What is New Year? I think everyone can answer, and everyone will have their own answer. But there is one very important difference between this winter holiday and any other. The New Year is common, it is for everyone, regardless of age, gender, social status, religion, profession. Fun and joyful hopes unite people, everyone congratulates each other and gives gifts. In my opinion, this is the best holiday. What is the Soviet New Year? People who have already formed a certain layer of past years are rummaging through the past and remembering how it was in Soviet times. Of course, most of the pictures from those years are joyful and sincere. Shall we remember? Christmas treeArtificial large Christmas trees were a novelty – and even the existing ones only vaguely resembled a living spruce. At different periods there was a shortage of felled trees. You had to try to find out in advance when they were being delivered, and be one of the first to choose the fluffy pine (they practically didn’t sell spruce in our area). True, it could only be fluffy conditionally, so at the same time armfuls of branches were bought for extension. Skillful fathers and grandfathers drilled holes in the trunk, sharpened the ends of the branches, masterfully inserted them, and the result was a quite compact, beautiful “Christmas tree” that could be decorated. In the photo – me myself, 1976. Photo by the author Often, pine trees were purchased much in advance – for the occasion – and therefore languished, tied, on the balcony, so the needles stayed fresh longer. Shortly before the holiday, the tree was brought into a warm place, placed in a bucket of water or wet sand, and it began to delight: spreading the coniferous spirit. It immediately became clear that the holiday was here, and happiness was just around the corner. Of course, New Year’s decorations were not limited to just the decorated Christmas tree. Snowflakes, a sea of snowflakes, were cut out of white paper and foil. Lumps of cotton wool were strung on threads and hung from the ceiling. The white gouache from the kits was specially saved for the New Year for painting windows, and when it ran out, they diluted tooth powder, which generally washed off perfectly afterwards. Festive photo from kindergarten. On the windows there is a real snow-covered forest. Photo by the author Gifts The essence and meaning of New Year’s gifts probably remained unchanged. And yet, back then, in the days of identical wardrobes, dresses and toys, something beautiful, expensive or tasty from under the tree was valued and remembered for a long time. Remember Lancome Climat perfume and a razor with floating blades? Of course, this is “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!” In addition to this pair of worthy gifts, adults could receive a book, crystal, chess, and clothes. They tried to make the holiday as bright as possible for the children. Firstly, these were New Year’s matinees in kindergartens and schools, discos and evenings for teenagers and young people. Groups and classrooms were decorated with their own hands and wall newspapers were painted. At enterprises, trade unions organized the distribution of gifts to the children of employees – there were sweets and “exotic” fruits. Personally, I especially remember the dark red large Hungarian apples, incredibly aromatic and sweet. And my father said that in his childhood (50-60s of the last century) children knew the taste of tangerines precisely because of the New Year holidays. Orange fruits were specially delivered to the cities and towns of our vast country to be used as gifts – 1-2 in each. New Year 1979. Photo by the author Parents tried to find, buy and put toys, markers and construction sets under the Christmas tree for their children. Wood burners, DIY kits, and railroads were in great demand at this time. What can I say – everything was in great demand. Personally, I remember 2 gifts from early childhood: doll furniture (there was a bed, a wardrobe, and a table – all in a delicate pale green color) and a large red bear. Unfortunately, it did not survive, but exactly the same rarity, only brown, was found by my husband’s parents: they also gave it to him for the New Year. Later, the bear acquired a commemorative badge. Old friend – bear. Photo by the author Separately, we need to remember the postcards. Now sending cardboard pictures by mail seems pointless and old-fashioned – with such developments in communication technology! But then it was possible to congratulate friends and relatives in this way. And what a variety of holiday cards there were in Soyuzpechat kiosks and at the post office! Old postcards. Photo by the author To update your New Year’s decor arsenal, in our market, which unites large online stores, you can choose modern holiday lighting – both for decorating your home Christmas tree and for celebrating the New Year at your dacha. Check out the New Year’s lighting section. Festive table The festive table is a special tradition. Housewives did not prepare for any memorable day as much as they prepared for the New Year. This is now – I went, bought everything I needed, prepared it. Just! In times of shortage, food had to be “procured” for the feast. On pre-holiday days, huge queues formed in stores because they were throwing away delicacies: green peas (Olivier!), Soviet champagne, Baltic sprats in oil, chocolates, cheese, etc. Not everyone was able to acquire this. And it was almost impossible to “grab” a cake just before the New Year, so many baked it themselves. It was necessary to get green peas. My grandmother had the most delicious meal, and here’s why. Firstly, she prepared incredibly delicious pies, cabbage rolls and salads (by the way, she easily did without the scarce store-bought mayonnaise, she made it herself). And secondly, grandfather, as a veteran of all the wars that fell in his lifetime, was entitled to a food package. There were “Assorted” sweets from the “Russia” factory, condensed milk, champagne or even cognac, two hundred grams of cheese, green peas, a stick of raw smoked sausage, tea “with an elephant,” and something else equally delicious, not available every day. The housewives, having collected all the necessary products, began to create. What was sure to appear on the table on New Year’s Eve? Of course, Olivier! Even though the Soviet salad did not exactly correspond to the recipe of the famous French chef, they prepared it a lot and ate it with pleasure. Herring under a fur coat – salad No. 2. Herring under a fur coat is a must-have dish on the New Year’s table. In almost every home, fish aspic, and more often jellied meat, could be seen on the table. Sprats usually appeared as a filling in sandwiches. If it was possible to “tear off” the delicacy sausage and Rossiysky cheese, they were cut into thin slices and beautifully laid out on a plate. All this splendor was framed with homemade preparations – salted and pickled cucumbers and tomatoes, sauerkraut, lecho. Jellied meat with horseradish tinted with beet juice appeared on almost every table. The main course was chicken, baked in the oven, sometimes stuffed. The bird’s carcass usually ended up in the kitchen almost entirely – along with its entrails, the comb on its head and its clawed paws; was, as a rule, mature and wiry. Therefore, it became aerobatics to cook it so that the thighs were baked until soft, and the breast did not dry out. Roast or cabbage rolls could also serve as the main dish. For dessert, skillful housewives baked “Napoleon” ahead of time. For me it was an incredible, fantastically delicious cake that my grandmother’s sister baked. Of course, there was always cream left, and we children ate it with spoons from the saucepan. Other mandatory attributes of the New Year’s table are tangerines, chocolates, as well as compote, lemonade and champagne. Champagne and tangerines are signs of the Soviet New Year. The festive feast was accompanied by “The Straw Hat”, “Carnival Night”, “The Irony of Fate”, then the film “Sorcerers” was added with its NUINU and technological wonders. This was followed by the congratulations of the head of state, the chiming of the chimes and the “New Year’s Light”. How they were waiting for him! Particularly persistent citizens stuck around until “Melodies and Rhythms of Foreign Pop,” where they could see and hear Celentano, Mireille Mathieu, ABBA and other foreign stars. It’s nice to indulge in memories of how you celebrated the New Year in Soviet times – and it’s always a little sad that you can’t return it. On the one hand, now you can instantly call a friend or relative on the other side of the planet and personally congratulate him on any holiday. But he won’t have the postcard, this material symbol of spiritual warmth. Even children began to be given just money as a gift. This is especially unfortunate, but with the current abundance and variety of toys and entertainment, it can be difficult even for parents to get the right gift. Let’s wait for the New Year, prepare gifts, have fun and rejoice, but let’s throw away regrets! All this was and will remain in memory, and how you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it – this tradition will not go anywhere and will be with us, wherever and whenever we are. Let’s wait for this holiday, prepare gifts, decorate the house, have fun and rejoice. Happy New Year, comrades! Happy new happiness! Our website has a lot of materials that will certainly be useful to you during the New Year. We have made a special selection for your convenience:
- 8 unusual recipes for ordinary herring under a fur coat
- New Year’s salads: 12 recipes for the festive table
- Jellied meat is not made from pork. How to eat deliciously and not offend the symbol of the year
- A thousand and one ways to make a beautiful paper snowflake
- Celebrating the New Year at the dacha: don’t forget anything and be on time for everyone
- Not just the Christmas tree… 7 recipes for New Year’s interiors and festive mood
- New Year in the style of minimalism, or How NOT to decorate a holiday tree
