New Year's Eve is rightly considered to be the most favourite and long-awaited holiday.

On the threshold of New Year holidays people start dreaming not so much about gifts, but about fulfilment of their deepest desires.

Now we celebrate New Year's Eve on 1 January because three centuries ago Tsar Peter the Great issued a decree commanding to celebrate this holiday on the night of 31 December.
This decree gave rise to many Russian traditions.

For example, the fir tree acquired the status of the main symbol of the New Year holiday, as it was customary in all European countries.

Also as a sign of cheerfulness people had to congratulate each other on the New Year, and from 1 to 7 January at night to light fires made of firewood, or kindling, or straw, or tar barrels filled with them.
The main action was planned to take place on Red Square: lighting "fiery fun", shooting three times with muskets, and finally firing a few rockets. In modern parlance, to set off fireworks and explode firecrackers.

After the reign of Peter the Great, mass festivals gradually disappeared from the New Year tradition - large-scale celebrations were held mainly in noble and imperial houses.
Under Elizabeth I, who loved luxury, the tradition of New Year's Eve masquerade balls appeared.

• In the time of Catherine the Great, the New Year tradition included the exchange of gifts and a special festive table.
• And in the XIX century other attributes of the holiday appeared - champagne, Christmas tree decorations, postcards.
• In 1852, the first public Christmas tree was installed in the building of St Petersburg's Ekaterinhofsky railway station, an amusement pavilion.
• After the revolution in 1918, the Bolsheviks switched to the Western, Gregorian calendar. There was a difference of 13 days between the old and the new style of time calculation - this is how the unofficial holiday Old New Year appeared.
• Father Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka gradually became the companions of the fun.

Nowadays, New Year's Eve is the famous Olivier salad, champagne, a large number of guests, treats that are prepared to the sounds of the beloved film "The Irony of Fate, or With Easy Steam!", New Year's lights and chimes, the solemn speech of the head of the country and festive songs.