New Years Eve Russia Background:

Traditionally, New Year’s Day in Russia fell on September 1, which ended Russia’s tax year. In 1700, in an attempt to westernize the country, Russian ruler Peter I moved the holiday to January 1 according to the Julian calendar. Russia started using the Gregorian calendar in 1918.

Between 1919 and 1937, the Bolsheviks banned public celebrations of New Year’s Day, calling it a bourgeois holiday. It became a non-labor day again in 1947. The tradition of having Russia’s leader give a televised address became a New Year’s tradition in 1976

New Years Eve Russia 2020 Symbols:

A decorated fir tree, Grandfather Frost and his granddaughter Snegurochka are the common symbols of New Year’s Day in Russia.

Moscow's Red Square:

Nestled next to the Kremlin, Moscow's Red Square is a part of the capital's historic center. Accessible on most days, Red Square teems with tourists and Russians alike. On one end stands the symbolic St. Basil's Cathedral, built by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, and on the other stands the white-roofed Russian History Museum, looking perpetually as if it has seen a dusting of snow after the rough winter has subsided. Red Square is best at twilight, when most tourists have headed back to their hotels, exhausted, and when most Russians have finished their work day. The sun sets especially late in the summer, and its weakened rays washing over the rusty paving stones and filtering through St.