The first attributes of the modern Christmas celebration (or rather, for the former Soviet countries, these are the attributes of the New Year) were brought to the Russian Empire by Peter I, but they were far from what is familiar to modern man. The celebration itself was rather noisy: as a rule, a masquerade ball was held, accompanied by all kinds of games. The first predecessors of the Christmas tree were spruce or any other branches, hung as ornaments in houses and taverns.

And the New Year (at that time Christmas) tree was brought to the Russian Empire by Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, wife of Nicholas I, in 1817. She was German by origin, and these traditions have long been rooted in Germany. At that time, to make it truly magical, candles were lit on the tree.

By the way, it was quite dangerous for the big palace and once even led to a fire. But many of the empresses took the ritual of lighting and extinguishing candles on the tree more than seriously. For example, the wife of Nicholas II was very proud that she herself was engaged in this. The Christmas tree was also decorated with gilded and silvered fruits and Christmas-tree decorations. It is worth noting that, in addition to individual Christmas trees for gifts in the Great Hall of the Winter Palace, each of the members of the imperial family also had its own Christmas tree in the chambers.
Christmas trees initially began to settle down among the nobility, and only then became entrenched in the homes of ordinary citizens. The first Christmas with a Christmas tree and gifts was extremely luxurious and was celebrated only by the imperial family and their retinue. For each empress, she prepared her own Christmas tree, next to which stood a table with gifts, and with particular pride she personally presented each of his gifts. Although the celebration was held in the royal family, but the gifts were quite modest – all kinds of toys and required sweets. But the most important thing in them was that each member of the imperial family personally chose gifts. This tradition was preserved until the collapse of the Russian Empire, while gifts at court became richer every year.

The celebration of Christmas to this day has many traditions. It all depends mainly on your place of residence. In the city, this holiday is celebrated more quietly, in a family way. But in some villages to this day you can meet many diverse traditions and rituals. But, no matter how anyone celebrates it, Christmas is one of the brightest and kindest celebrations of the year.

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