Biology

6. What is a brief history of the holiday?
In Russia, after adoption of Christianity people, following traditions of forefathers,
who believed that new year began in spring, when all nature wasresuscitating,
celebrated New Year in March or at Eastertide. In 1492 Ioann III approved a
decision to consider 1st September as the beginning of new ecclesiastical and
civil year. At this day peoplerendered tributes, duties and other taxes to the
power. To make this more ceremonial and pompeous, the tzar came to Kremlin
where everyone, a simple peasant or a decent boyar could come to him andbeg
for his mercy. Tzar gave an apple to every man and called him "brother".
The last time when New Year, celebrated with tzar pomp, was in 1698.
From 1700, when Peter the Great, looking at Europe,issued an edict by which
New Year was moved to Christmas. It was forbidden to celebrate New Year in
September and on 15 December 1969 drum-roll announced the beginning of the
new century to peopleon the Red Square. The priest said that having thanked
God and listened to service choral, it was ordered to rich people to decorate
the streets with fir-, pine- and juniper- trees and to poorpeople to put some
branches over the house gates. New Year Trees must be ready by 1 Jan and kept
until 7 Jan. On the first day people must congratulate each other with New Year
and go to the Red Squarewhere fireworks and shooting would begin. It was
recommended to shoot from little canons or guns in yards three times and make
little fires outside every night.
It was Peter the Great who firedfirst salute announcing the beginning of the new
year. Every toast of Peter the Great was accompanied by 25 canon shots. The sky
was illuminated and painted in all colors, people congratulated eachother, had
fun, danced and made presents to each other. Peter the 1st watched steadily that
our holiday was not worse or poorer than in European countries.
For the first time the celebration of New...