Christmas tree and its decorative details. With the first star: decor, nativity scenes and a Christmas tree

The tradition of celebrating the New Year holidays with a Christmas tree has entered our everyday life so much that almost no one asks questions: where did the Christmas tree come from? What does she symbolize? Why is the tree an essential attribute for Christmas and? When did the Christmas tree appear and where did it come from, and we will try to find out in this article. In 1906, the philosopher Vasily Rozanov wrote: “Many years ago I was surprised to learn that the custom of the Christmas tree is not one of the indigenous Russian customs. The Christmas tree is now so firmly rooted in Russian society that it would never occur to anyone that she is not russian…»

As you already know from the article, he brought the tradition of celebrating the New Year with a Christmas tree to Russia by his decree in 1699. Here is a short fragment from this decree (letter " b» at the end of words is not readable):

“... now the year 1699 comes from the Nativity of Christ, and the next Genvara, from the 1st day, a new year 1700 will come, and a new centenary age, and for that good and useful deed, the Great Sovereign indicated that from now on to count in Orders and in all affairs and fortresses to write from the present January from the 1st day of the Nativity of Christ, 1700. And as a sign of that good beginning and a new century in the reigning city, after due thanksgiving to God and prayer singing in the church and to whom it will happen in your home, along large and passing noble streets to noble people and at houses of deliberate spiritual and worldly rank in front of the gate make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper against samples, which are made at the Gostiny Dvor and at the lower pharmacy, or whoever is more convenient and decent, depending on the place and gate, it is possible to make ... "

Nevertheless, the decree of Emperor Peter had only an indirect relation to the future Christmas tree: firstly, the city was decorated not only with spruce, but also with other coniferous trees; secondly, the decree recommended the use of both whole trees and branches, and, finally, thirdly, needle decorations were prescribed not to be installed indoors, but outside - on gates, roofs of taverns, streets and roads. By this, the Christmas tree turned into a detail of the New Year's cityscape, and not the Christmas interior, which it became much later. The text of the sovereign decree testifies to us that for Peter, in the custom he introduced, which he met during a European trip, it was important as aesthetics - it was ordered to decorate houses and streets with needles; so is the symbolism - decorations from evergreen needles should have been created to commemorate the celebration precisely.

It is important that Peter's decree of December 20, 1699 is, almost the only document on the history of the Christmas tree in Russia in the 18th century. After the death of the impostor, they stopped putting up New Year trees. Only the owners of taverns decorated their houses with them, and these Christmas trees stood at the taverns all year round - hence their name came from - “ tree sticks».

Sovereign prescriptions were preserved only in decoration drinking establishments, which continued to decorate before the New Year. By these Christmas trees, which were tied to a stake, installed on roofs or stuck at the gate, taverns were identified. The fir trees stood there until next year, on the eve of which the old ones were replaced by new ones. Having arisen as a result of Peter's decree, this custom was maintained during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Pushkin in the "History of the village of Goryukhin" mentions "an ancient public building decorated with a Christmas tree and an image of a double-headed eagle". This characteristic detail was well known and was reflected from time to time in many works of Russian literature. Sometimes, instead of a Christmas tree, pine trees were placed on the roofs of taverns: “The building of the tavern ... consisted of an old two-story hut with a high roof ... withered pine; its thin, withered branches seemed to be calling for help.

And in the poem by N.P. Kilberg’s 1872 “Yolka” the coachman is sincerely surprised that the master, by the tree driven in at the door of the hut, cannot recognize it as a drinking establishment:

“We drove in! .. we rush in the village with an arrow,
Suddenly the horses stood before the dirty hut,
Where the tree is driven in at the door...
What is this? .. - What are you, gentleman, an eccentric,
Don't you know? this is a tavern!..»

That is why, taverns in the people began to be called "Christmas Trees" or "Ivans-Yolkins": " Let's go to the Yolkin, let's drink for the holiday»; « It can be seen that Ivan Yolkin was visiting, that you stagger from side to side»; « Christmas tree (tavern) sweeps the house cleaner than a broom". Soon, the whole complex of “alcoholic” concepts gradually acquired “Christmas-tree” doublets: “ raise the tree"- to get drunk," go under the tree" or " the tree has fallen, let's go pick it up"- go to the tavern," to be under the tree"- to be in a tavern; " yolkin"- the state of alcoholic intoxication, etc.

Where did the Christmas tree holiday originate?

It turns out that many Europeanized Slavic-Aryan peoples during the Christmas season have long used Christmas or Yuletide log, a huge piece of wood or stump, which was lit on the hearth on the first day of Christmas and gradually burned down during the twelve days of the holiday. According to popular belief, careful storage of a piece of Christmas log throughout the year protected the house from fire and lightning, provided the family with an abundance of grain and helped the cattle to easily bear offspring. Stumps of spruce and beech trunks were used as Christmas logs. Among the southern Slavs - this is the so-called badnyak, among the Scandinavians - juldlock, the French - le buche de Noel(Christmas chump, which, in fact, if you read these words in Russian, we get boo - Russian butt - back side ax-axes, there is quite a block or log; and no-yel is like a merger of words - a Norwegian tree or a new Christmas tree, or the best and most accurate hit night tree).

The history of the transformation of spruce into a Christmas tree has not yet been accurately restored. What is known for sure is that it happened on the territory Germany, where spruce in Vedic times was especially revered and identified with the world tree: “ The evergreen spruce was the queen of the German forests.". It was here, among the ancient Slavs, the ancestors of the Germans, that it first became a New Year's, and later a Christmas plant symbol. It has long been a custom among the Germanic peoples to go to New Year to the forest, where the spruce tree chosen for the ritual role was lit with candles and decorated with colored rags, after which the corresponding rituals were performed near or around it.

Over time, spruce trees began to be cut down and brought into the house, where they were installed on the table. Lighted candles were attached to the tree, apples and sugar products were hung on it. The emergence of the cult of spruce as a symbol of undying nature was facilitated by its evergreen cover, which allowed it to be used during the winter festive season, which was a transformation of the long-known custom of decorating houses with evergreens.

After baptism and Latinization Slavic peoples(Pure-blooded Germans are not Aryans, but Slavs, more precisely Holy Russians - blue-eyed and fair-haired), inhabiting the territory of modern Germany, the customs and rituals associated with the veneration of spruce began to gradually acquire a Christian meaning, and they began to use it as christmas tree, installing in houses no longer on, but on Christmas Eve, i.e. the eve of the Nativity of the Sun (god), December 24, which is why it got the name of the Christmas tree - Weihnachtsbaum (an interesting word, which, if read in parts and in Russian, is very similar to the following - holy night log, where if to Weih add "s", then we get the Russian word holy or light). From now on Christmas Eve (Weihnachtsabend) the festive mood began to be created not only by Christmas carols, but also by a Christmas tree with candles burning on it.

A Christmas tree with candles and decorations is first mentioned in 1737 year. Fifty years later there is an entry by a certain baroness who claims that in every German house “a spruce tree is being prepared, covered with candles and sweets, with magnificent lighting”.

In France, the custom has long been burn a Christmas log on Christmas Eve (le buche de Noël), and the tree was assimilated more slowly and not as willingly as in the northern countries. In the story-stylization of the émigré writer M.A. Struve's "Paris Letter", which describes the "first Parisian impressions" of a Russian youth who celebrated Christmas in 1868, says: "The room ... met me embellished, but Christmas trees, kind to me according to Petersburg custom, even if it be the smallest, in her didn't turn out…»

Charles Dickens, in his 1830 essay "Christmas Dinner", describing English Christmas, does not yet mention the Christmas tree, but writes about the mistletoe branch, traditional for England, under which boys, as usual, kiss their cousins, and the holly branch, showing off on top of a giant pudding …

Now, knowing the truth about the Christmas tree and the holidays associated with it, you can perfectly celebrate the Christmas of the Sun (read the details in my article) and without a Christmas tree, and without Santa Claus, and without and not at midnight, and most importantly - on the present day Birth of the Sun, which is celebrated in the evening from the 24th to the 25th of December, and not according to our style from the 6th to the 7th of January.

It turns out that all christianity celebrates correctly Christmas Sun, and us, Russ, as always, deceived and slipped us alien gods, alien traditions and holidays, and in days alien to the truth! When celebrating, do not forget why everyone gathered at the table, and whose Christmas you are celebrating ...

Someone is limited in the design of only a few compositions, someone hangs a wreath of fir branches, someone just decorates the window with snowflakes, and someone adheres to the good old tradition of setting up a Christmas tree. We have selected for you interesting and creative ideas for decorating and decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year 2019, as well as tips to help you choose the right decorative elements in connection with the symbol of the year.

A bit of history

For many centuries, spruce has been the main symbol of the New Year and Christmas. But have you ever wondered why they decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year? Everyone knows this tradition since childhood, but why did it happen that few people are versed in this.

An old legend tells that on the day the baby Jesus was born, all the plants of the earth came to bow to him and brought their gifts. Spruce came last and for a long time did not dare to approach the baby, being afraid to prick him. She had nothing to bring as a gift, except for sticky resin and hard cones. Then the trees and plants shared their gifts with the timid spruce, and it shone with bright balls, rang bells and approached Jesus. The baby smiled, and the Star of Bethlehem shone over the top of the fir tree. That is why, according to this legend, it is the Christmas tree that is decorated for the New Year.

Concerning historical facts, then the first mention of the Christmas tree is found in Germany. It was from here that the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree for the New Year with colored ribbons, toys and sweets spread throughout Europe.

In Russia, celebrations were introduced by Peter I in 1700. The emperor ordered to start the year on January 1, to walk all night, congratulate each other, set off fireworks or burn bonfires and, of course, dress up a coniferous tree. This tradition still lives on in every family.

In addition to history, many are interested in when to decorate the Christmas tree at home. Usually, decorating a festive tree begins on the 20th of December. It is not recommended to arrange earlier so that the tree does not lose its beauty.

Someone prefers to decorate the Christmas tree as early as possible in order to enjoy its beauty to the fullest. And someone likes to decorate in the last days of December, just before the holiday. In any case, you yourself must decide on what date you need to do this.

Features of decorating the Christmas tree for 2019 Yellow Earth Pigand

The coming year will be symbolized yellow earth pig, therefore, the actual color is yellow and all its derivatives (orange, terracotta, sand, brown, red).

The main material will be wood. So the trend of decorating and decorating the New Year tree 2019 emerges: yellow or gold balls, crafts made from wood and other natural materials, gold ribbons, bows, beads.

Let's look at the options for decorating the Christmas tree in 2019.

wood jewelry

Wooden toys and crafts can be made with your own hands using blanks, or you can buy ready-made products. In any case, they will all look harmoniously on the Christmas tree!

Photos of examples of decorating Christmas trees:

From natural materials

To interestingly decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year, you can create entertaining Christmas tree accessories from natural materials with your own hands: cones, acorns, chestnuts, twigs, twigs, wooden clothespins and toothpicks. Even from ordinary corks and twigs, anyone is quite able to create creative toys.

Yellow Pig Toys

The design must include main character. Christmas tree decoration in the form of the main symbol can be sew from felt, from the remnants of different fabrics. But a yellow pig can be cut out of thick cardboard and painted with paints, tied. Try asking your child to draw an animal and sew or knit a holiday symbol based on the sketch.

Photo of decorations for the 2019 New Year tree in the form of a Pig:

Video: Christmas decoration from felt on a Christmas tree in the form of a pig with your own hands.

Basic styles in which you can decorate

There are several generally accepted and current styles of decorating the Christmas tree. Therefore, you can decorate a festive tree without being tied to a specific symbol of the year, but by choosing one of the well-known styles and adhering to the characteristics of this direction.

There are the following styles of Christmas tree decorations:

1. Classical.
2. Modern.
3. Vintage.
4. Minimalism.

How to decorate the 2019 New Year Tree in each of these design areas will be discussed in more detail below.

Classic style

The classic (traditional) style, despite some pomposity, allows you to decorate the tree quite restrainedly. Commonly used balls the same size and shade (gold, silver), bows to match the balls, cardboard figures, glass bells.

However, do not overload the Christmas tree with an abundance of shades and decor. In addition, to decorate a coniferous beauty in a classic way, you can use beads.

The classic style has not lost its relevance for many decades! And for the New Year 2019, you can beautifully and stylishly decorate the Christmas tree in a traditional way.

Modern

Modern means something modern, catchy, memorable, extraordinary. If you want to decorate the Christmas tree in an interesting and unusual way for the New Year, then you should choose Art Nouveau.

Take at least the usual glass balls that can hang next to decorative elements in steampunk style, bright candies and garlands of unusual shape. It could be New Year's Christmas tree in one color, for example, all decorated in red or yellow. Can you make an impromptu a tree created from pillows, computer disks, books, branches, sticks.

Photos of Christmas trees made and decorated in Art Nouveau style:

Vintage

Vintage is characterized by the use of elements that took place in past eras. And then you choose which era you would like to display. In any case, to decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year, plan muted pastel shades, wooden figurines, aged glass balls, vintage postcards, garlands with large balls.

Advice! For a vintage look, get out your oldest toys. Use heavy tape or a regular paper clip to secure them to the branches.

Minimalism

Spruce in the style of minimalism always looks fresh and does not go out of fashion. A minimum of balls, a minimum of tones and tinsel are used. Sometimes it is launched only one garland so as not to "drown out" the charm of green branches with other accessories.

For minimalism are often taken Christmas tree solid toys. White or silver look especially noble:

If you want to stylishly decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year 2019, then you should opt for minimalism! Minimalism will look amazing in any room. It is only necessary to harmoniously select and hang decoration items.

The combination of colors on the New Year tree in 2019

According to the advice of experienced designers, when decorating a Christmas tree, you must adhere to the correct color combinations. If we take into account color of the upcoming 2019, that is yellow and its shades, as well as gold. But if we take as a basis the trends of world fashion, then in the trend violet.

In any case, when choosing colors, see if they harmonize well together. Also, consider a few simple tips:

• Red, green, mustard, orange, white go well with yellow.
• Use a technique such as gradation. So, the top can start with white balls, which will gradually turn into purple, and those - into dark purple.
• If you have an artificial white Christmas tree, then it is recommended to decorate it with gold and orange balls for the New Year. Just what you need for 2019!

• Consider the overall gamut of the room. If the room is too bright, then it is not forbidden to use more muted tones, and if the room is pale, then decorate the tree with bright balls.
• Burgundy balls and ribbons look good against the background of dark wood furniture.

• Rain and beads should overlap in shade with balls. For example, if the balls are golden, then it is better to hang beads and rain a tone darker or lighter.
• Sometimes a monochromatic garland looks much more luxurious than with bright multi-colored lights.

How to decorate a Christmas tree: options and ideas

There are many ways to decorate a Christmas tree for the New Year. Christmas tree glass balls, rain and electric garland are considered traditional decorations.. And these accessories still hold the lead, but, in addition, There are many other interesting ones:

• garlands of cones;
• felt toys;
• postcards;
• wreaths;
• candies;
• wood crafts;
• bells;
• bows;
• tapes;
• Christmas tree beads.

You can use any one of the listed options to decorate the Christmas tree, or combine several. It all depends on your tastes and preferences!

Important! It is advisable not to combine all types of decoration at once - it will look overloaded. For example, Christmas balls look good with satin ribbons and bows, wooden toys can be combined with a garland made of natural materials, and vintage glass toys can be combined with Christmas tree beads.

The photo below is a great example of how you can beautifully decorate a Christmas tree for the New Year (a combination of white and red without frills):

Get creative with your tree. For example, a Christmas tree can be completely dressed up with sweets or fruits, fortune cookies, wish cards, surprise balloons.

Be sure to place somewhere in a conspicuous place the figure of YellowPigs. A soft animal can be planted under a tree instead of the traditional Santa Claus and Snow Maiden. You can decorate with salt dough crafts.

Interesting decor ideas

If we take a standard classic live or artificial Christmas tree, then there are a lot of options for decorating for the New Year. In particular, a very creative way is to dress her up with everything that is in the house and can fall under the concept of a “Christmas accessory”.

These are knitted mittens, snowflakes, postcards, hair accessories, artificial flowers, dried rose petals, burlap.

You can become a designer of decorations for Christmas trees by making them yourself!

Walk around the house, look in lockers and drawers, sort out your accessories. Now they need to be sorted by tone or size, and then proceed to design.

Below you can see photos of the original design. Maybe they will help you decide how you want to decorate the Christmas tree for the 2019 meeting:

Traditional Santas can be original and sparkle with new colors if you choose products of non-standard shapes and designs.

Openwork and elegant snowmen they will do their job too!

It’s not a sin to decorate an artificial and live Christmas tree for the New Year with an ordinary one. burlap or decorative mesh, which is sold in specialized stores in rolls.

Will also look good woodwork, cardboard and twine crafts

A Christmas tree decorated with decorations will look very cute and funny. bows. You can use bows of any size and color. Translucent bows will look stylish (as in the photo below).

quilling

The spruce will turn out to be original and very elegant if it is dressed up with crafts using the quilling technique (the technique is also called paper rolling). Just a few workouts and you can create Christmas tree decorations using paper, glue, pens and your imagination.

The undoubted advantage of such Christmas tree decorations is the fact that you can make them yourself!

Photo of crafts using quilling technique:

Video: how to make Christmas tree decorations from paper using quilling technique.

Flowers

They are associated with warmth, spring and summer. It would seem that they do not fit in with the winter holidays. But it was not there! New Year's tree decorated with flowers- a truly original and beautiful solution. For decoration, you can either buy flowers or make them yourself.

As for the last hand-made production, it is recommended to make artificial flowers for New Year's decoration of the Christmas tree from a variety of materials: paper, fabric (for example, organza, linen), corrugated, satin ribbons.

Video: how to make paper flowers.

Christmas tree without a Christmas tree

But if you want something truly original, then initially you need to be original. A do-it-yourself Christmas tree will help to decorate the room quite colorfully for the New Year. It could be construction from books, pillows, from plastic bottles, from clothes, disposable tableware and other items. We invite you to enjoy the creativity that was already created by someone and be inspired by an exclusive version.

There are no limits for fantasy, even the most ordinary pillows have the opportunity to become a real solemn decoration of the house.

Video: do-it-yourself Christmas tree for New Year's decoration (kanzashi style, thread, corrugated).

The procedure for decorating the Christmas tree

Although we have been decorating a tree on holidays almost since childhood, it is not always clear how to properly decorate a Christmas tree in stages. However, there are a few unspoken rules that will help you decorate the tree beautifully and make it the most attractive item in the whole house.

Here are the rules and procedures for decorating a Christmas tree:

• To harmoniously decorate the Christmas tree for the New Year, you need choose the right place for her about. Do not put a fluffy beauty in a small room, but a too small Christmas tree in a large room.
• Fix it securely. If there are small children and mischievous animals in the house, then it is better not to use glass products.
• Choose a beautiful garland with faceted light bulbs, a beautiful lampshade.
• The garland is hung at the very beginning, in front of all the toys, then she will not obscure them, but, on the contrary, beautifully set off.
• Use multiple garlands. For example, one can wrap the trunk itself, and the other - the branches of a tree.
• Decorate the tree with the included garland. In this case, it will be better to see where which light will fall, and what it will highlight.

• For big spruce choose large balls, small on it will look ridiculous.
• Hang large parts first, evenly distributing around the entire perimeter (it is advisable to decorate the bottom of the Christmas tree with large elements). Then smaller toys, filling the empty space and preparing the Christmas tree for the New Year.

• Desirable do not place the same toys next to each other, if not intended by the concept.
• The final step will be tinsel, beads, rain, sequins.
• There are several ways of decorating with balloons: vertical, horizontal, chaotic.
• You can put boxes underneath, edged with paper to match the entire decor.

By the way! Serpentine or even ordinary confetti would be appropriate to show off.

Video: how to beautifully decorate a Christmas tree for the New Year (+ decorating a white Christmas tree).

Christmas tree decoration

It's great if you have a Christmas tree growing on the street (at least in the courtyard of a private house or in the country). In this case, you can decorate the yard and turn it into a real fairy tale.

When choosing a Christmas decoration for a street tree, you need to focus on two things:

1. Safety. This mainly concerns the use of a garland. Only use appliances designed for outdoor use. Also, do not leave the device turned on unattended.
2. Sustainability. Try to fasten the “outfit” as tightly as possible so that during snow, rain and wind they cannot fall or damage your tree.

Christmas decorations for a street tree can be purchased or handmade. In general, all the recommendations and tips listed above apply to the street beauty. The only thing - crafts made of fabric, paper are not suitable(there is a risk that they will deteriorate due to precipitation, wind).

Advice! You cannot cope with such a difficult task alone (especially if the tree is rather big). So, invite guests, relatives, kids to decorate and create a beautiful and original composition for the New Year together.

In many families, decorating the New Year tree is a whole tradition, a ritual, a warning that the holidays will begin soon, that the New Year 2019 will soon be celebrated. This is especially pleasing to the kids, who love to help decorate the green beauty, hang balloons on her, pull sweets. It's fun and brings the family together. I hope these tips and tricks will help you decorate your Christmas tree in a fun and beautiful way!

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In Russia, immediately after a merry New Year with its noisy parties and dancing until the morning, a beautiful family holiday comes Orthodox Christmas. For a Russian person, New Year and Christmas are holidays that do not argue with each other. New Year is a secular and carefree reveler, hung with bags of gifts, flirting with the Snow Maiden and hurrying from one guest to another. And Christmas - religious holiday, strict and serious, with a kind face and gentle eyes, smiling thoughtfully after his frivolous brother.

So, the New Year has died down, sparkled, danced, and Christmas is approaching. Are we ready to meet him with dignity? The holiday has an ancient biblical history, which is worth remembering for ourselves and telling the children.

Start your story with the parents of Jesus Christ - the Virgin Mary and Joseph. When Mary was pregnant with the baby Jesus, Emperor Augustus decided to conduct a population census and for this ordered all the inhabitants to come to their hometown. So Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, Joseph's homeland. On the way, the husband and wife wanted to spend the night in a hotel, but there was no free room, and they stopped for the night in a cave. These caves served earlier first floor of the house, where they entered directly from the street. They were used as stables: they had stone feeders and mangers, and animals were driven there at night. It was in such a cave that Mary felt the approach of childbirth. Joseph left his wife for a midwife, and when he returned, the birth had already taken place, and a bright light shone in the cave. Soon the light disappeared and a baby appeared. Mary swaddled him and laid him in a stone manger. So, in a barn, on a cold winter night, surrounded by livestock, the Savior was born.

The first to see the divine baby were simple shepherds who grazed cattle near the cave. An angel appeared to them and announced the Nativity of Christ.

Following the shepherds, the Magi, the priests-soothsayers, Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar also came. Their journey to Jesus was a long one. After all, they lived far in the East. One day they saw in the sky bright star and understood that it was a sign. Following her movement through the sky, they crossed several states and arrived in Jerusalem, from where the star led them directly to Bethlehem.

The sacred moment of Christmas is captured on many icons and paintings, and a skilled craftswoman can embroider them with beads, for example, " Nativity". A more picturesque, not iconographic, image of this miracle can be found in the kit for embroidery with beads " Christmas". Painting with beads " Light of the Star of Bethlehem"displays the moment when the infant Savior appeared to the world, illuminated by divine light. Cross-stitch " Merry Christmas”is a modern and tenderly touching image of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms. Also a favorite Christmas motif for embroidery is an angel who brought good news to the shepherds. The light-winged creature soars easily over the snow-covered ground in the painting " Christmas Angel", embroidered with beads. Any of these hand-made paintings will bring into your home a solemn feeling of a holiday, so sacred for every believer.

What is the easiest and most accessible way to tell children about the Nativity of Christ? An adapted version of the story of Christmas, interesting and understandable for schoolchildren, can be found in the book " Nativity". For the little ones, buy a Christmas coloring book. " Russian Bible Society» offers a modern interpretation of the biblical text and simple joyful illustrations. By coloring the pictures on his own, the kid will definitely learn the names of the parents of little Jesus, remember the shepherds who heard the good news, and the wise men who followed the star. Parents who are interested Orthodox traditions It will be interesting to read the book Nativity. Traditions. Recipes. fun". By the way, do not forget that Christmas is preceded by a forty-day fast, which also includes the New Year's feast. But this should not upset believers who are fasting - the book " Merry Cristmas. 75 holiday recipes for the Orthodox table» will teach you how to cook delicious meatless dishes, and you will be able to surprise all adherents of the traditional Olivier, jelly and fried chicken with them.

The story of the birth of Jesus Christ is so dear and sacred to Christians that for many centuries they have been reproducing it in the form of the so-called nativity scene. Nativity scene - a kind of sculptural and decorative composition depicting the cave where Jesus was born, the most divine baby in a manger, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, shepherds and wise men. Masters often do not limit themselves to reproducing the cave, but also depict the surrounding area. And the actors in such nativity scenes can sometimes be counted for the whole city. Thus, people tend to show how important this event is for them. The birth of the Savior, which happened in a small cave and appeared to the eyes of only a few witnesses, actually touched the hearts of millions of people, and the good news about Christmas spread throughout many lands and countries.

In creating nativity scenes, people have shown extraordinary imagination over the centuries. Nativity scenes were made in different sizes: from miniature to realistic, with figures in full human height. The compositions were static or mechanical, where people, animals and some details of the environment moved with the help of built-in mechanisms. In countries of Eastern Europe appeared crib theater putting on Christmas shows. Puppet theaters also acted out the nativity scene with puppets placed in a box set.

It is quite difficult to make a Christmas nativity scene with your own hands, but you can buy a team wooden model or souvenir for coloring and paint them with acrylics. Composition " Nativity scene with an angel"consists of figures of an angel, God the Father, the Virgin Mary with the Child and the Magi. In addition to acrylic, it can be painted with gouache and tempera, which will give the whole Christmas scene a winter and sophisticated look. Assembling and painting a den with children is a calm and creative activity after January 1st. So you decorate your home with a traditional festive christian symbol. If the child is still small and cannot cope with the painting, offer him a similar, already painted, model. nativity scene from binding board.

Left: 'Christmas nativity scene' model. Producer "Smart paper". Right: Postcard "Merry Christmas!". Publishing house "Sphere"

For any needleworker, the main creative object for the New Year, of course, is the Christmas tree. Let's try to dress up the green beauty in the Christmas tradition. Indeed, initially in Russia, the Christmas tree was primarily an attribute of Christmas, celebrated on December 25 in the old style. This holiday was extremely important for the Russian Orthodox person, and the New Year following it only announced the change of the calendar year.

What should a proper Christmas tree look like? Previously, all Christmas decorations recreated the gospel story. The top of the spruce was crowned with a Bethlehem six-pointed star, and the cross at the base of the trunk symbolized the crucifixion - an attribute of the passions of Christ. By the way, the star has its own sad story of "oblivion". When in 1937 the Soviet government returned to the citizens the New Year holiday, taken away for ten whole years, the “renewed Soviet” spruce lost its main element - the Star of Bethlehem. This Jewish symbol was considered indecent for a socialist society and was replaced by a ruby ​​five-pointed star like on the Spasskaya Tower. Today, six-pointed stars are returning to the Christmas tree as a symbol of the very luminary that led the Magi to the birthplace of Jesus. You can embroider such stars for your Christmas tree by purchasing sets " christmas star" or " Golden Star". Wooden blank " Star with a bell» color and hang on spruce branches.

Mandatory inhabitants of the Christmas tree are winged angels. It was the angel who announced the birth of the Savior to the shepherds, and they were the first to testify to his birth. The angel on the tree symbolizes the divine will. Cover the wooden angels with the stars silver or gold paint and find them a cozy place among the green needles. The most beautiful and graceful angel can be embroidered with a cross in a set of two balls: on one - the winged archangel Gabriel, on the other - the Virgin Mary with the baby Christ. Unusual airy and openwork angels are obtained from beads. Author Moras Ingrid in the book " beaded angels» tells how to weave winged creatures from small beads. More bodily angels come out of salt dough, and how to make them can be found in the book "Crafts from salt dough: new ideas." To occupy children's hands, invite them to cut out paper " New Year's angels ».

Next to the angels, there must be bells on the Christmas tree. It was they who rang on the sheep's necks when the shepherds drove their flocks and went to see the newly born Jesus. Bells signify a divine voice preaching the truth. You will find a variety of bells for decoration in our store. Wooden blanks for painting are blue candle or with red, and with coloring book a child can handle a wooden candle.

Such a spruce crowned Star of Bethlehem and decorated with angels, bells, garlands, apples, sheep and doves, will be a worthy reflection of Christian Christmas. And your children, who took an active part in its design, will get acquainted with biblical history. If you don’t have time to dress up the whole Christmas tree in Christmas style, but you want to create just such a mood for yourself on the eve of a big holiday, then buy a simple souvenir - a wooden Christmas tree for painting. One of them consists of balloons and the inscription " Merry Christmas", and the other from angels with bells. Put it on your table on January 7th and it will create a festive atmosphere at Christmas dinner.