year was celebrated in September or March. In general, the history of the New Year in Russia is very interesting.
Until the 18th century
At about 9 o'clock in the morning on the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin, a ceremony began under the name "On the beginning of a new summer" or "On the flight." Opposite the doors of the Archangel Cathedral, a special platform was built, which was covered with carpets. 3 lecterns were installed between it and the cathedral. On two of them they put the Gospels, and on the third - the icon of Simeon the Stylite the Flyer. The patriarch, accompanied by the clergy, came out to the people. Simultaneously with him, the tsar came out of the Annunciation porch. At that moment, a bell ringing was heard over the square. The tsar kissed the icons and the Gospel, received the blessing of the patriarch.
At first the nobles stood near the platform, behind them the stewards and solicitors, then the guests and other people. On the porch of the Archangel Cathedral, a separate place was assigned to foreign ambassadors and other foreigners. Generals and colonels stood in front of the platform between the Archangel and Assumption Cathedrals.
After the blessing of the king, the service began, during which the clergy took turns approaching the head of state and the head of the church with a bow. At the end of the action, the patriarch was supposed to make a long speech in the health of the tsar, to which he responded with a short speech, kissing the icons and the Gospel. Then the two main people of the state were congratulated by representatives of the clergy, boyars, and secular officials. After that, the tsar left the square and went to the Church of the Annunciation for mass.
Peter I and his transformations
December 20, 1699 Peter I signs Decree No. 1736 "On the celebration of the New Year." He ordered that the New Year in Russia be celebrated on January 1. It is curious that in other European countries it was customary to celebrate the holiday also on January 1. Only there the states have already switched to the Gregorian calendar, and in Russia, as before, chronology was carried out according to the Julian calendar.
Bolshevik decree
For the first time, Russia and Europe celebrated the New Year on the same day together in 1919. The Bolsheviks issued a corresponding decree, which resulted in the appearance of the Old New Year, which was celebrated on January 13th.
There was no tradition in Russia to celebrate the New Year. Christmas was a much more significant holiday.
In 1929, the celebration of Christmas was officially canceled. A few years later, the first New Years, not Christmas trees, appeared. On December 28, 1935, the Pravda newspaper published a letter from Pavel Postyshev, who at that time was the First Secretary of the Kiev Regional Committee. He writes that before the revolution, officials and the bourgeoisie arranged a Christmas tree for children, and asks why the children of the working people of the Soviet Union should be deprived of such joy.
Since then, in schools, orphanages, clubs, theaters and palaces of pioneers, collective and state farms, hostels and village councils, there should be a Soviet Christmas tree for the children of the "great socialist homeland."
January 1 in the USSR in the period from 1930 to 1947 was a worker
Nowadays
On September 25, 1992, a law was adopted in Russia, according to which not only January 1, but also January 2 is considered a day off. In 2005, the law was changed, making the days 1-5 January non-working days. However, on January 7th it is Christmas, and therefore the New Year's weekend lasts longer. Since 2013, in Russia, it is possible not to go to work officially from January 1 to January 8, inclusive.
