Basilius-Kathedrale auf dem Roten Platz in Moskau 212 origWI

New Year's trees are decorated trees similar to

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

s that are displayed to specifically celebrate the New Year. They should not be confused with the practice of leaving up a Christmas tree until after

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

(traditionally until the

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

on 6 January). New Year's trees are common in various cultures and nations, chiefly the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

, former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Russian and Turkish traditions

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n and Turkish New Year's trees are of the same varieties as those used for Christmas trees, although a

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

tree is the most usual type. The decorations are the same as for Christmas trees; however the Russian style New Year's tree is completely secular and its decorations include no religious symbols. While Russian and Turkish North Americans purchasing a tree after Christmas when prices have plummeted might enjoy notable savings, most do not wait beyond Christmas to buy their trees.

History of the Soviet New Year's tree

The tradition of installing and decorating a ''Yolka'' ( cyr.: ''Ёлка'') for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

dates back to the 17th century when

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

imported the practice as a result of his travels in Europe. Peter decreed in 1699 that the New Year will be celebrated on 1 January instead of 1 September, and that "Fir tree, pine and juniper branches and trees shall be used to decorate houses and gateways along main streets". However, in

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

, ''yolka'' were banned beginning in 1916 by the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

as a tradition originating in Germany (Russia's enemy during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

). After the

revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were discouraged and de facto prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign. The

League of Militant Atheists The League of Militant Atheists (), also Society of the Godless () or Union of the Godless (), was an atheism, atheistic and Antireligion, antireligious organization of workers and intelligentsia that developed in Russian Soviet Federative Socia ...

encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. With the Christmas tree being prohibited in accordance with

Soviet anti-religious legislation The government of the Soviet Union followed an unofficial policy of state atheism, aiming to gradually eliminate religious belief within its borders. While it never officially made religion illegal, the state nevertheless made great efforts to ...

, people supplanted the former Christmas custom with New Year's trees. The New Year's tree was encouraged in the USSR after the famous letter by

Pavel Postyshev Pavel Petrovich Postyshev (; – 26 February 1939) was a Soviet politician, state and Communist Party official and party publicist. He was a member of Joseph Stalin's inner circle, before falling victim to the Great Purge. In 2010, a court in K ...

, published in ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

'' on 28 December 1935, in which he asked for trees to be installed in schools, children's homes,

Young Pioneer Palace Young Pioneer Palaces or Palaces of Young Pioneers and Schoolchildren were youth centers designated for the creative work, sport training and extracurricular activities of Young Pioneers (primarily in the Soviet Union) and other schoolchildre ...

s, children's clubs, children's theaters and cinemas. In his letter, Postyshev wrote: In 1937, a ''Yolka'' (

Novy God ''Novy God'' or ''Noviy God'' () is a New Year celebration observed in Russia, in post-Soviet states, and globally by the diasporas of post-Soviet states. The holiday was promoted by the Soviet Union as a secular holiday that would supplant ...

tree) was also installed in the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

House of the Unions The House of the Unions (, also called ''Palace of the Unions'') is a historic building in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets. History The first building ...

. An invitation to the Yolka at the Palace of Unions became a matter of honour for Soviet children. After the

dissolution of the USSR Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dissolution'', a 2002 novel by Richard Lee Byers in the War of the Spider Queen series * Dissolution (Sansom novel), ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), by C. J. Sansom, 2003 * Dissolution (Binge no ...

, stigma against religion subsided amidst renewed public interest.

History of the Turkish New Year's tree

A Turkish New Year's tree, in Turkish ''Yılbaşı'' ''Ağacı'', looks the same as a Christmas tree with Christmas ornaments. It is called a New Year's tree because it is specific to the New Year and, with about 95% of Turkey's population being

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, most Turks do not celebrate Christmas. After the modernisation of Turkey, the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the Ramad ...

and the fiscal calendar were replaced by the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

and New Year's celebrations started in the late 1920s. The celebrations became popular in Turkey and Christmas trees were brought into the country as New Year's trees. Since then, the custom of setting up a tree for the New Year is a traditional event in Turkey. It is usually put up between the beginning of December and the end of January, the mid date being New Year's Eve. Also, the habit of giving presents at Christmas was changed to the giving of New Year's presents. The New Year's tree can be considered an example of westernised

Turkish culture The culture of Turkey () or the Turkish culture () includes both the national culture and local cultures. Currently, Turkey has various local cultures. Things such as music, folk dance, or kebap variety may be used to identify a local area. Tur ...

or Turkified European culture. In 2024, when students of the

Yıldız Technical University Yıldız Technical University ( Turkish: ''Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi'', often simply referred to as YTU or Yıldız) is a prominent public technical university dedicated to engineering and natural sciences, as well as social sciences recentl ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

tried to decorate a tree, islamically motivated protesters tried to prevent it, saying that it had no place in Turkey. Afterwards, they also held a prayer in front of the tree, but the students still managed to decorate it.

Vietnamese and Cantonese custom

Planting a Cây nêu (Vietnamese New Year's tree) is a Vietnamese custom that is part of the springtime

Tết Nguyên Đán Tết (, ), short for (; ), is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar and usually falls on January or February in the Gregorian calendar. is not to be con ...

. Often a bamboo pole serves as the "tree". '' Hoa đào'' (in Northern) or '' Hoa mai'' (in Southern) and Quất trees are also decorated and displayed in Vietnamese homes during

Tết Tết (, ), short for (; ), is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar and usually falls on January or February in the Gregorian calendar. is not to be co ...

PanYu Clifford Farm Tree New year plants

In Cantonese, the New Year's tree is called ''Nin Fa'' (, literally New Year's Flower). Bamboo is just one of the New Year's trees for the Cantonese, the others being mandarin and peach. The mandarin plant is called ''Kat'' (), which is a homophone to , standing for good luck. The peach flower stands for good relationships; love is one of the relationships, so it's also a wish for love.

References

External links