The smell of tangerines frozen on the balcony and a live Christmas tree, the hissing of champagne in thick, tall glasses and optimistic songs from TV, the taste of Olivier salad and slightly stale chocolates... To everyone who remembers how they greeted New Year in the Soviet Union, all these sensations are familiar. As well as the most important feeling: in the USSR, the traditions of celebrating the New Year were much more common than today.
So much so that if in those days an outside observer had the opportunity to visit several hundred apartments scattered throughout the Union on New Year's Eve, he would have been amazed at how equally the holiday was celebrated everywhere.
Where did you come from, Soviet New Year?
Officially, the tradition of celebrating the New Year was returned to Soviet citizens only in 1935, and became widespread only 20 years later. After all, January 1 became a day off only in 1947, and only then did residents of the USSR have the opportunity to properly celebrate New Year’s Eve. And since an indispensable attribute of any holiday in Soviet times was a rich table, most citizens truly celebrated Soviet Union began only when the card system was finally abolished, and a sufficient number of products appeared in stores and - New Year's food sets!
New Year, 1971
In addition, the Soviet New Year was, in fact, a city holiday. This is understandable: for a villager, December 31st and January 1st are no different from other winter days. Even if it was possible to refuse from performing obligatory daily rural work, it was not for the sake of an annual holiday - but only for a much rarer occasion, for example, for the sake of a wedding or the birth of a child.
Therefore, it is possible to talk about the Soviet tradition of celebrating the New Year only from the beginning of the 1960s, when the share of the urban population in the country exceeded the share of the rural population. Moreover, it was in the 60s, with the beginning of Khrushchev’s “thaw”, that the right to privacy and private holidays are beginning not only to be recognized, but also to become part of the official ideology. And the stream of young specialists who poured into previously purely rural areas of the country to build new cities and factories, brought with them the urban tradition of celebrating the New Year.
A Soviet family brings food home to the New Year's table, 1971.
Soviet traditions
The first component of this tradition was the indispensable New Year’s “Blue Light”, broadcast on the first national channel. Since 1964, it has become an annual New Year's program, and for twenty years it was the songs and jokes from this television program that accompanied the Soviet New Year's holiday.
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New Year's "Blue Light", 1976
The second tradition in 1976 was the film “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath.” Eldar Ryazanov's comedy was not only firmly associated with New Year's Eve (it was shown annually, only the start time of the show changed), but it itself served as the source of some traditions of decorating the house for the New Year.
Still from the film “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!”
The third tradition was the food set for the New Year's table - the so-called “order”. Since the heyday of the national New Year celebration occurred in the mid-70s with their beginning shortage, the main source of products were “orders” that were issued at the place of work (by the way, such sets were issued almost exclusively in cities, which also worked to consolidate the image of the New Year year as a purely urban holiday).
Traditionally, the “order” included one or two jars of sprat, a box of chocolates, a bottle of “Soviet champagne”, a loaf of boiled smoked or raw smoked sausage, a pack of Indian tea “with an elephant”, “Lemon drops” and sometimes a jar of red caviar. At the same time, tangerines began to be perceived as a purely New Year’s delicacy: the USSR received the bulk of these fruits in the form of exports from Morocco, where the main harvest ripens in November-December.
However, it’s worth correcting yourself: perhaps the earliest New Year’s tradition - not new, but revived - was the custom of placing a live spruce in the house for the New Year. After the anti-religious campaign of the late 20s and early 30s, it was only in 1935 that the Soviet government again began to promote this custom. Since Christmas trees for sale were specially grown, they were also in relative short supply, and therefore were bought at the first opportunity, and not at a convenient time. A common sight, for example, in Moscow was people who, one and a half to two weeks before the New Year, carried Christmas trees tied with twine into the subway, bought for the occasion.
A Muscovite woman carries a Christmas tree home, 1972.
And of course, the famous phrase “Here is a gift (food, souvenirs, etc.), but this is for the New Year!” can be attributed to the New Year traditions of the times of the USSR. The same total shortage taught Soviet citizens that they need to buy what they need not on the eve of a holiday, but when the opportunity arises, it’s better to let it sit. Food was stored in the refrigerator or on the balcony, things were stored in closets or pantries, Christmas trees were hung outside the window or on the same balcony. Almost all family members knew what would be given to whom for the holiday, but this did not diminish the joy: the very opportunity to receive new thing!
As it usually was
... The final credits of “The Irony of Fate” are floating on the TV screen, the champagne is sent to cool outside the window or in the refrigerator, vases with the indispensable Olivier salad (quick, satisfying and almost without the use of scarce products!), “custom-made” sprats and sausage are placed on the table. A few minutes later the doorbell rings: the first guests have arrived. Surely they brought with them a jar or two of salad for the New Year's table or homemade pies: a table put together by contribution was also a Soviet New Year's tradition. How, in fact, is the custom of celebrating the New Year friendly company: in those years, few could boast of their own large apartment, as well as the opportunity to set a rich table alone, so the holiday was celebrated in a wide circle of friends - it was both more convenient and simpler.
At the festive table, 1971
After the feast, many groups went outside, going for a walk or just in the yard - to take a break from the feast in the interval between hot (usually meat baked with cheese, onions and mayonnaise, or chicken - fried or also baked in the oven) and sweet. Often companies began to roam around different floors of the building: often high-rise buildings were departmental or belonged to enterprises, and most residents knew each other well from working together. By this time, the children usually had already gone to bed: although January was the time of the New Year's school holidays, children were still not allowed to stay up past midnight.
Children's Christmas trees
Oh, yes, about schoolchildren!.. Just as traditional as Olivier and tangerines were New Year’s “trees” - theatrical performances for schoolchildren, held from mid-December to mid-January in city recreation centers. The level of performances depended on what artists the organizers were able to find, but the most important pleasure from visiting the “Christmas tree” were the gifts - confectionery sets packed in elegant cardboard boxes. The best and main “Christmas tree” was considered to be the one held in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. Tickets for it were practically not available for free sale, but were distributed among enterprises, going to managers and production leaders. The level of the performance at this “Christmas tree” was the highest, and the gifts were the richest: every year new unique plastic packaging was made for them, often representing approximate copies of the Kremlin towers.
Moscow. Children's holiday New Year's tree in the Kremlin, 1955
But other “Christmas trees” delighted the children no less - primarily because of the gifts. By the way, children often received only part of the delicacies from the set, and parents saved the best sweets for New Year's Eve.
Probably precisely because the New Year was the most common holiday in the USSR (except perhaps Victory Day, but it began to be celebrated only in 1965), people of the older generation still remember it with nostalgia. Those who were schoolchildren during the late stagnation remember well the joyful anticipation that filled the days before the New Year.
After all, it was not just a holiday - it was also an opportunity to try dishes that are rare on other days, receive some new thing as a gift, and finally, just chat with friends without any political overtones - not like May 1 or November 7! Even the New Year’s televised address by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev or “on behalf of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Supreme Council USSR and the Soviet government" was perceived only as a preface to the chiming clock, heralding the onset of midnight - and the New Year, the most desired and free holiday...
http://mir24.tv/news/lifestyle/9576505
So, friends, today there will be a big and interesting post about how the New Year was celebrated in ) Many traditions in the modern celebration of the New Year appeared precisely in that era, and then the classic “New Year’s table” took shape, which many prefer to adhere to today.
My friends write to me that in that era everything was somehow more fun and soulful, but I think that I found an explanation for this - not least of all, the “sense of a New Year’s miracle” in the USSR consisted of the difficulty with which ordinary citizens found everything they needed for holiday - food for the New Year's table had to be bought several months in advance, it was necessary to find good Christmas tree, and I also had to think about where to get gifts for relatives and friends - and when everything finally worked out - there was a feeling of miracle and celebration. Now it’s much easier to do all this, and this makes the New Year feel more everyday.
Christmas tree and TVs.
02. Few people remember this now, but the actual celebration of the New Year in the USSR was allowed only in the post-war period, in 1947, at the same time January 1 was made a day off. Before this, it was believed that only “bourgeois henchmen” put up a Christmas tree, who, in secret from Soviet power I celebrate the “old royal holidays.”
03. In general, in 1947 the tree was returned, and a few years later the installation Christmas tree It has already become a tradition at home. What’s interesting is that to the very last days In the USSR, a well-established “Christmas tree industry” never appeared; live Christmas trees were obtained by whoever, where - in major cities existed in some places Christmas markets, but most often what was sold there was outright slag - more or less decent Christmas trees were most likely sold for a small surcharge “to their own people” and did not end up in mass trade.
It was quite normal to just go into the forest and cut down a Christmas tree - which was often looked after in the fall or even in the summer.
04. There were no sensible stands for Christmas trees, here everyone did whatever they could - someone knocked down a wooden cross from boards, someone poured sand into a bucket, and someone attached the tree to a pot of water tied to a stool - in this The tree design lasted longer. And at one time they were popular artificial trees made of polyethylene - a silver-colored Christmas tree was considered especially chic, in the photo below just like this:
05. Somewhere in the seventies, a tradition appeared to celebrate the New Year in front of the TV - by that time, TVs had already spread quite widely, programs like “Blue Light” began to appear, and in 1970, Brezhnev read out a “New Year’s address to the people” for the first time in the USSR. In 1986, an interesting event occurred - Gorbachev congratulated the United States on the New Year, and American President Reagan congratulated the residents of the USSR on the New Year:
New Year's table and shortage.
06. Soviet citizens began to prepare for the creation of the New Year's table in advance, several weeks, if not months - "New Year's" products were in short supply, and they had to be bought long before. The “food classics” for creating a Soviet New Year’s table looked something like this - Bulgarian green pea, Baltic sprats, Far Eastern squid (later - crab sticks), raw smoked sausage, Abkhazian tangerines, necessarily mayonnaise and Soviet champagne.
Occasionally, these goods appeared on sale shortly before the New Year, which was usually referred to as “thrown away” - “go quickly, the tangerines were thrown out at the grocery store on the corner.”
07. Another rule good manners it was considered that there were store-bought pastries and cakes on the table - most often they were inferior in quality to homemade ones (cooked in margarine, covered with rich buttery cream and decorated with acid-colored roses), but here it was not the quality that was valued, but rather the status of the thing - a “purchased” cake, obtained in queues, was considered an expensive and hard-to-find treat.
08. This shot was taken just in line for cakes - the tail of the line is on the street, and in the background of the photo you can see how a happy customer leaves the store, victoriously raising two hands with honestly won cakes - so that they don’t get crushed when exit.
09. There were also considerable queues for raw smoked sausage - such sausage was valued because it was almost impossible to stuff papers into it (as into boiled sausage or sausages), which made it a quite good meat product. Sausage was bought both as a delicacy for the holiday table and as a gift - coming to visit with a stick of raw smoked sausage and a store-bought cake was considered something of a rule of good manners.
10. What was the Soviet New Year's table like in the end? If you managed to stand in several lines for scarce sausage and cakes, and also took care of purchasing the necessary canned food in advance (back in the fall), then your New Year's table could look something like this - Olivier salad, herring under a fur coat, mimosa salad, sliced 2- 3 types of sausage, sandwiches with sprats and red caviar, canned vegetables from jars (it was difficult to get fresh ones in the USSR). For dessert - cake, tangerines and sweets, for alcohol - Soviet champagne, vodka and dry red wine (if you could get it). Optionally there could be something hot - most often oven-baked chicken with potatoes or boiled pork.
They always cut a lot of bread for the table - both black and white. Personally, I don’t buy bread at all now (I don’t even have a bread bin at home), but in the USSR this was considered a sign of prosperity and a well-fed life.
Guests and gifts.
11. On New Year’s Day in the USSR it was customary to go on a visit - for which they also began to prepare long before. When visiting, it was necessary to show yourself with the best side— a man had to be in a suit or at least an ironed shirt, and women were expected to come “with their hair done” — on New Year’s Eve, hairdressers worked at increased speed.
12. What was customary to give to the owners who invited you for the New Year? A treat for the table was considered a good gift - a purchased cake, a set of pastries, fruit or some wine. You could also bring a box of chocolates or just a bag of tangerines.
13. If you wanted to give something more serious, then you had to make a fuss - after standing in line or having a familiar seller, you could buy a can of good canned food as a gift (red or black caviar was considered especially chic), good tea or some scarce perfume.
14. Personally, I always felt sorry for Soviet housewives - usually all the cooking chores fell on their shoulders. festive table and preparing the apartment for receiving guests, while the husband rushed around shopping and acquaintances, “getting” everything he needed)
So it goes. Do you remember how we celebrated the New Year in
Is it always Soviet time Was New Year a holiday in our country?
We now have many holidays - religious, secular, and personal. But the only common holiday for everyone is New Year. Almost everyone is preparing for the New Year. Men carefully “inspect” the Christmas tree markets, choosing the fluffiest Christmas tree and, with an air of triumph, bring the “forest beauty” home. Women buy so much food that it would be enough for a modest wedding, and children can only be called to order by saying that Santa Claus does not give gifts to naughty children. And all this pre-holiday bustle is filled with a premonition of happiness, miracles, and fun. The phone doesn’t stop ringing, the intoxicating aromas of some “signature” dish, prepared only once a year, can be heard from the kitchen, champagne is cooling on the balcony, peacefully adjacent to a “basin” of Olivier and tangerines in a bag. And also new clothes, hairstyles, gifts hidden for the time being, sweets, sparklers. And you need to have everything ready before eleven in the evening in order to spend old year.
And with the first strike of the Chimes, having listened to the congratulations of the First Person of the country, open Soviet champagne and drink with the last blow, having time to make your deepest wish. And you can no longer fuss, exchange gifts, proclaim brilliant toasts and be absolutely sure that everything unpleasant is in the past, and the future is bright and joyful, that everything will be as we wished for ourselves. The Christmas tree sparkles with lights, the table is laden with food, celebrities congratulate us from the blue screen, and this holiday will continue for many more days. Everyone has long been accustomed to this kind of New Year celebration; this scenario is from our Soviet past.
The history of New Year celebrations in Russia begins, perhaps, with the reign of Peter Alekseevich, a great lover of reforms and an adherent of the Western European way of life. Tsar Peter I, by his decree, ordered to celebrate the new year 1700 and the new century on January 1, decorating homes with branches and trees of pine, spruce and juniper. Thus, the year 7208 from the creation of the world was replaced by the year 1700 from the Nativity of Christ. In Tsarist Russia, it was customary to decorate Christmas trees only in noble and landowner houses. The peasants did not celebrate the New Year, only Christmas and the subsequent Christmastide before Epiphany.
