New Year's Eve

The closer the New Year is, the closer childhood is. The creaking of a sled on the morning snow, bright orange happiness and the gentle taunting of a beautiful green Christmas tree, which is carefully decorated by the whole family.

Every year there are more and more New Year's toys, they no longer fit on the branches, and for some reason it seems that those who were denied an invitation to the holiday this time are very sad and offended.

On TV, adding to the feeling of blurring the boundaries of time, the favorite film of the Soviet people, “The Irony of Fate or Enjoy Your Bath,” is playing. The plot twists have long been known, all the characters' phrases and songs have been sung by heart, but the desire to watch does not disappear.

In the New Year we look forward to the new with hope, but we yearn so much for the past and the lost. Anxious anticipation of touching a fairy tale, gifts under the tree, chimes and New Year's lights, beckoning with an unsolved mystery - this is how the Holiday comes to us. Happy are the people who carried through their lives the New Year's anticipation of a miracle.

New Year is a time to take care of those close to you and remember those far away, when gifts are lovingly prepared and cards with heartfelt wishes are sent.

It seemed like it had always been like this. In fact, Christmas and New Year cards have become popular not so long ago. Looking at their stories, we can more easily feel the passage of time than ever.

It is Christmas and New Year cards that present us with a symbolic combination of eternal values ​​and signs of a specific time.

The prototype of the Christmas card appeared in 1843. It was drawn by artist John Gersley for his friend Henry Cole. In total, the friends printed 1,000 copies, which significantly exceeded the number of intended recipients, and some of the postcards were sold. There was no particular excitement. Christmas and New Year motifs took root on postcards 20 years later.

The first postcard was issued in Vienna on October 1, 1869. From Austria, the fashion for postcards quickly spread throughout Europe.

In Russia, the first postcards were published in 1871, and they were issued by the state. Since 1894 The right to print postcards was also granted to private individuals. From this moment on, a boom in postcards began in Russia; they were issued by both capital and provincial publishing houses; postcards became a means of advertising and were used in charity events.

Famous Russian artists, including I. Repin, I. Grabar, A. Benois, I. Bilibin, did not disdain the art of designing postcards. Postcards were decorated with gilding and sparkles, and photography was widely used at the beginning of the 20th century.

Christmas and New Year cards have always been in particular demand. Moreover, good and high-quality cards were expensive; the most elegant ones were printed in Germany and sold for 5 kopecks apiece. Russian craftsmen quickly organized the production of cheaper pirated copies, which were sold for 1 kopeck and went on sale during the holidays. Before the revolution, New Year's cards themselves were rare; Christmas motifs predominated.

During the years of Soviet power, Christmas was ordered to be forgotten, and since the New Year and Christmas were inseparable in people’s minds, the celebration of the New Year was banned.

In fact, from 1926 to 1935, the New Year was not celebrated in the USSR, and holiday cards, garlands, Christmas tree balls and sparklers began to be produced only after the official “pardon” of the New Year in 1937.

Since the 1950s, New Year has again become a favorite holiday, and sending each other New Year's cards has become a national tradition.

Postcards of that time are artless and much simpler than pre-revolutionary ones. But attempts are already being made to create their own “corporate” New Year’s style.

Gradually, art postcards came back into fashion, and collecting them became a favorite pastime for girls from 5 to 16 years old.

Along with the Christmas tree and Santa Claus, bunnies, bears and other traditional New Year characters, favorite cartoon characters, astronauts, and BAM builders appear on postcards.

Some Santa Clauses on postcards preferred rockets, trains and snowmobiles to the usual three, and the popular “gadget” of the seventies - the transistor - was a welcome gift even for animals.

The Olympics and triumphant hockey championships did not go unnoticed.

At the end of the 1980s. Cards with the “Russified” symbols of the eastern calendar were in great esteem, and at the same time the Christmas card returned to us.

Nowadays, choosing New Year's greetings is a very exciting activity; there are themes for every taste. I just wouldn’t want helpfully selected verses on the spreads, which appeared in postcards not so long ago, to replace sincere words of congratulations.

After all, this is also a sign of our time - sometimes the inability, and sometimes the reluctance to convey one’s thoughts and feelings in words. The New Year is a good reason to remember the main miracle - the miracle of human communication, and you can start this fairy tale with a New Year's card.