Grandmother Frost, burning of sins: Russians talked about unusual New Year traditions

In many families, as MK was convinced, there are pre-New Year events related to the designation of their plans for the new year or, on the contrary, summing up the results of the outgoing year. They do this in different “magical” ways, but the essence is the same.

“Our family has had such a special, magical New Year’s ball for five years now (in supermarkets they sell gift tea on New Year’s Eve), says Maryana Alekseevna from the village of Sverdlovsky (the city of Losino-Petrovsky in the Moscow region). – After the chimes, we write down our plans for the coming year, roll everything up and put it in this ball, seal it with tape and hang it on the tree. And a year later, before the New Year’s chimes, we open this ball and read, have our plans come true? Sometimes it would seem that the year has passed unimportantly, but you read and see that your plans for the year have been realized, which means that not everything is so bad!”

“On January 1, we write about the most memorable events of the past year for each family member and put the pieces of paper in a special tin jar (with a picture of a bullfinch), Anna Pilyugina from Berdsk, Novosibirsk region, a mother of three children, shared with MK. – Every New Year on the morning of January 1, children look for gifts, I never put them under the tree. One of the tasks of the quest is to solve a riddle in order to find the next clue and guess where the “bullfinch” is hiding in the apartment, which stores our memories. Children are looking for a bullfinch, find a jar containing sheets of notes from last year, add memories of the past year, read the past ones, find a clue at the bottom of the jar, and the search for a gift continues. The jar is kept from holiday to holiday along with the Christmas tree decorations.”

Psychologist from Moscow Svetlana Pleshakova also has a similar tradition in her family, which she advises everyone to adopt to create a New Year’s mood and strengthen family ties: “When, a few days before the New Year, we decorate the Christmas tree with the whole family, then, hanging each new toy, Each family member says out loud what joyful event happened to them in the past year. In this case, the Christmas tree and the apartment as a whole become more emotionally charged. These are no longer just Christmas decorations, but pleasant memories. The second option (if someone likes it this way): while hanging a toy, name your wish for the New Year or dream: this ball is to successfully graduate from school, this one is to get a license, the next ball is to go on vacation there, etc.” .

Traditions when families take care of other people who especially need the attention of society are worthy of great respect. “Every year we participate in the “Wish Tree” event for orphans with disabilities from a boarding school. The whole family chooses cards from the Christmas trees, then we collect the gifts and give them to the volunteers.” (Yuliana Tarasova, Osinniki, Kemerovo region)

“We also have such a tradition – the “Wish Box” for low-income families, for adults and children with disabilities, etc. We buy gifts and take them to the family assistance center” (Antonina Zagladkina).

“When I was a child, my sister and I staged entire performances for our parents on New Year’s Eve – we wrote the script, sewed costumes… It was so fun and interesting! – says Natasha Danilova from St. Petersburg. – Now I have two daughters myself, and starting from their third birthday, we come up with a performance for dad and grandmother on New Year’s Eve. Now my daughters are nine years old. This year they will be the two dragons who stole the gifts. By tradition, I am Grandma Frost (smiles). Together with dad and grandma, we’ll go through an exciting quest and find all the gifts!”

“We celebrate the New Year in the village, three families (ours, brother and parents) from three cities in different regions gather into one big family,” Nina Bashmakova from Vologda told MK. – The village is small, literally ten houses of summer residents, and it happens that we are the only ones in the whole village on New Year’s Day! It’s an interesting feeling… A sort of island of warmth and comfort in the middle of a lifeless, snowy desert. Women set the table, and men light the stove, decorate the Christmas tree and build a huge slide with turns. After midnight, everyone, children, parents and grandparents, ride down this slide on cheesecakes.”

“We have developed a tradition before the New Year – we paint glass Christmas tree balls, we draw on blanks with an artist,” mother of three children Lyudmila Kubacheva from Veliky Novgorod told us. – It doesn’t always work out with the whole family, but I definitely do with the girls! When children were little, they drew on plastic balls. And on January 1, we bake gingerbread with our children, everyone makes whatever they want. Then we drink tea with the whole family.”

“For as long as I can remember, we have been celebrating the New Year according to Kamchatka time with champagne,” says Yulia Stepanova from Polyarny, Murmansk region (Moscow time there). “We once lived there and such a tradition developed.” And at midnight Moscow time we have fruits, sweets, ice cream and champagne. And on December 31, we definitely go for a walk to the main Christmas tree in our city in the afternoon, if we are not working: our relatives are military personnel and may be on duty that day.”

“Somehow it so happened that the very first New Year, which my husband and I began to celebrate together, we selected outfits in the colors that the symbol of the year liked. And now for the eighth year together (and the second with children) we have been choosing such outfits. We observe this tradition in our young family impeccably. This year, by the way, Dragon will be pleased with the colors red, green and gold! We’ll be in green and gold.” (Alena Skvortsova from St. Petersburg)

– New Year is the time when we build a perspective for the future. And, of course, we are building something pleasant that we dream about,” psychologist Svetlana Pleshakova commented to MK. – All New Year’s magic and fairy tales are connected with the needs of our “inner child” who lives in each of us. It is very important and useful to allow yourself to experience all these joys on New Year’s Eve (play with children, come up with ideas with them and take part in some joint New Year’s activities, ride on cheesecakes, even despite our advanced age, etc.). This will be an outlet that will help relieve enormous fatigue over the year.

… Let us also add that, as practice shows, it is a very common custom among Russians to write down their deepest desire on a piece of paper, burn it during the chiming clock, mix the ashes in a glass of champagne and drink it in one gulp – in the hope that it will come true. However, esoteric psychotherapist Miroslava Bush calls on Russians to “stop doing this stupidity”: “When we burn something, it is destruction, purification,” she explained to MK. “I advise you to do this better: on December 31, choose an hour or two, analyze your entire previous year, write down on a piece of paper all the bad things and all your mistakes. And this leaf just needs to be burned. And symbolically scatter the ashes to the wind. This is logical! Otherwise, it turns out that you don’t just burn your desire, and then, excuse me, digest it, etc. You are destroying it.”

A young Muscovite, Olga, just told MK about a similar custom: on New Year’s Eve, she and her friends write down on pieces of paper all the unpleasant events and illnesses – who had what in the past year – and then throw them into the fire to burn. It is believed that in this case they will not pass into the coming year. Another option is to list all your sins on paper, thus collecting the bad karma of the entire company for the previous year and then solemnly burn it at the stake. But for this you need to celebrate the holiday at the dacha or outside the city.