00:00You think Christmas can't really be stolen? You just don't know how to do it.
00:05Today I'll tell you the story of how the great leader, Comrade Stalin,
00:09stole Christmas from Soviet citizens. And what happened next.
00:14A big thanks to social anthropologist Sasha Archipova, who uncovered this fascinating story.
00:26Christmas celebrations, as we know them today, came to Russia at the beginning of the 18th century.
00:32Tsar Peter the Great, after traveling through Europe, fell in love with the German and Dutch
00:38traditions of decorating homes with fir branches and candles. Returning to Russia, he issued a decree
00:46mandating the same. Nobody argued with the Tsar and everybody obediently celebrated as he wished.
00:54But after his death, the Western European custom quickly faded away. For a while, Christmas trees
01:00were seen only among foreigners invited to the royal court. Ordinary Russians encountered trees
01:07only in taverns. Tavern owners, needing a government license to sell vodka,
01:15followed any official decrees. Even if it meant dragging a full-size tree indoors.
01:22By the 19th century, the phrase to visit the tree became slang for getting drunk at the tavern.
01:34European-style Christmas returned to Russia in the mid-19th century, thanks to two factors.
01:40The holidays, magazines detailing how to celebrate, and aristocrats bringing the custom back from
01:46their European travels. At first, the holiday was strictly a children's affair, held only in
01:53wealthy urban homes. Villages had entirely different customs, more reminiscent of modern Halloween.
01:59In the city, servants fetched a tree from the forest, which was hidden in a separate room and
02:05decorated with sweets and fruits. Sometimes confectioners delivered pre-decorated trees
02:11adorned with candied nuts, apples, and cookies. On Christmas Day, the doors to the forbidden room
02:20were opened. And a swarm of children would plunder the tree, devouring the treats. It was a joyful ride,
02:30with kids laughing, shouting, and eating their fill. A day of cares that every child eagerly awaited.
02:39While some hosted trees for unprivileged kids, Orthodox priests often frowned upon the corrupting
02:46influence of the West. Despite this, by the late 19th century, public Christmas trees became popular,
02:54bringing joy to orphans and poor children. For many, these events became their happiest childhood memory.
03:07Following the revolution, poverty left most people unable to celebrate Christmas. As the economy
03:14teetered on collapse, the Bolsheviks loosened their grip slightly, allowing small private enterprises.
03:21These entrepreneurs, called Neppman, had money and celebrated Christmas with dancing, singing, and
03:29bourgeois indulgences. But in 1927, the fun ended when Stalin came to power. He systematically eliminated
03:40anyone who could challenge him. Neppman, with their independent incomes, and the Church, with its ideology,
03:49were prime targets. Naturally, Christmas was first to suffer.
04:00In 1927, teachers marched children through the streets, carrying signs,
04:05parents, stop celebrating Christmas and putting up trees. Schools and kindergartens were banned from
04:12hosting Christmas trees. Even private homes were inspected for unacceptable festivities. City living
04:20made secrecy difficult, as most people shared crammed communal apartments. If you had good relations with
04:27your neighbors, you were lucky. But often these shared spaces were filled with people from wildly different
04:36backgrounds. Professors, market vendors, ex-nobility, and factory workers. Privacy was a luxury. To celebrate
04:45Christmas in the late 1920s and early 1930s, people secretly bought small trees from local farmers,
04:52wrapped them in sacks, and smuggled them home. Some assembled trees from branches. Curtains were drawn,
05:00voices hushed, and the celebration became an act of defiance against a state determined to invade
05:08every corner of private life. The risks were enormous. Celebrating Christmas could cost you
05:17your job. Losing work in a collapsing economy was catastrophic.
05:27Then, in 1935, a miracle happened. An article in the state newspaper Pravda proposed organizing New
05:35Year's trees for Soviet children. The idea, of course, came from Stalin himself. Most likely,
05:42he was inspired by a book by French sociologist Emile Durkheim, which discussed how
05:47shared rituals fostered a sense of community. The USSR, home to over 100 nationalities and languages,
05:55needed unifying traditions. Religious holidays were out of the question, so Stalin latched on New Year,
06:02a secular event that everyone could embrace.
06:10The Soviet New Year was initially a state-run event. Schools and kindergartens
06:15were instructed to host celebrations featuring trees and gifts. Each gift included a note.
06:22Thank Comrade Stalin for our happy childhood. Children effectively received presents directly from
06:30the great leader himself. The New Year quickly became a nationwide tradition, even extending to the
06:36children of the repressed and to labor camps. By the 1960s, the holiday gained its own traditions and
06:44moved into private homes, complete with special menus and ornaments. By the way,
06:51some vintage Soviet ornaments are now collector's items worth a fortune.
07:02If you are curious about Stalin-era New Year celebrations, check out my upcoming novel,
07:08The Prince of the Soviets, coming in early 2025. Join my waiting list, link in the description below.
07:22I'll tell you all about how the Soviet New Year was celebrated in my next video, so don't forget to
07:28subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. If you have, give this video a thumbs up and share
07:34in the comments what makes Christmas or New Year special in your country.
07:49See you next week.
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