Which country is considered the historical homeland of Christmas. coniferous quiz

Which forest thinning before the new year?

(Coniferous forest. Spruce forest, Pinery etc.)

What beauty dresses up once a year?

(New Year's Christmas tree .)

Thanks to the work of people of what profession, New Year's Eve is dressed up Christmas tree?

(Glass blowers.)

Which country is considered the historical homeland of the Christmas, and then the New Year Christmas trees?

(Germany.)

When was born herringbone according to the biological passport?

(Coniferous trees have ancient origin. They replaced fern-like plants at the beginning of the Mesozoic. It may very well be that the distant ancestors of our Christmas tree were contemporaries of giant dinosaurs.)

How many years does he live spruce if it escapes the fate of becoming a New Year's tree?

(Spruce lives 300-400 years. Long-lived Christmas trees can live up to 500 years.)

To which family do they belong Christmas trees?

(To the family pine. )

At what age do ate bumps appear?

(At 35 - 40 years old.)

Can spruce to predict the weather?

Length of all roots of one tree ate is approximately 2 km, and one tree pines- six times more. What conclusion can be drawn about the conditions of existence of these trees?

(Pine grows in drier soils than spruce .)

Why pines in the forest, the lower branches die off, and ate No?

(Pine - photophilous plant.

What wood were ship masts made of?

(From pines. )

What can be obtained from needles pines?

(Vitamin flour, artificial wool.)

Pine can be planted to strengthen the sands, and spruce no. Why?

(U pines roots go deep into the soil ate they are close to the surface.)

How to distinguish a cedar branch pines from the branch pines ordinary?

(In a pine tree, the needles are arranged two in a bunch, and in a cedar tree - five each.)

In which forest is darker - in spruce or pine?

(In the spruce.)

Which coniferous is the tree considered the most musical?

(Spruce . Pianos, balalaikas, guitars are made from spruce.)

What kind of wood coniferous does the tree sink in water?

(Larch .)

The wood of what our coniferous wood does not collapse under the action of water and air and is stored for millennia?

(Larches . Its wood is used for underwater structures, in shipbuilding, etc.)

From which coniferous wood made the internal details of the buildings of the Moscow Kremlin, the wood of this tree does not rot?

(Larch. )

Which coniferous the tree is otherwise called Siberian cedar?

(Pine u.)

From the seeds of which Eurasian pines get oil?

(From cedar - Siberian pine.)

How pine cones does a squirrel need a day to be full?

(380 pieces. Cedar - 2 pieces, spruce - 30 pieces. And squirrels do not really like pine cones, they are very resinous.)

In the old days in Russia, beer was brewed, using young shoots of this beer instead of hops. coniferous tree. What?

(Pines .)

What plant is called "grape" coniferous forests"?

(Juniper.)

Which tree is the only one coniferous- poisonous?

(Yew berry.)

Name the "pencil" tree.

(Cedar. )

Which coniferous the tree almost does not burn and “loves” fires?

(Sequoia evergreen, cultivated in the south of Russia.)

The scientific name of this prized landscape designer ate – spruce Engelman. And by what “color” name do we know it?

(Blue spruce .)

A forest of aspens is called aspen forest, of oaks - oak forest. What are coniferous forests called? oil? Pines? Cedar trees? fir?

(Spruce forest, pine forest, cedar forest or cedar forest, fir forest.)

Ryzhik willingly grow under Christmas trees and pines. Spruce mushrooms grow in spruce forests, but what is another name for pine mushrooms?

(Upland mushroom.)

What forest bird that lives in the Siberian taiga can remember the location of almost six thousand of its storerooms, in which it hid its supplies for the winter?

(This is smart cedar ovka hiding cedar cones in pantries. Visual memory She is larger than a human.)

Which plant is not coniferous: cypress or eucalyptus?

(Eucalyptus.)

What kind coniferous plants reach a diameter of 12 meters?

(Sequoia.)

What valuable ornamental stone is fossil resin coniferous trees?

(Amber.)

Wand of which ancient god was crowned spruce bump?

(Dionysus, or Bacchus.)

What game winner Ancient Greece was awarded a wreath pines?

(Winner of the Isthmian Games.)

What wood was Jupiter's scepter made from? Trojan horse? Arrows of Cupid?

(Scepter from cypress , a horse from ate , arrows from cedar .)

The coat of arms of which Russian city is decorated with a cannon and three Christmas trees?

(Yelnya . Smolensk region, on the Desna River.)

Not only coniferous tree, but also a tributary of the Don.

(Pine .)

Not only pine forest, but also a city in the Nizhny Novgorod region of the Russian Federation.

(Bor.)

What tree is depicted on the coat of arms of the city located in the Lipetsk region on the banks of the river Pines?

(Spruce - the city of Yelets.)

The name of which European country comes from the word "molid" - " pine»?

(Moldova, Moldova.)

How often is a branch called coniferous tree: paw, flipper or claw?

(Paw.)

The name of which animal in English combines the words "pig" and " pine»?

(Porcupine -porcupine. He resembles a pig by the habit of digging in the ground and grunting when grazing. Well, pine, of course, - with needles.)

The name of which fruit in English consists of two words in one - “ pine' and 'apple'?

(Pineapple - pineapple, pine - pine, apple - apple.)

An anagram of the name of which coniferous tree is the word "pump"?

(Pine .)

Not only a drill in the dentist's car, but also pine forest.

(Bor.)

name chemical element"name" coniferous the woods.

(Bor.)

Which road sign depicted coniferous wood?

(On the road sign "Resting place".)

What do the fighter boy and pines?

(Bumps.)

What, regardless of the seeds thrown, grows in any furrow?

(Pinery - boron cool.)

Say in one word the phrase "One pine forest”, if this word is the surname of a Russian composer.

(Bor -one - Borodin.)

How they dressed up Christmas tree during the childhood of A.S. Pushkin?

(The Christmas tree in Russia began to be used as a New Year tree from the middleXIXcentury, the future poet did not have a Christmas tree in his childhood.)

Who wrote the story "The Boy at Christ's Christmas tree»?

(F.M. Dostoevsky.)

(V. Odoevsky.)

What fairy tale did G.Kh. Andersen: "Spruce", "Pine" or "Fir"?

(« Spruce ».)

About what tree did Mikhail Lermontov write "In the wild North it stands alone"?

(Pine .)

Name the children's storyteller who invented the New Year's Planet yolo to.

(Gianni Rodari.)

It was in January
stood Christmas tree on the mountain,
And next to this Christmas trees
The bad wolves roamed.

(A. Barto.)

In 1903, the Russian writer Raisa Adamovna Kudasheva wrote the poem " Christmas tree". Quote the first two lines, known to absolutely everyone.

(“I was born in the forest herringbone …»)

that wooden man was carved from Italian pines, hence the name. Which?

(Pinocchio. Pinia - Italian pine , a coniferous tree with an umbrella-shaped crown.)

"In Italian pine cones - prickly and heavy, the size of a small melon. To fix such a bump on the head - so oh-oh! From whom did Pinocchio fight off with such cones?

(From Karabas Barabas.)

Which ballet begins with a scene at the Christmas Christmas trees: "Cinderella" or "The Nutcracker"?

("Nutcracker".)

Fill in the missing word in the Russian proverb: "Far pine stands, but to his ... makes noise.

(boro.)

How do they talk about someone who cannot find a way out in a simple, uncomplicated life situation?

(At three pines got lost.)

How pines stood on the Murom path in the famous Russian song?

(“On the Murom path stood three pines , dear, said goodbye to me until next spring.")

What in the song from the cartoon "The Bremen Town Musicians" did the characters call their walls?

(Pines -giants. “Our walls are giant pines…”).

In the 19th century, the Moscow mayor issued a decree in which he fixed the phrase recommended for coachmen to replace scolding in the presence of ladies. We also use this phrase with success. What phrase did he recommend?

(« Christmas trees - sticks.)

What does phraseologism mean now? Christmas trees-sticks?

(This expression means annoyance, bewilderment, admiration.)

Which coniferous did the tree give the name to the method of skiing up the slope?

(Spruce - "herringbone".)

What trees are depicted in Shishkin's painting "Ship Grove"?

(Pines .)

Morning in which forest did Shishkin depict on his famous canvas?

("Morning in pine forest.")

What trees are depicted in Ivan Shishkin's painting "Rye"?

(Pines .)

What is the name of the place where New Year's trees: green market, Christmas tree bazaar or coniferous supermarket?

(Christmas tree bazaar.)

Many thousands of years ago, the year came in autumn or spring. For example, if we take Ancient Russia, then here the beginning of the year fell on the month of March, and this celebration was more like a tribute to spring, warmth, sun and a future good harvest.

The first written mention of spruce as a New Year's tree is found in the chronicle of the French province of Alsace for 1600. However, Germany is considered to be her homeland. There is a legend that the beginning of the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve was laid by the German reformer Martin Luther. It was he who, returning home before the meeting of Christmas in 1513, was fascinated and delighted with the beauty of the stars that strewn the vault of heaven so thickly that it seemed as if the crowns of the trees were sparkling with stars. At home, he put a Christmas tree on the table and decorated it with candles, and placed a star on top in memory of the star of Bethlehem, which showed the way to the cave where Jesus was born.

Why was spruce chosen as the Christmas tree? Recall that our ancestors treated trees as living beings. In Russia, birch was such a particularly revered, cult tree. The green fragrant forest beauty spruce has long been considered the tree of the world by the ancient Germans. They believed that the good "spirit of the forests" lives in its branches - the defender of justice and all living things. It is no coincidence that before the fighting, the soldiers gathered for advice at the spruce, hoping to get her protection. And also because this tree personified immortality, fidelity, fearlessness, dignity, the secret of not withering, eternal youth. Over time, a custom arose to cajole good spirits that winter in the evergreen branches of spruce, decorating its fluffy branches with gifts. This custom was born in Germany, and later the Dutch and English borrowed the ceremony of honoring spruce. It is also known that in the 16th century in Central Europe on Christmas night it was customary to put a small beech tree in the middle of the table, decorated with small apples boiled in honey, plums, pears and hazelnuts.

In the second half of the 17th century, it was already common in German and Swiss homes to complement the decoration of the Christmas meal not only with deciduous, but also with coniferous trees. The main thing is that it should be a toy size. At first, small Christmas trees were hung from the ceiling along with sweets and apples, and only later the custom was established to decorate one large Christmas tree in the guest room. The 18th century chose spruce as the queen of the New Year's holiday, first in Germany, and later in many European countries.

Peter the Great and the first Christmas tree

In Russia, the custom of the New Year tree dates back to the Petrine era. According to the royal decree of December 20, 1699, henceforth it was prescribed to keep the chronology not from the Creation of the world, but from the Nativity of Christ, and the day of the "New Year", until that time, celebrated in Russia on September 1, "following the example of all Christian peoples" to celebrate January 1. This decree also gave recommendations on the organization of the New Year's holiday. In its commemoration, on New Year's Day, it was ordered to launch rockets, light fires and decorate the capital (then Moscow) with needles: “Decorate Moscow houses with spruce and pine branches and cones, and everyone should have celebrated this day with a celebration with congratulations to all relatives and friends , dancing and shooting, launching rockets into the night sky.

And the king himself, on the night of December 31 to January 1, went to Red Square, holding a torch in his hands, and after the chiming clock launched the first rocket at starry skies. And it was the first salute in honor of the New Year's holiday. As for the spruce, about 300 years ago it was believed that the Christmas tree, decorated for the New Year, turns negative forces into positive ones. Today, everyone has already forgotten about such forces, but the wonderful and beloved tradition of decorating a coniferous tree before the holiday has remained to this day.

However, Peter's decree had a very indirect relation to the future Christmas tree: firstly, the city was decorated not only with spruce trees, but also with other coniferous trees; secondly, the decree recommended the use of both whole trees and branches, and, finally, thirdly, needle decorations were prescribed not to be installed indoors, but outside - on gates, roofs of taverns, streets and roads. Thus, the Christmas tree turned into a detail of the New Year's cityscape, and not the Christmas interior, which it later became.

After Peter's death, his recommendations were thoroughly forgotten. Royal prescriptions were preserved only in the decoration of drinking establishments, which continued to be decorated with Christmas trees before the New Year. By these Christmas trees (tied to a stake, installed on roofs or stuck at the gate) taverns were identified. The trees stood there until the next year, on the eve of which the old trees were replaced with new ones. Having arisen as a result of Peter's decree, this custom was maintained during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Christmas Tree in the first half of the 19th century

In Russia, the Christmas tree as a Christmas tree appeared at the beginning of the 19th century in the homes of St. Petersburg Germans. In 1818, on the initiative Grand Duchess Alexandra Fedorovna had a New Year's party in Moscow, and the following year - in St. Petersburg's Anichkov Palace. On Christmas Day 1828, Alexandra Feodorovna, by that time already an empress, organized the first celebration of the "Children's Christmas Tree" in her own palace for her five children and nieces - the daughters of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. The Christmas tree was installed in the Grand Dining Palace.

They also invited the children of some courtiers. Christmas trees decorated with sweets, gilded apples and nuts were placed on eight tables and on the table set for the emperor. Gifts were laid out under the trees: toys, dresses, porcelain gizmos, etc. The hostess herself handed out gifts to all the children present. The holiday began at eight o'clock in the evening, and at nine o'clock the guests had already left. Since then, by example royal family Christmas tree began to be installed in the homes of the highest St. Petersburg nobility. It is not yet possible to establish the exact time when the Christmas tree first appeared in a Russian house. The first Christmas tree in Russia was arranged by Tsar Nicholas I at the very end of the 1830s, after which, following the example of the royal family, they began to install it in the homes of the St. Petersburg nobility. The rest of the population of the capital for the time being either treated it indifferently, or did not know at all about the existence of such a custom. However, little by little the Christmas tree conquered other social strata of St. Petersburg.

And suddenly, in the mid-1840s, there was an explosion - the "German custom" begins to spread rapidly. Now St. Petersburg was literally engulfed in "Christmas tree hype." The custom came into fashion, and by the end of the 1840s, the Christmas tree became a well-known and familiar item in the Christmas interior in the capital. The Christmas tree trade began in the late 1840s. They were sold at the Gostiny Dvor, where the peasants brought them from the surrounding forests. But if the poor could not afford to buy even the smallest Christmas tree, then the rich metropolitan nobility began to organize competitions: who had a bigger, thicker, more elegant, richly decorated Christmas tree. Wealthy houses often used real jewelry and expensive fabrics as Christmas tree decorations. The first mention of an artificial Christmas tree dates back to the end of the 1840s, which was considered a special chic.

By the middle of the 19th century, the German custom had firmly entered the life of the Russian capital. The tree itself, previously known in Russia only under the German name “Weihnachtsbaum”, first began to be called the “Christmas tree” (which is a tracing paper from German), and later received the name “Christmas tree”, which was assigned to it forever. The Christmas tree began to be called the holiday arranged on the occasion of Christmas: “go to the Christmas tree”, “arrange a Christmas tree”, “invite to the Christmas tree”. V. I. Dal remarked on this occasion: “Having adopted, through St. Petersburg, from the Germans the custom of preparing a decorated, illuminated Christmas tree for children for Christmas, we sometimes call the very day of the Christmas tree, Christmas Eve.”

Russian Yolka in the second half of the 19th century

The development of the Christmas tree in Russia is striking in its swiftness. Already in the middle of the century, the Christmas tree becomes quite common for residents of many provincial and county towns. The reason for the rapid entry of the St. Petersburg innovation into the life of a provincial city is understandable: having abandoned the ancient folk custom of celebrating Christmas time, the townspeople felt a certain ritual vacuum. This vacuum was either not filled with anything, causing a feeling of disappointment due to vain holiday expectations, or was compensated by new, purely urban entertainment, including the arrangement of a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree conquered the landowner's estate with great difficulty. Here, as the memoirists testify, Christmas time for many years continued to be celebrated in the old fashioned way, in compliance with folk customs.

And yet, little by little, Petersburg fashion began to penetrate into the estate. If, until the middle of the 19th century, in the memoirs dedicated to Christmas time in the landowner's estate, the arrangement of the Christmas tree was not mentioned, then ten years later the situation changed. About the Christmas holidays of 1863, Leo Tolstoy's sister-in-law T. A. Kuzminskaya, who lived for a long time in Yasnaya Polyana and considered her "second parental home”, recalls: “Every day we had some kind of entertainment: theater, evenings, a Christmas tree and even troika riding.” Two years later, on December 14, 1865, in a letter to Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, she reports: “Here we are preparing a big Christmas tree for the first holiday and drawing different lanterns and remembering how you can do these things.” And further: “There was a magnificent Christmas tree with gifts and courtyard children. On a moonlit night - riding a troika.

At first, the presence of the Christmas tree in the house was limited to one evening. On the eve of Christmas, the spruce tree was secretly taken from the children into the best room of the house, into the hall or into the living room, and set on a table covered with a white tablecloth. Adults, as A. I. Tsvetaeva recalls, “hid (the Christmas tree) from us with exactly the same passion with which we dreamed of seeing it.” Candles were attached to the branches of the tree, delicacies and decorations were hung on the tree, gifts were laid out under it, which, like the tree itself, were prepared in strict confidence. And finally, just before the children were admitted into the hall, candles were lit on a tree. It was strictly forbidden to enter the room where the Christmas tree was installed until special permission. Most often, during this time, the children were taken to some other room. Therefore, they could not see what was happening in the house, but tried to guess what was going on by various signs: they listened, peeped through the keyhole or through the door slot.

When all the preparations were finally over, a prearranged signal was given (“the magic bell rang”), or one of the adults or servants came for the children. The doors to the hall were opened. This moment of opening, opening the doors is present in many memoirs, stories and poems about the Christmas tree holiday: it was a long-awaited and passionately desired moment for children to enter the “Christmas tree space”, their connection with the magic tree. The first reaction was numbness, almost stupefaction. Having appeared before the children in all its glory, the Christmas tree decorated “in the most brilliant way” invariably evoked amazement, admiration, and delight. After the first shock passed, screams, aahs, squeals, jumping, clapping began. At the end of the holiday, the children, brought to an extremely enthusiastic state, received the Christmas tree at their full disposal: they plucked sweets and toys from it, destroyed, broke and completely destroyed the tree (which gave rise to the expressions “rob the Christmas tree”, “pluck the Christmas tree”, “destroy the Christmas tree”) . Hence the name of the holiday itself: the holiday of “plucking the Christmas tree”. The destruction of the Christmas tree had for them the psychotherapeutic meaning of relaxation after a long period of tension they had endured.

At the end of the holiday, the devastated and broken tree was taken out of the hall and thrown into the courtyard. The custom of setting up a Christmas tree for the Christmas holidays has inevitably undergone changes. In those houses where funds allowed and there was enough space, already in the 1840s, instead of the traditionally small Christmas tree, they began to put a large tree: tall, ceiling-length Christmas trees, wide and thick, with strong and fresh needles, were especially valued. It is quite natural that tall trees could not be kept on the table, so they began to be attached to the cross (to the "circles" or "legs") and installed on the floor in the center of the hall or the largest room in the house. Having moved from the table to the floor, from the corner to the middle, the Christmas tree turned into the center of a festive celebration, giving the children the opportunity to have fun around it, to dance. The tree standing in the center of the room made it possible to examine it from all sides, to look for both new and old toys familiar from previous years. You could play under the tree, hide behind it or under it. It is possible that this Christmas tree round dance was borrowed from the Trinity Day ritual, the participants of which, holding hands, walked around the birch tree singing ritual songs. The changes that have taken place have changed the essence of the holiday: gradually it began to turn into a Christmas tree holiday for the children of friends and relatives.

At such holidays, called children's trees, in addition to the younger generation, adults were always present: parents or elders accompanying the children. The children of governesses, teachers, servants were also invited. Over time, Christmas tree holidays began to be arranged for adults, for which parents left alone, without children. The first public Christmas tree was organized in 1852 in the St. Petersburg Ekateringof railway station, erected in 1823 in the Ekateringof country garden. A huge fir tree installed in the hall of the station “one side was adjacent to the wall, and the other was decorated with scraps of multi-colored paper.” Following her, public Christmas trees began to be arranged in noble, officer and merchant meetings, clubs, theaters and other places. Moscow did not lag behind the Neva capital: from the beginning of the 1850s, Christmas tree holidays in the hall of the Noble Moscow Assembly also became annual.

Christmas tree in Russia at the turn of the XIX-XX CENTURIES

To late XIX For centuries, the Christmas tree has become a common sight in Russia. The harvesting of Christmas trees began a week before Christmas. For foresters and peasants from suburban villages, their sale has become one of the seasonal earnings. Trees were sold in the most crowded places: near the gostiny yards, in squares, markets. Christmas trees were offered for every taste: small, decorated with artificial flowers, giant trees that proudly stood in all their natural beauty, and artificial crumble trees that had never seen the forest, whose unnaturally bright green immediately caught the eye. Christmas trees were also sold in many shops - green, dairy and even meat, where trees were put up at the entrance, often already put on crosses.

There was no longer a mystery in the appearance of a Christmas tree in a children's home, the observance of which was considered a prerequisite for the arrangement of the first Christmas trees. Children enjoyed walking in the "forests" of Christmas tree markets; watched how the Christmas tree was brought into the house; they saw how she, not yet thawed, was lying in the hallway (“only after the vigil they would let her in”) or in the room on the floor, warming herself in the warmth of the house; felt how she began to radiate a coniferous and resinous smell.

From all over the city, and sometimes from other cities, relatives and friends came to home Christmas trees, cousins and brothers. Adults came up with and bought gifts, organized "Christmas tree fun", played the piano, children danced. The elders prepared for the holidays themselves, composing and staging plays “under Hoffmann and Andersen” from the life of Christmas tree decorations. The organization of charitable "Christmas trees for the poor" in people's homes and orphanages is the most widespread at this time. They were organized both by various societies and by individual philanthropists. Having become the main component of the winter holidays, the Christmas tree, thus, entered the festive life as one of its essential components. L. N. Gumilyov, speaking bitterly that his childhood was not what it should be, remarked: “I wanted something simple: to have a father, to have a Christmas tree in the world, Columbus, hunting dogs, Rublev, Lermontov ". The Christmas tree began to be perceived as one of necessary elements normal childhood.

There is an opinion that the Soviet authorities banned the Christmas tree immediately after October coup. However, it is not. After the seizure of power, the Bolsheviks did not encroach on the Christmas tree. In 1918, M. Gorky and A. N. Benois prepared and published in the Petrograd publishing house "Sail" a luxurious gift book for children "Yolka", designed by wonderful artists. It included the works of M. Gorky, K. I. Chukovsky, V. F. Khodasevich, A. N. Tolstoy, V. Ya. Bryusov, S. Cherny and others. in a merry round dance Santa Claus and forest animal. At the top of the tree, the six-pointed Star of Bethlehem shines brightly.

In the first years after the revolution, no special measures aimed at banning the Christmas tree were really taken, and if it became extremely rare at that time, the reason for this was external circumstances that “knocked down and confused” everything. In the first years after civil war in the cities, as before, many Christmas trees were still sold, but the population was poor, and few could afford to buy even the smallest tree. The peasants from suburban villages who brought Christmas trees to the city lost their pre-Christmas earnings. On December 25, 1924, Korney Chukovsky writes: “On the third day, I went with Murka to Kolya - at 11 in the morning and was amazed: how many Christmas trees! At every corner of the most deserted streets stands a cart filled to the brim with all sorts of Christmas trees, and near the cart is a sad peasant, looking hopelessly at the rare passers-by. I talked to one. He says: “If only we could earn some money for salt, we don’t dream of kerosene! Nobody has a penny; they haven’t seen oil since that Christmas ...” The only mining industry is Christmas trees. They covered the whole of Leningrad with Christmas trees, brought down the price to 15 kopecks. And I noticed that they buy mainly small, proletarian Christmas trees - to put on the table. But little by little life got better and the tree seemed to win its rights again. However, things were not so simple.

The first wake-up call sounded already on November 16, three weeks after the October coup, when the issue of calendar reform was brought up for discussion by the Soviet government. Up to October revolution Russia still continued to live according to the Julian calendar, while most European countries had long ago switched to the Gregorian calendar adopted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The need for calendar reform, the transition to new style been felt since the 18th century. Already under Peter I in international relations and in scientific correspondence, Russia was forced to use the Gregorian calendar, while inside the country life proceeded according to the old style for another two centuries. This circumstance gave rise to many inconveniences. The need for the introduction of a common time reckoning with Europe was especially acute in diplomatic and commercial practice. However, attempts made in the 19th century to carry out calendar reform failed: this was opposed by both the government and Orthodox Church, each time considering the introduction of a new calendar "untimely". After the revolution, the question of the "untimeliness" of the reform disappeared by itself, and on January 24, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic. The decree signed by Lenin was published the next day.

Since the difference between the old and the new style was 13 days by this time, as a result of the reform, Russian Christmas shifted from December 25 to January 7, and New Year- from January 1 to the 14th. And although not a word was said about the abolition of the Christmas holiday in the decree, or in other documents from the Soviet government of that time, nevertheless, the violation of the calendar was perceived as breaking life with its Orthodox holidays traditionally associated with certain dates. What will happen to Christmas and the Christmas tree after the calendar reform enters into life was still unclear.

And in 1922, a campaign was carried out to transform the holiday of the Nativity of Christ into "Komsomol Christmas", or otherwise into "Komsomol". The Komsomol cells were supposed to organize the celebration of "Komsvyatok" on the first day of Christmas, that is, December 25, which was declared a non-working day. The events began with lectures and speeches exposing the "economic roots" of the Christmas holidays. Then there were performances and dramatizations, political satires, "living pictures". On the second day of the holiday, street processions were organized, on the third - masquerades and a Christmas tree, called the "Komsomol Christmas tree", were arranged in the clubs. The participants of the Christmas tree carnivals (mainly from the Komsomol propagandists) dressed up in the most unimaginable satirical costumes: the Entente, Kolchak, Denikin, the kulak, the Nepman, pagan gods, and even the Christmas goose and pig. Processions were held with torches and the burning of "divine images" (icons). However, such a favorable attitude of the Soviet authorities to the Christmas tree did not last long. New changes became tangible by the end of 1924, when Krasnaya Gazeta reported with satisfaction: “... this year it is noticeable that Christmas prejudices have almost ceased. Christmas trees are almost invisible in the bazaars - there are few unconscious people. Gradually ended its existence and the holiday of "Komsomol Christmas". He was criticized in the press as not having played a significant role in anti-religious propaganda. And since 1925, a planned struggle began with religion and with Orthodox holidays, the result of which was the final cancellation of Christmas in 1929. Christmas Day has become a normal working day. Along with Christmas, the Christmas tree, already firmly fused with it, was also canceled. The Christmas tree, which was once opposed by the Orthodox Church, has now become known as the "priestly" custom.

In these critical years in the fate of the Christmas tree, it seemed that it had come to an end. On the eve of New Year's Eve, people on duty walked the streets and peered into the windows of the apartments: if the lights of the Christmas trees were shining somewhere. In schools, in order to combat Christmas and the New Year tree, they began to hold “Anti-Christmas Evenings”, at which they staged plays that ridiculed priests and the church, sang anti-religious satirical verses, like: “Ding-bom, ding-bom, we won’t go to church anymore” . They stopped arranging Christmas trees in kindergartens. And yet, it was not possible to completely eradicate the beloved custom: the Christmas tree "went underground." As the writer I. Tokmakova recalls, in families loyal to pre-revolutionary traditions, they continued to arrange it. They did this with great care. The Christmas tree was usually provided by a janitor who, before Christmas, went out of town into the forest with a huge bag, cut down the tree, cut it in half and stuffed it into the bag. At home, he put luboks on the rough trunk, and the Christmas tree "became whole and slender again."

At the end of 1935, the Christmas tree was not so much revived as turned into 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." The arrangement of Christmas trees for children of employees of institutions and industrial enterprises is becoming mandatory. Now a spruce tree is a necessary accessory not only for the Soviet New Year holiday, but also Soviet life generally. The Christmas tree commission organized the holiday, which usually included trade union activists: they developed a program, delivered a Christmas tree, provided Santa Claus, and prepared gifts. The most difficult thing was the choice of gifts and the decision, "what gift to give to which of the guys so as not to go beyond the limit and at the same time everyone was happy." A special gift was prepared for each child, which subsequently came out of the practice of Soviet Christmas trees, on which the equality of all children was assumed.

The connection of the Christmas tree with Christmas was forgotten. The Christmas tree has become an attribute of the state holiday of the New Year, one of the three main Soviet holidays (along with October and May Day). The eight-pointed Star of Bethlehem at the top of the "Christmas Tree" has now been replaced by a five-pointed one - the same as on the Kremlin towers. The desire to idealize the revived holiday is becoming more frank every day. On the beautiful Christmas tree, sparkling in the beams of the spotlights, installed in the House of Unions, thousands of Christmas tree decorations with workers' and peasants' communist symbols hung.

A few more years passed, and January 1, 1947 again became the “red day of the calendar”, that is, non-working, and the Christmas tree in the House of Unions acquired the official status of “the country's main Christmas tree”. In 1954, the New Year tree received the "right to enter" the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace - it served two thousand children a year. For the first time, the Kremlin was opened to the lucky ones who received New Year's invitations. New Year's masquerade balls were held for young advanced workers, students of metropolitan universities, students of military educational institutions, students of the tenth grade, Komsomol workers in the same St. George's Hall.

After the "thaw" with the advent of the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, the country's main children's holiday moved there. But by the beginning of the 70s, many Muscovites, and residents of other cities, were not at all torn to the “main Christmas trees”. And until now, the most desirable for us are not public, but home-made Christmas trees, which they gather with their families. At these home holidays, people forget about the official role that the Christmas tree played and celebrate it as a family celebration, according to the traditions established in the family. The Orthodox Church forgot about its hostile attitude towards the Christmas tree. Now green trees stand not only in churches during the Christmas service, but also in the homes of clergy.

In 1991, Russia began to celebrate Christmas again. January 7 was declared a non-working day. “And, as always at this time,” the Nevskoe Vremya newspaper wrote at the end of December 1993, “trees are burning on the main street of St. Petersburg - not just New Year’s, already Christmas, without red stars.” For three centuries, the Christmas tree faithfully performed the functions assigned to it, and even violent idealization did not prevent it from remaining in an informal home environment loved by everyone and annually desired, passionately and long before the New Year, expected by the Christmas Tree. This is how we remember her. This is what our children will remember. Let's hope that the grandchildren will walk around the decorated, shining tree and sing a simple song composed almost a hundred years ago.

Nowadays, they strive to deliver and install a decorated Christmas tree even in those parts where it must be brought on purpose, for example, on ships plowing the ocean beyond the equator. The Mamsy website starts an action with the most beautiful. Today we have prepared for you a real surprise and a little magic from a fairy tale. It remains to decorate the Christmas tree with your favorite decorations. Festive mood is guaranteed! Create a cozy and magical mood in your home!

Simple winter quiz

1. How many rays does a snowflake have? (Six.)

2. When is the best time to harvest firewood: summer or winter? (In winter, as the sap flow stops and the wood is dry.)

3. Why do snow patterns appear on the inside of window panes in winter? (In winter, the air near the window panes is very cold and part of the water vapor from it settles on the cold glass in the form of ice crystals. Then these crystals begin to branch and grow, “drawing” frosty patterns on the glass.)

4. Where is it colder - in the North or south pole? (At the South Pole.)

5. Why don't rivers freeze to the bottom even in severe frosts in winter? (Water at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius has the highest density and is located at the bottom of the river. For this reason, the movement of water in the vertical direction stops and its further cooling does not occur.)

6. On your mitten you saw two snowflakes of different shapes. One is simpler, and the other is the form of a complex openwork pattern. Is it possible for appearance of these snowflakes to determine which of them fell from a greater, and which - from a lower height? (Yes. The more complex the shape of the snowflake, the greater the height it fell, since its whirling in the air was accompanied by a process of crystallization - the addition of new moisture particles to it, which provided additional sophistication of its shape.)

7. Why are second frames inserted for the winter? (The still air enclosed between the two frames, being a poor conductor of heat, prevents the room from drying out in winter.)

8. Why does the temperature usually rise during snowfall? (This is because when snow forms, heat is released from water droplets or water vapor.)

9. Do trees grow in winter? (No, their growth stops in winter.)

10. When do sounds travel faster: in winter or summer? (Sound travels faster in summer than in winter because the air is denser in winter and therefore the speed of sound is slower.)

Spruce quiz

1. What beauty dresses up once a year? (Christmas tree.)

2. Which country is considered the historical homeland of the Christmas tree, and then the New Year tree? (Germany.)

3. When was the Christmas tree born according to the biological passport? (Coniferous trees, including spruce, are of ancient origin. They replaced fern-like plants at the beginning of the Mesozoic. It may very well be that the distant ancestors of our Christmas tree were contemporaries of giant dinosaurs. )

4. How the Christmas tree was decorated during the childhood of A.S. Pushkin? (The Christmas tree in Russia began to be used as a New Year tree from the middle of the 19th century; the future poet did not have a Christmas tree in his childhood. )

5. Who wrote the story "The Boy at Christ's Tree"? (F.M. Dostoevsky. )

6. How many years does a spruce live if it escapes the fate of becoming a New Year's tree? (Spruce lives 300-400 years. Long-lived Christmas trees can live up to 500 years. )

7. Who is the author of the New Year's "Herringbone", which tells about how the Christmas tree was decorated in the forest? (V. Odoevsky.)

8. In what popular cartoon was it told how a peasant, rightly judging: “How can it be on New Year’s without a Christmas tree!”, Went to the forest to choose her at the behest of his wife, only it seemed to him that “the size would be too small”? (Cartoon by A. Tatarenko "Last year's snow was falling", 1983 )

9. What popular song refers to the unusual style of Christmas tree dress, literally about "Christmas trees in triangular dresses"? ("Three White Horses", a song from the movie "Magicians". )

10. Name the children's storyteller who invented the Planet of Christmas Trees. (Gianni Rodari.)

11. Name the author of the lines:

It was in January
There was a tree on the mountain
And near this tree
The bad wolves roamed. (A.L. Barto)

12. What does the phraseological unit "fir-trees-sticks" mean? (This expression means annoyance, bewilderment, admiration. )

Quiz "Happy New Year!"

1. In the calendar, the last month of the outgoing year is December. Its name comes from Greek word"deca", which means "ten". However, in the calendar it is the twelfth in a row. How can this discrepancy be explained? (This tradition goes back to the ancient Roman calendar, according to which (before Julius Caesar) March 1 was considered the beginning of the year. According to this reference system, December was the tenth month of the year. )

2. From which literary work these words: Twelve struck! The year is over, and a new one has been born! (N. A. Nekrasov. Russian women. )

3. In pre-Petrine Russia, a traditional New Year's treat festive feast there were apples. Why? (Before the calendar reform of Peter I, the New Year was celebrated on September 1 - at the time when apples were picked.)

4. Which of the ancient peoples celebrated the New Year on January 1? (Romans.)

5. Why was December 31, during the time of Peter I, popularly called "generous evening" and Vasiliev's evening? (New Year's Eve was called "generous" because a rich table was laid, at which everyone who came with a wish for a generous year was treated. The same day was celebrated as the day of memory of St. Basil. )

6 . In which country can you celebrate the New Year the largest number once? (In India. Here the New Year comes depending on the customs of different states. If you really try, in this country you can celebrate the New Year more than 30 times. )

7. Name the Russian writer, author of the work "New Year". (I.A. Bunin.)

8 . The inhabitants of which island do not wait for the New Year, but are actively looking for it? (On Easter Island, it is believed that the New Year brings a swallow egg. The one from the inhabitants of the island, who first finds it, solemnly announces: "The New Year has come!" )

9. What serial number was assigned to the release of the animated series "Well, you wait!" with a story about the meeting of the New Year? (Eighth.)

10. In Japan, the arrival of the New Year is announced by 108 strokes of the bell, in Russia the Kremlin chimes beat off New Year's midnight, and in the UK? (London clock Wig Ben. )

11. From which movie is this catchphrase: “There is a setting to celebrate the New Year cheerfully”? ("Carnival Night" .)

Quiz "And if there is no Christmas tree?"

In some countries, due to the hot climate, for lack of coniferous forests or, due to national traditions, the New Year's tree (or rather, a plant) is not at all the green prickly beauties of the Christmas tree.

Let's clarify how people from different countries decorate their houses before the New Year holidays.

Since questions on this exotic topic require special knowledge, we will introduce hints for respondents with three possible answers - participants need to choose the correct one. Each of them has the same amount of conditional game units, for example, 5 spruce cones, or more simply - “shisha”. The host of the competition asks a question, offering to choose the correct answer. Before entering into an active game, the participant assigns a “price” to the question, not exceeding the amount available on his personal account. Further, he can give the answer himself and, if successful, increase his account by the amount of the cost of the question assigned by him or transfer the question to another participant. In any case, only one of the answers will be accepted. If the player to whom the question was passed answered correctly, the "cost" of the question goes to his account, and the score of the previous participant remains unchanged. If the answer is erroneous, then both players lose their game “shishi”. The next question of the presenter is answered by a guest sitting at the festive table to the left (right) of the participant who answered the previous question.

I.Residents of which country make a New Year's greeting bouquet to the deity of the holiday mainly from pine, bamboo, plum, woven rice straws with the addition of fern and tangerine branches?

1. China. 2. Japan. 3. Thailand.

II.In which country before new year holiday dwellings are decorated with coffee tree branches?

1. Nicaragua. 2. Brazil. 3. Kenya.

III.In which country is an unripe, green walnut considered a New Year's talisman of happiness?

I. Indonesia. 2. Sudan. 3. Argentina.

IV. In which country is the New Year celebrated at the palm tree?

1. Cuba. 2. Nepal. 3. Saudi Arabia.

v.In what country is it customary to decorate houses on New Year's Eve with mistletoe?

1. Norway. 2. Canada. 3. South Africa.

VI.In what country are the branches of holly and mistletoe the equivalent of a Christmas tree?

1. Argentina. 2. Mexico. 3. England.

VII.In which country is the spruce we are used to replaced by a local tree that blooms with red flowers and is called metrosideros?

1. Ghana. 2. Australia. 3. Singapore.

VIII.In which country on New Year's Eve are bamboo shoots thrown into the hearth so that they, crackling and hissing, scare away evil spirits?

1. Korea. 2. Japan. 3. China.

IX.In which country on New Year's Eve is it customary to give friends a half-blown twig of hao-dao - a peach tree?

1. Vietnam. 2. New Zealand. 3. India.

x.In which country is padauk considered a New Year's flower, the short-term flowering of which means the onset of the New Year?

1. Cambodia. 2. Myanmar. 3. Indonesia.

Quiz "What's his name?"

Place three digital signs (from 1 to 3) in different places in your guest room on the drawings of a green Christmas tree, Santa Claus and Snow Maiden, hung far from each other (as far as the dimensions of the apartment allow). Then the host of the evening asks questions about Santa Claus, while naming three possible answers. Cheerful music sounds. During its sounding, participants must make a choice and take a place under the picture indicating the number of the answer, “correct” from the point of view of the participant.

All those who made the wrong choice are eliminated from the "races", and those who answered correctly guess the answer to the next question and also receive one of the sweet toys that decorate a small artificial Christmas tree - the keeper of the prize fund.

I. In what country is the New Year's grandfather's name Lana Pasquale?
1. Mexico. 2.Colombia . 3. Uruguay.

II. In what country is the New Year's grandfather called Ded Zhara?
1. Panama. 2.Cambodia . 3. Sudan.

III. In what country is New Year's grandfather's name Tash Noel?
1. Spain . 2. Czech Republic. 3. Finland.

IV. In what country is the grandfather's name Santa Claus?
1. Scotland. 2. Ireland. 3.England

v. In what country is the New Year's grandfather called Mikulash?
1. Poland. 2.Czech . 3. Hungary.

VI. In what country is the New Year's grandfather called Mosh Jarile?
1. India. 2. Pakistan. 3.Romania .

VII. In what country is the name of the New Year's grandfather Weinakhteman?
I.Austria . 2. Israel. 3. Turkey.

VIII. In what country is the New Year's grandfather called St. Basil?
1. Greece . 2. Bulgaria. 3. The Netherlands.

IX. In what country is New Year's grandfather's name Bobbo Natale?
1. France. 2. Spain. 3.Italy .

If there are more questions than there are participants in the quiz, then the “races” begin anew for everyone. The number of questions can be increased due to the "oldies" in other countries:

in Germany - Miko-laus;

in Cuba - Baltasar, Gaspar, Melchor;

in France, Pere Noel;

in Finland - Joulupuk-ki;

in Denmark - Ulemanden;

in Japan - Segatsu-san;

in China, Dong Che Lao Ren;

in Norway - Julebukk;

in Panama, Papaya Noel;

in the Netherlands - Sinter Klaas;

in Uzbekistan - Karbobo.

NEW YEAR QUIZ for schoolchildren of 1-8 grades

Quiz for schoolchildren about the New Year

What winter holidays do we celebrate twice: according to the old and new style?
(Christmas - December 25 and January 7. New Year - January 1 in the new style and January 14 in the old style. The phrase old New Year is our domestic invention and tradition.
In Russia, when the whole family gathered for New Year's table, the children tied the legs of the table with a bast rope. What did this New Year's custom symbolize? (This meant that the family in the coming year would be strong and should not be separated.)
Why in 1699-1700 Russians celebrated the New Year twice with an interval of four months?
(In 1699, a few months after the Russians had already celebrated the New Year on September 1, they had to repeat the celebration. Because on December 19, Peter the Great issued a decree on the reform of the calendar in Russia. According to this document, the New Year began to be celebrated on 1 January and the Christian chronology was adopted - from the Nativity of Christ.The first January festive New Year in Russia was celebrated very widely for almost a day.)
When issuing a decree on the celebration of the New Year, Peter I wrote that on this day, January 1, “to decorate houses from pine and spruce trees and branches. To inflict shooting on each in his own yard, and do not inflict much drinking and massacre on this day ... ". Why did he forbid drinking and fighting that day? (According to Peter, "other days are enough" for this.)
In pre-Petrine Russia, fresh apples were a traditional New Year's treat for a festive feast. Why? (After all, before the calendar reform of Peter I, the New Year was celebrated on September 1 - at the time when apples were picked.)
In Japan, New Year's Eve is announced by 108 strokes of the bell; in the UK, New Year's midnight is beaten off by the London clock Big Ben. But in Russia?
(Moscow Kremlin chimes.)
Why didn't the future poet Pushkin have a Christmas tree in his childhood? (The Christmas tree in Russia began to be used as a New Year's tree only from the middle of the 19th century.)
With coming Soviet power The custom of decorating a tree for Christmas was abolished as a religious one. And when was it restored? (Only in 1935, they began to decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year.)
When did January 1 become a non-working day in Russia? (The decision to do so was made in December 1947.)
Residents of which countries are the first in the world to celebrate the New Year?
(Inhabitants of New Zealand and the State of Fiji. This is due to the fact that these territories are geographically located closest to the date line.)
What advantage do the inhabitants of the Chukchi village of Uelen have over the rest of the Russians?
(They celebrate the New Year first. Uelen is the most eastern settlement Russia. It is located not far from Cape Dezhnev in the Chukotka autonomous region. Its residents celebrate the New Year 8 hours earlier than in Moscow.)
Residents of which region of the Russian Federation celebrate the New Year later than all other Russians? ( Kaliningrad region, the westernmost region of Russia. The New Year comes to them an hour later than to Moscow.)
How many times can you celebrate the New Year in Russia? (Now, in accordance with the new law "On the Calculation of Time", there are 9 time zones passing through the territory of Russia. Therefore, in Russia, the New Year can be celebrated 9 times. And more recently, there were 11 time zones, and therefore the number of New Year's meetings in our country decreased by 2.)
What gymnastic trick does the Earth perform by the time of the next New Year? (Reverse.)
At what beat of the Kremlin Chimes does the New Year begin in our country?
(According to the rules of the exact time service, a new hour comes with the last sound signal, including the last strike of the clock.)
Who were the first people on Earth to celebrate the New Year in space? (These are Russian cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Georgy Grechko, in orbit of the Salyut-6 station on January 1, 1978.)
For Americans, he is a saint; for the French, he is a father figure. And who is he to us, the Russians?
(In America, Santa Claus brings gifts to Americans, Per Noel - Father Christmas - to the French deputy, and Grandfather Frost distributes gifts to little Russians.)
What ancient Belarusian forest is considered the birthplace of Santa Claus? ( Bialowieza Forest)
In what month does our Santa Claus celebrate his birthday? (In November, more precisely - November 18. What is the age of the winter wizard is not known for certain, but it is for sure that it is more than 2000 years old. The children themselves came up with the date of birth of Santa Claus, since it was on November 18 that on his estate - in Veliky Ustyug - comes into its own real winter, and frost strikes.)
In what region of the Russian Federation is Veliky Ustyug, the patrimony of Father Frost?
(In the Vologda region. Veliky Ustyug is one of the oldest cities in the Russian North. It was officially named the birthplace of Father Frost in 1999.)
When did the Russian Grandfather Frost have a granddaughter Snegurochka? (C recently, it was invented by the Russian playwright A.N. Ostrovsky, who in 1873 wrote a play in verse - the poetic "spring tale" "The Snow Maiden".)
What Russian city is the historical homeland of the Snow Maiden?
(Kostroma. In Kostroma, the Snow Maiden has both a tower and a living room, where she cordially receives and entertains her guests of any age.)
When did the song “Yolochka” (“A Christmas tree was born in the forest ...”) appeared, which is sung by all children and adults in our country at the New Year holidays?
(For the first time, the poem "Yolochka" was published in 1903 in the children's magazine "Malyutka" with a two-letter pseudonym. Composer L.K. Beckman wrote music for the poems. Only in 1941 was the real author of the words established - Raisa Adamovna Kudasheva, Russian writer.)
What beauty dresses up once a year?
(Christmas tree.)
Which country is the historical homeland of the Christmas tree, and then the New Year tree? (Germany.)
Name the children's storyteller who invented the Planet of Christmas Trees.
(Gianni Rodari.)
What is the name of the Russian old, but ageless dance at the New Year tree? (Round dance.)
Name the performer of the lullaby for the Christmas tree. (Snowstorm.)
What is the name of the New Year's two-faced ball? (Masquerade, carnival.)
New Year's drink for risky people is ... What? (Champagne.)
What is the name of the most peaceful New Year's warhead? (Clapperboard.)
What do New Year's crackers start with?
(Confetti.)
Not only winding road in the mountains, but also a Christmas tree decoration. What's this?
(serpentine.)
What was the name of the village in which amazing events took place on Christmas night, which N.V. told us about? Gogol? (Dikanka.)
What were the names of the boys from the story of Arkady Gaidar, who came to their father in the distant taiga to celebrate the New Year with a geological expedition? (Chuk and Gek.)
From which film by Eldar Ryazanov did the catchphrase fly out: “There is a setting to have fun celebrating the New Year”? ("Carnival Night".)
Name our most New Year's film, showing which on the eve of the New Year has become a real Russian tradition which is over 30 years old.
(“The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath”, directed by Eldar Ryazanov, 1976. They joke, in order to tactfully find out the age of a woman, you need to ask her how many times she watched this film on New Year's Eve. The number of views will equal her age.)
But Santa Claus harnesses not deer, but deer to the Christmas sleigh! What proves the truth of such a statement? (The presence of horns. After all, male deer take off their antlers in the fall.)
Why is it impossible to return existing debts on New Year's Eve?
(In order not to do this all year later. You need to return all monetary debts in advance, but it is not recommended to take on old debts on the New Year.)
In Greece, on New Year's Eve, guests put a stone on the host's doorstep, wishing him that this thing always weighs no less. What is this thing? (Wallet.)
What is customary to wash for the New Year in Hungary in order to be provided with all year round?
(Literally money!)
Why don't they serve ducks, chickens, or geese on New Year's Eve in Hungary?
(So ​​that “happiness does not fly away from home.”)
Why, on the evening of December 31, do Italians only walk strictly in the middle of the pavement?
(They are afraid to walk along the edges of the pavement for safety reasons, as the Italians on New Year's Eve throw old trash and furniture out of the windows.)
In Germany, these seasonal workers must be at least 180 cm tall, with a bass and a beard. They are given uniforms free of charge. What color is she? (Red, it's Santa Clauses.)
In which country during the New Year's street processions - the most exciting part of the holiday - thousands of lanterns are lit to light the way to the New Year? (In China.)
Which island state has such a custom: before the New Year, people fill all the dishes with water, and at the moment when the clock strikes twelve times, they make a real flood, at the same time pouring water out of the windows, wishing themselves that in the coming year life would be the same bright and clear like water? (At Cuba.)
What month is Eastern New Year? lunar calendar? (In February.)
* * * * * *
In which month in the history of Russia was the New Year NOT celebrated?
A. Mart. V. September.
B. January. G. November.
(The ancient Slavs celebrated the New Year on March 1 with the onset of heat and the beginning of field work. In 1492, the beginning of the year in Russia was officially postponed to September 1. Since 1699, the New Year began to be celebrated on January 1.)
When was the New Year celebrated in pre-Petrine Russia of the 18th century?
A. January 1st. B. March 1st.
B. June 1st. G. 1 September.
How affectionately called Santa Claus in some Russian fairy tales?
A. Freezer. V. Morozko.
B. Morozets. G. Kholodets.

What is the name of Santa Claus' magic wand?
A. Scepter. V. Wand.
B. Staff. G. Mace.
What headdress does our Russian Santa Claus wear?
A. Kolpak. B. Boyar hat.
B. Chalma. G. Pot.
(And Santa Claus walks in a red cap.)
Where does Santa Claus get gifts for Russian kids on New Year's Eve?
A. From the chest. B. From the bag.
B. From the safe. G. From a sock.
What is the name of the tale of V.F. Odoevsky?
A. "Moroz Ivanovich". V. "Kholod Petrovich".
B. "Kolotun Nikolaevich". G. "Stuzha Semyonovna".
What fairy tale did G.Kh. Andersen?
A. "Spruce". V. "Pine".
B. "Fir". G. "Kedr".
What is the name of the place where Christmas trees are sold?
A. Green market. V. Christmas tree market.
B. Green auction. G. Coniferous supermarket.
Which Kremlin tower appears on TV screens on New Year's Eve?
A. Borovitskaya. V. Nikolskaya.
B. Spasskaya. G. Kutafya.
What item does every Japanese consider it his duty to acquire in order to rake in new happiness in the coming year?
A. A shovel. V. Fishing net.
B. Bamboo rake. G. A straw basket.
Under the guise of a representative of which of the professions is the Mongolian Santa Claus on New Year's Eve?
A. Cook. V. Shepherd.
B. Steelworker. G. Cosmonaut.
What time of year is New Year's Eve in Australia?
A. Summer. V. Autumn.
B. Winter. G. Spring.

NEW YEAR QUIZ

1. The most important grandfather at the New Year's holiday. (Freezing.)
2. Nickname of Santa Claus. (Red nose.)
3. The city where the residence of Father Frost in Russia is located. (Great Ustyug.)
4. Rod of Santa Claus. (Staff.)
5. Santa Claus gift store. (Bag.)
6. Granddaughter of Santa Claus. (Snow Maiden.)
7. Part of the world where the custom to celebrate the New Year at the Christmas tree arose. (Europe.)
8. Mandatory attribute of the New Year holiday. (Christmas tree.)
9. Giving the Christmas tree a New Year's look. (Decoration.)
10. Place for the New Year's sale of Christmas trees and Christmas tree decorations. (Bazaar.)
11. Threads of lanterns on the Christmas tree. (Garland.)
12. They are lit both on the Christmas tree and on holiday table. (Candles.)
13. Shiny Christmas ribbon. (Tinsel.)
14. A long narrow ribbon of colored paper that is thrown at each other on New Year's Eve. (serpentine.)
15. Substitute for snow on the Christmas tree. (Vata.)
16. Multi-colored paper circles, which are showered on each other at the New Year's holiday. (Confetti.)
17. Colored decorative lights flying into the air. (Fireworks.)
18. Close people with whom they most often celebrate the New Year. (Relatives.)
19. Time of day when the New Year is celebrated. (Night.)
20. A chain of children and adults holding hands, who walk around the Christmas tree with songs. (Round dance.)
21. A cold sweet treat that looks like snow. (Ice cream.)
22. The last day of December in relation to the New Year. (Eve.)
23. A branch of a Christmas tree. (Paw.)
24. It is customary to give them for the New Year. (Present.)
25. A toy that, when torn apart by impact, makes a sharp sound and throws out confetti. (Clapperboard.)
26. Costume ball on New Year's Eve. (Masquerade.)

In which country of the world is a New Year's grandfather called Pere Noel? (France)
And in what country is New Year's grandfather called Toshigami? (Japan)
Which country has a tradition of naming the New Year's old man Yolupukki? (Finland)
Which of the Russian cities is considered the birthplace of the Snow Maiden? (Kostroma)
Where is it customary to decorate with bamboo for the New Year? (In Vietnam)
Which country in the world has a tradition of decorating the New Year holiday with holly twigs? (USA)
In this country, instead of a Christmas tree, a tangerine tree is brought into the house for the new year. (China)
Where on New Year's Eve they dance around a house made of palm leaves instead of a Christmas tree? (In Ghana)

New Year's quiz for grades 1 and 2

1. Which New Year's grandfather has a long red fur coat, a boyar hat, a broad white beard and a long staff in his hands and a very kind smile?
2. This Santa Claus has a white beard, a red hat with a pom-pom, bright swimming trunks on a tanned body, sunglasses and a surfboard. Where is he from?
3. In this country, the New Year coincides with the festival of cattle breeding. Santa Claus comes to the children in the clothes of a cattle breeder, with a fox hat on his head, a long whip in his hands, a flint and a snuff box on his side. What country are we talking about?
4. From which movie is this catchphrase: “There is a setting to celebrate the New Year cheerfully”?
5. Which city is declared the geographical homeland of the Russian Father Frost?
6. In what country does the local Santa Claus Bobbo Natale distribute gifts, but the fairy Befana with a red cap and crystal shoes?
7. In what country does Santa Claus have such a funny name - Joulupukki?
8. What is the name of the Spanish Santa Claus?
* * * * * *
Now let's change the problem a bit. You will need to choose the correct answer from the three given.
9. In what country is the New Year's grandfather called Baba Zhara?
1) In Panama; 2) in Cambodia; 3) in Sudan.
10. In which country do residents make a New Year's greeting bouquet from pine, bamboo, plum, woven into rice straws with the addition of fern and tangerine branches?
1) In China; 2) in Japan; 3) in Thailand.
11. In which country, before the New Year's holiday, houses are decorated with branches of a coffee tree?
1) In Nicaragua; 2) in Brazil; 3) in Kenya.
12. In what country is the New Year celebrated at the palm tree?
1) In Cuba; 2) in Nepal; 3) in Saudi Arabia.
13. In which country is a red-flowered metrosideros tree used instead of a Christmas tree?
1) in Ghana; 2) in Australia; 3) in Singapore.
14. Where on New Year's Eve are bamboo shoots thrown into the hearth to scare away evil spirits with crackling and hissing?
1) In Korea; 2) in Japan; 3) in China.

New Year's quiz for grades 3 and 4

1. What was the first Christmas tree in France in 1600 decorated with? This year is the first mention of the New Year tree in literature.
2. What are the trees in the Philippines made of? What dish in Holland is served only for the New Year's table?
3. In Japan, on New Year's Eve, branches of two plants are tied at the door - a symbol of fidelity and longevity. One of them is pine, and the other?
4. In which country (in the city of Payakylä) is there a Santa Claus post office?
5. In Bulgaria, it is customary to bake coins and …
6. What must be sewn for the New Year in Korea?
7. What man, today already a rare profession, is considered a symbol of happiness in Austria?
8. The heroine of which play by Ostrovsky would be very useful to us here at the New Year's Eve?
9. In 1638, gilded and silver-plated toys appeared on Christmas tree branches. Which?
10. In which country was the day when the first snow falls the beginning of the new year?
11. What do they break in Sweden for the New Year?
12. What is the name of Santa Claus in Italy?
13. What do the inhabitants of Hungary use to drive away evil spirits before the New Year?
14. What do Japanese children draw and put under their pillows on New Year's Eve?
15. Cubans on New Year's Eve fill all the dishes with water. What do they do with this water?
16. What is strictly forbidden to do in China on the first days of the New Year
17. In which country is it customary to joke on New Year's Eve, like we do on April 1?
18. Why is it not worth standing under the windows on New Year's Eve in Panama?
19. Why do the Scots bring a piece of coal to visit on New Year's Eve?
20. What was the name of the boy with the heart of ice?
21. The hero of what fairy tale fought with the Mouse King on the eve of the New Year?
22. In which Russian city does Santa Claus live?
23. Who was the first in the world to establish the custom of celebrating the New Year?
24. The tree lives the longest in one of the cities american state Indiana. What's the name of this town?
25. In Australia, Santa Claus does not come on a sleigh, but on what?
26. The inhabitants of which island celebrate the New Year the very first on our planet?