Did you know that January 1 in the USSR only became a non-working day in the late 1940s?
In general, the first day of the new year has been a non-working day since 1897. But, not for long back then.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, church holidays were banned and, from 1929, the holiday weekends on Christmas and January 1 were abolished. And, with them, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for children for the New Year. So, the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year became unremarkable working days.
But, in 1935, the change of the calendar year began to be celebrated again, but as a children's holiday. A couple of years later, New Year's trees started to be set up all over the country: no bourgeois prejudices, just a holiday for kids! But, adults also secretly liked it.
The secular New Year did not raise any questions and the tradition took root. The holiday, which was established by Peter the Great, unexpectedly received a new development.
And, in December 1947, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR finally declared January 1 a public holiday again.
