Happy New Year!
Vintage New Year's cards- generally my favorite topic. I will collect here my systematization - what was depicted on such postcards.
It will probably be long and in two parts. Therefore, we look under the cut part 1.
Snow, snowflakes and icicles
New Year and Christmas comes to us in the midst of winter, so snow, snowflakes and icicles have become indispensable attributes of these holidays. Both in Russia and abroad, many folk signs are associated with snow. The abundance of snow foreshadows a good harvest: "From snow all the wealth", "Snow blows - bread will arrive", "Snow in the fields - bread in the bins".
Snowflakes on pre-revolutionary postcards are almost never found, and if they do appear, then in the form of white dots or lumps. On Soviet New Year's cards, they began to be depicted as asterisks with ramifications, and their popularity as an element of design grew continuously, and by the end of the 80s they were found on 75% of postcards. For comparison: before the revolution, snowflakes-dots could be seen only on 5-8% of postcards.
Snowflakes - hexagonal stars can be correlated with the six-pointed (six-pointed) star, which is one of the most ancient magical symbols and symbolizes the unity of God and man, the divine creation of the world.
Icicles, like any ice, symbolize cold, fragility and fragility. At the same time, they are the result of snow melting under the rays of the reborn sun, and therefore their appearance means a softening of the cruel winter, the beginning of the awakening of nature.
Night, stars, moon
The main rituals of celebrating the New Year and the Nativity of Christ are performed at night, so the night has a strong associative connection with these holidays. For some peoples, night symbolizes the abyss, eternity. On greeting cards, the night is depicted with a starry sky, the moon, artificial lighting and other signs.
The stars and the moon are familiar elements of Christmas and New Years greeting card, although on Christmas they are more common than on New Years. People believe that everything earthly is a reflection of the heavenly and by the arrangement of the stars and planets one can judge about future events, about the fate of man. The appearance of stars on postcards is to some extent due to folk signs: if the sky is clear on New Year's Eve, an abundance of berries and mushrooms should be expected in the coming year.
Since ancient times, the stars have symbolized eternity, cosmic order, the presence of God. In the 19th century, there was a belief that the sky is the tower of the Lord God, where instead of windows there are stars, and from each window an angel looks at the white light. There are as many angels and as many stars as there are people in the world. Each person has their own guardian angel. A person is born, and God sends him a guardian angel, a new window is cut through in the mansion, through which the angel watches his ward in order to protect him from evil spirits. A person dies - and the window is shuttered, and a star falls from the sky. On Christmas Eve, with the appearance of the first stars in the sky, the Christmas fast ended.
In the design of pre-revolutionary Christmas cards, mainly images of lonely stars were used, which symbolize Star of bethlehem... They were most often depicted as five-pointed or six-pointed. In Soviet New Year cards, there are mainly red five-pointed stars, symbolizing Soviet power.
Bells and bells
They were often present on pre-revolutionary postcards (Christmas and New Year's). They are also occasionally found on Soviet postcards. On Christmas night over pre-revolutionary Russia, festive bells rang out. In Western Europe before midnight old year saw off with the muffled slow ringing of church bells, and the new year was greeted with a quick and loud chime. In Germany, it was believed that the bell ringing on New Year's Eve blessed the harvest of flax and oats. In Russia, bells were considered animated, they were credited with the ability to heal diseases, revive, drive away storms, protect from lightning, awaken the dead, expel evil spirits. In the best way To alleviate the fate of a sinful soul in the afterlife was considered a donation for a new bell.
Candles
Candles are an integral part of Christian rituals, they were used to illuminate rooms, they were installed and lit on holiday trees: in European countries - on the eve of Christmas, and in Russia - on Christmas evening.
In Western Europe, special Christmas candles were used. They were larger in size than the usual ones and were decorated with foil, strips of colored paper, silver and gold threads. The Scandinavians preferred to cast candles on the new moon, believing that such candles shine brighter. Thrifty Germans made Christmas candles from paraffin and stearin.
Over time, candles began to be supplanted by electric garlands, but the love for real candles has survived to this day. Candles represent light in the darkness of life and illumination. The flame of a candle symbolizes warmth and love.
Confetti and serpentine
These are indispensable companions of carnivals. They were depicted mainly on Soviet New Year cards, especially widely - from the beginning of the 80s. Christmas trees are decorated with confetti and serpentines, they are loaded into firecrackers. The word "serpentine" comes from the French "serpentin" meaning "winding road", "serpentine". Serpentine carries the symbolism of a snake - death and rebirth, life and resurrection, and its spiral shape speaks of the annual cycles of the sun.
Confetti - small mugs multi-colored paper. The name comes from the Italian "confetti" (which translates as "candy"). The prototype of confetti was the small candy that was thrown at each other at Roman carnivals. You can also draw a parallel with the ritual use of grain. Until now, folk rituals have survived, in which the newlyweds are sprinkled with grain or thrown at their feet as a sign of a wish for future abundance.
Clock, calendars and year digit
These attributes are used, as a rule, for the design of New Year's cards. They seem to give a starting point for the beginning of a new year, a new life.
Clocks are one of the most common elements of New Year's cards, both pre-revolutionary and Soviet. Their midnight fight on New Year's Eve was associated with the expectation of happiness and change for the better. Soviet postcards began to depict not just a clock, but a clock from the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower, which became a symbol of Soviet power. This associative connection began to take shape in the 30s and 40s.
In the date - January 1 - the unit means the beginning, the initial unity and the sum of all possibilities. On Soviet postcards, the date and year were most often found in the 50s. However, gradually they began to disappear from new year symbols... Perhaps this was due to the increase in circulation and the possibility of implementation over several years.
Gifts
On pre-revolutionary postcards, gifts were an accessory for the Christmas holidays, and they were distinguished by a wide variety: toys, sweets, flowers, decorations and something mysterious, packed in paper or a box and tied with a ribbon.
In Russia, in Soviet times, gifts began to be given for the New Year.
Wine, champagne
Wine and intoxication symbolize the union of the divine and the human, revelation and truth. In most religions, wine means the blood of the sacrifice, and libation is a form of sacrifice. For example, in the sacrament of the sacrament, wine takes on the meaning of the blood of God, through which a person participates in his spiritual strength and comprehends the truth. No wonder they say: the truth is in wine.
New Year is traditionally celebrated with champagne. This wonderful drink was created in the middle of the 17th century by the monk Pierre Perignon, who served as a winemaker in the Abbey of Hauteville in the Champagne province. By the end of the 18th century, champagne had gained such popularity that Russia began producing its own sparkling wines. The first Russian champagne appeared in 1799 in Sudak, and in 1900 L.S. Golitsyn's champagne won the Grand Prix in Paris.
Landscapes and nature views
When decorating foreign New Year cards, a river, a stream, a lake or body of water, a bridge, a boat are more common, and for Russian postcards more typical roads and paths. Fences, fences and wells are found on both with approximately the same frequency. The well in Christian symbolism is a sign of salvation and cleansing, and in folk legends it fulfills desires and heals.
In addition to plot greeting cards, there are also those that are devoid of any plot and consist of only symbolic elements: fir branches, candles, gifts, year numbers, etc. Until 1917, about 5% of such postcards were issued in Russia. In the Soviet Union at the beginning of the 50s, 10% of New Year's cards contained only symbolic elements, and by the end of the 80s, their number had increased to 20%.
Father time
Father time is a traditional symbol of the New Year. Quite often found on postcards of the late 19th / early 20th century. In fact, this is Saturn with its merciless scythe. Saturn rules the sign of Capricorn. It is at the time of this zodiac sign that all the Christmas holidays fall. "Father time" is translated into Russian as, the old New Year and is presented in the form of a decrepit old man who surrenders the reins of government to the New New Year
Pig
The pig was often depicted in pre-revolutionary Christmas and New Year cards. What did the pigs do there - they walked around in festive clothes, wearing an intellectual pince-nez, flew on balloons and airships, drinking champagne and giving flowers. Sometimes the pig was roasted on a spit, and sometimes she herself could “dress up” as a cook and roast something. It happened that on old postcards, pigs spun the drum of a money lottery, sculpted snow women and danced with lovely ladies ...
Such reverence for the pig is an echo of distant paganism: as the researchers note, the period of celebrating Christmas and New Year coincides in time with pagan holidays, in which “animal symbolism” played a huge role. And although the Christian Church did everything to eradicate paganism, its manifestations were still preserved in some folk traditions and customs.
For example, the Slavs on the eve winter solstice glorified the birth of Kolyada's brother Ovsen, and then the birth of Kolyada himself - the sun god, who was represented either in the form of a golden pig, or sitting on top of it. According to ancient Scandinavian legends, on Christmas, the sun god Frey flew across the sky on a boar with golden bristles and illuminated the night. In general, variations on the theme of a wonderful piglet lived in Western Europe for a long time, right up to the 19th century. In Thuringia and the Czech Republic, on Christmas Day, they dreamed of seeing a golden pig for good luck, and in Swabia, a white pig with a golden chain.
According to the researcher of the New Year and Christmas Yevgeny Ivanov, “the modern Christmas or New Year's pig came to us from ancient pagan rites and symbolizes the sacrifice to the deity. Meanwhile, if Christians literally followed the Bible, they would have to reject the meat of pigs as particularly unclean animals. Prodigal son herding pigs, that is, doing the most despicable business. The pig's uncleanliness made it a biblical symbol of frivolity and disregard for grace. "
Well, as a result, the pig has become a symbol of wealth.
Horseshoe
One of the most famous lucky charms is the horseshoe. Finding a horseshoe on the road is not only a great luck, but also money. This sign comes from those times when the horse was the greatest owner's value. The found horseshoe is hung on the door.
According to legend, a devil appeared in the guise of a horse to a blacksmith and began to seduce the blacksmith into black deeds. But the blacksmith did not give in and, moreover, shod the "horned" one, and so that the devil remembered science and did not dare to show himself to the smithy again, he hung a horseshoe on the door. Since then, people began to hang horseshoes on the doors of their houses to scare away evil spirits.
It is also believed in Europe that magic power The horseshoe acquired thanks to the gods, because in its shape it resembles a month. In the East, in Europe and Latin America, horseshoes are hung on the wall with their horns downward - so that happiness pours on you. But the British and Irish are convinced that it is necessary to hang it up, so that happiness does not flow out.
Mexican horseshoe - decorated with ribbons and coins, with the faces of saints hanging high - no one should touch it. And the Italians, on the contrary, hang a horseshoe so that everyone who enters touches it.
In Russia, they hang with their horns down. But not adherents of the Feng Shui teachings. Here the opinion is different - a horseshoe with horns up, so that the house was - a full bowl. Wearing horseshoes on themselves, nailing over front door, hang on walls and even on the masts of sea and river vessels. And they bury it in the ground at the doorstep….
A horseshoe is considered both an object that scares away evil spirits and a symbol of good luck. But it cannot perform two functions at the same time. therefore, if used as for protection from evil spirits, then it is necessary to hang with the horns down, and if for good luck and well-being in the house, then with the horns up, so that there is a full bowl. This is one of the many interpretations of the properties of the horseshoe.
As for the question of why a horseshoe is generally considered a symbol of happiness, there is such a version. First, a horseshoe made of iron, and in those very distant times, any piece of iron was very valuable and it was considered good luck to find it. Secondly, sometimes there were both silver and gold horseshoes, which were lost by the horses of the nobility. It was special luck
Clover - Four-leafed
Clover - One petal for fame, one for wealth, one for love and one for health!
The four-leaf clover is a legendary flower, a symbol of incredible luck. Finding it is almost as difficult as a flowering fern. Our ancestors believed that clover carries the great power of love, happiness, beauty and youth. His leaves were collected, dried and then always carried with them. And the kind helper kept the happiness of its owner ...
The four-leaf clover is a symbol of good luck. According to an ancient legend, the person who found this rare specimen, from this moment and forever, is haunted by luck and success. Moreover, this lucky man himself brings good luck to everyone who meets with him, collaborates or is just in the neighborhood. Magic Powers: Protection, money, love, loyalty, exorcism, success.
Magic Use: Double-leaved Clover: If you find such a clover, you will soon find a lover.
Three-leaf clover: worn as a strong amulet - a talisman.
Quatrefoil: it protects against madness, strengthens spiritual strength, makes it possible to determine the presence of spirits and leads the wearer to gold, money or treasures. If two people eat a four-leaf clover together, then mutual love will break out between them.
Seven grains of wheat, placed on a 4-leafed leaf, make it possible to see the fairies. If you put a four-leaf clover in a shoe before leaving the house, then you will have the opportunity to meet a new love. Five-leaf clover: Has the power to attract money, for this purpose it is usually carried with you.
White Clover: counteracts spoilage and the evil eye when thrown around or carried around. Red Clover: When added to your bath water, it can help you solve your financial problems. It is also used in the preparation of love potions, and its infusion is used to drive out evil spirits, sprinkling in the house.
In general, clover has the ability to scare away snakes and evil spirits, and if you are disappointed in love, then wrap the clover in a piece of blue silk and wear it near your heart - this will help you cope with the situation.
According to one old legend, for many years an old wizard lived in the hollow of a mighty tree with his friend, a raven, whom he taught to predict the future. When the old man died, the raven flew over the forest and mourned his friend. Where the bird dropped tears on the ground - in the spring a flower grew - a raven's eye (raven berry, one-berry, rannik, cross-grass, four-leafed). And in the language of flowers, clover means waiting. Believe it or not, it's up to you. But all these are the ideas of our ancestors.
Fly agaric
Often, in the design of old New Year's cards, you can see the image of an amanita mushroom. Even among the huge variety of themes and plots in postcards of the past, this motive stands out. Often, fly agaric in congratulatory compositions is adjacent to others new year symbols bringing good luck and prosperity - horseshoes, ladybirds, shamrock, piglets, chimney sweeps, and most often with gnomes. Such a neighborhood is quite natural: both fly agarics and gnomes are forest dwellers, and together they look fabulous and festive. But besides the colorful picture, the postcard is, first of all, a message, a wish filled with various symbols and signs. And if everything is more or less clear with gnomes here, in many cultures they are traditionally associated with winter holidays, and Santa Claus's assistants are also present in the retinue, what does the fly agaric symbolize? There is no exact information on this matter, it is only known for certain that the fly agaric is one of the symbols of good luck. But there are several versions of the origin of such symbolism.
One of them is color. After all, fly agaric, as you know, is red, and red is the dominant color, one of the main colors of the spectrum, which cannot be obtained by mixing. In painting, it often plays the role of an accent. It has many meanings: red can mean life, love, beauty, joy - exactly what people wish each other in congratulations. The white color, which is also present in the color of the fly agaric, speaks of the sincerity of these wishes, since it traditionally symbolizes purity.
Another version is associative: many people associate the color of the fly agaric with the red and white suit of Santa Claus. It is possible that the artists noticed and exploited this similarity.
And the third version is associated with the healing properties of this mushroom, which doctors have learned about since ancient times, using it in their medical practice - there are many examples when healers and healers used to treat sick fly agaric. A lot of recipes for treatment with fly agaric are described in ancient medical books. However, they are poorly studied by modern medicine.
Also, according to historical information, ancient Greek athletes ate a small piece of fly agaric before the competition, which obviously served as a kind of doping for athletes, which helped them to cheer up.
In the Vedic and ancient Persian cultures, the important ritual drink of soma is known, which was considered divine. Soma is often mentioned in the Rig Veda, which contains many hymns praising its invigorating or intoxicating qualities. Several texts in the Atharvaveda extol healing properties catfish. The recipe for catfish is not reliably known, but there are hypotheses according to which fly agaric juice was used in its preparation, mixing it with milk, honey and wine.
Especially many references to the use of amanita as a stimulant or healing potion can be found in the descriptions of the life of the northern peoples. For example, the infusion of fly agarics was used before the battle by the famous berserkers - the warriors of the ancient Vikings. Researchers claim that a person who drank such a drug became determined, did not know fear and became insensitive to pain.
The shamans of many peoples of the North, as well as the Celtic Druids, knew about the properties of the infusion of red fly agarics and with its help introduced themselves into a state of trance, during which they could go without sleep and rest for several days. In ancient times, the northerners endowed these mushrooms with sacred power. They believed in the idea of the World Tree, representing the world axis, whose roots go deep into the Earth, into the underworld, the top rests on the North Pole, and the branches spread out in the heavens. Amanita muscaria usually grow under coniferous or evergreen trees and it was believed that their red caps are the fruits of the sacred tree, and the mycelium fertilizes the earth and symbolizes the connection with its roots. Mushrooms for potions were harvested in July-August, then dried throughout the fall until the winter solstice - perhaps from here the connection with the winter holidays.
Forget-me-not
In most European and some non-European languages, forget-me-nots have the same name.
In the Middle Ages, forget-me-not was given some religious significance. Its name was to serve as a constant reminder of God. This idea was especially often given its symbolic expression on cuttings made of wood, depicting the heavenly eye, surrounded by a wreath of forget-me-nots with the inscription: "Remember me."
It is said that in 1405 Henry Lancaster chose this flower as his emblem and, while in exile, placed it in the chain of the Order of the Garter with the words: "Souvenez-vous de moi" ("Do not forget me"). Thus, as the rose is a historical flower for the house of York, as the lily is for the Stuarts and Bourbons, the violet is for the Napoleons, so the forget-me-not is the heraldic flower for Lancaster.
According to other sources, the first to use the symbol of the meaning of forget-me-not in England was one of the Plantagenets, who, being in love with the wife of the Duke of Breton, exchanged with her as a sign of their mutual love this flower. According to another source, who first introduced forget-me-not in England as an emblem of remembrance, was Lord Skels, brother of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, to whom, after winning a tournament over one Burgundian knight, the court ladies present presented a gold chain decorated with blue enamel forget-me-nots, in memory of the indelible for all England the courage he showed in this contest.
Forget-me-not juice is said to have the original property of promoting the hardening of steel. To do this, it is only necessary to dip a red-hot steel blade or in general any steel tool several times in this juice and keep in it until it cools. Steel hardened in this way is so hard that it cuts iron and grindstone... This method is said to have been used to prepare steel for the famous Toledo and Damascus blades.
Forget-me-not is considered in many parts of Germany as a magic flower, with which you can find out the name of the betrothed or betrothed. To do this, you just need not to look for a forget-me-not, but to use the one you accidentally come across on the road. They put such a forget-me-not on a naked body under the arm and, without saying a word, go home. And here is the name of the first man or woman who comes across at that time on the road or intersection and will represent the name of the betrothed or betrothed.
It is believed that the first Christmas card was created by the English artist Dobson in 1794. The card, which he gave to his friend, depicted a winter landscape and a family scene near a Christmas tree.
The real serial postcard also appeared in England, in 1840, it was painted by the artist Royal Academy John Horsley. He wanted to please his friend Sir Henry Cole, who could not think of how to please his beloved grandmother for Christmas. And Sir Henry's grandmother became famous among her compatriots for the fact that she founded the Victoria and Albert Museum.
John Horsley came up with the idea to decorate the postcard (12x7 cm) with a real Christmas triptych: in the center, the artist placed the family of Sir Henry Cole, sitting at the Christmas table, on the sides he placed pictures designed to remind others of the mercy and compassion of this respectable English family. According to the drawings, the Coles generously shared clothing and food with the poor. The image was complemented by a sonorous caption: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!" On the postcard, the artist sat behind festive table the whole family of old and small Coles, in the foreground put the greeting "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" and at the bottom put a mark "from whom" so that the person who sent the postcard by mail could enter his name. The postcard was a wild success. Coles' relatives proudly showed her to those around them. However, the Puritans harshly denounced Horsley's printed work for putting the artist in the hands of all his characters, including children, a glass of red wine. Despite this, interest in the Coles postcard did not wane. Even three years later, it was still on public display. This led the Coles to the idea that such cards, if sold to everyone, could bring a good income.
The publisher of children's books and illustrated albums, Joseph Candell, printed 1000 copies, and for each postcard Coles received a shilling - it was a lot of money! (The Daily Mail reported that one of the 30 surviving copies of the first postcard, which an unknown buyer bought for £ 5,170, was recently sold at a Bloomsbury auction in London.) The material was hardboard and the pictures were hand-painted. But at the same time, the family was convinced that the public's interest in Christmas cards was nothing more than a momentary fashion, not a business. In this they were wrong. Since the 1860s, the production of postcards has been put on stream.
Christmas cards, according to historians, have existed before. Their prototype can be considered engravings and lithographs on the theme of Christmas, which were very popular during the Middle Ages.
Botticelli Sandro, "Christmas" 1501 http://fabrilia.ru/person.php?name=bottichelli
Piero della Francesca, "Christmas", http://www.arttrans.com.ua
Robert Campin, "The Nativity of Christ"
Later in Europe they began to send each other letters with Christmas and New Year's greetings, sometimes they even drew in them by hand. At the end of December, children always prepared such letters to their parents. Business cards, which appeared in Paris in the middle of the 18th century, can also be considered the prototype of Christmas cards. As always, Paris became a trendsetter - business cards immediately spread throughout Europe. On the eve of Christmas, business cards were personally delivered to all important addressees.
And it all started in distant China, two thousand years ago. On the eve of the holiday, the owner hung out a bag near the door with the inscription: "Sorry I can not take it personally" so that on the first day of the New Year, all those who could not see them leave their business cards with holiday wishes. (c) http://www.bulengrin.com/inform/postcards/
The first Christmas cards came to Russia from England in the 1890s. Moreover, enterprising merchants bought only those on which the drawing was not accompanied by an inscription in a foreign language - it was then applied in Russian. It was troublesome, and therefore they sold postcards for a ruble, or even more. Then postcards began to be printed abroad, mainly in Germany, especially for Russia by order of large bookstores. 
In Russia, since the time of Catherine II, on New Year's and Christmas, personal visits and the delivery of business cards from the early morning were considered a duty, pleasant and joyful, but very troublesome. Therefore, the English fashion - to congratulate each other with postcards very quickly took root in the Russian Empire. 
And postcards began to be sent by mail in Russia since 1894, when the Minister of Internal Affairs, who was in charge of the postal department, signed an appropriate order. 
The fact is that the first open letters (without illustrations) were put into circulation in Russia in 1872, but the right to issue them was granted only to the post office. In accordance with the decree of 1894, it became possible to send forms with illustrations issued by private publishers through the postal department. 
At the same time, the address side of the postcard had to have the same design as standard cards of the postal department. This permission was given in response to numerous requests from Russian entrepreneurs, who drew the government's attention to the fact that in Western European countries, illustrated postcards had already become firmly established in the postal circulation, and in Russia their production was artificially restrained. 
Thus, in 1894, the first illustrated postcards published in Russia appeared. They were specific and were montages from several views of a city, decorated with vignettes. The drawing was accompanied by the inscription: "Greetings from (such and such a city)" or "Bow from (such and such a city)." 
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the production of illustrated postcards became widespread. Their subjects became more and more diverse. In addition to postcards with views of cities and localities, there are postcards depicting types of the population of Russia, greeting, advertising, humorous and others. 
The first Christmas cards were issued for charitable purposes by the St. Petersburg Stewardship Committee for the Red Cross Sisters (St. Eugenia Community) to raise additional funds for the maintenance of the hospital, outpatient clinic and nursing courses. 
By Christmas 1898, the Community of St. Eugenia published a series of ten postcards based on watercolor drawings by famous St. Petersburg artists. And although the above postcards did not have the subsequently established inscription "Merry Christmas!" 
The Christmas holiday, celebrated on December 25 (old style), was close in time to the New Year, and therefore Christmas cards were often used for new year greetings.
Postcards from pre-revolutionary Russia were not inferior in skill to foreign ones, and sometimes even surpassed them. It was impossible to describe the variety of "postcards" existing at that time. 
In the catalogs of publishing houses of that time, you can read a list of many types of postcards, such as: "embossed fine work", "shiny enamel", "glossy", "enamel with gold", "aristocratic on the best linen cardboard in the Art Nouveau style", "bromo-silver" , "Plush", "real engravings with gold edging." 
And it was especially gratifying that, as one publishing house wrote: “We can finally congratulate our relatives and friends not with a postcard depicting rituals from German life, but with a Russian one, where everything is so close to us and dear, and full of memories of the Russian legacy antiquity ". 
For Russia, postcards have become almost a special way of art. They were used to decorate the interior, they were inserted into special albums. Of the 23 states of the Universal Postal Union, only Russia did not adhere to the established international standard for the size of a postcard (9x14 cm). It was unacceptable for her to limit the imagination of domestic producers. 
The themes of Christmas cards were very diverse, and it is impossible to list everything. The postcards reflected all the events that took place at that time, and the First World War was no exception. 
After October 1917, the issue of greeting cards, as a subject of everyday life in bourgeois society, was completely discontinued. Not only the words "Merry Christmas", but also the New Year greetings have completely disappeared from printed publications and the official language. But the custom is to send holiday greetings continued to exist. To do this, we used any illustrated postcards close in plot to this holiday. 
Horsley's first Christmas card commissioned by Henry Cole (1840)
The first in the world
In 1840, a London official, whether he was too lazy to personally sign a Christmas greeting to his friends, or wanting to draw attention to himself, asked his friend and artist John Horsley to make a small watercolor collage on his business card with the signature: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Horsley created a triptych where he depicted the Cole family in the center, and on the sides he placed compositions depicting the mercy and compassion that distinguished this English family.
The card was an extraordinary success among Cole's friends and acquaintances. This gave him the idea to print the original in 1843 (circulation 1000 copies) and sell for a shilling. It is possible that Cole (a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce) hoped for commercial success, in any case, he managed to seriously influence industrial design in England and at least enter the annals of history as the ancestor of greeting cards.
Since the 1860s, postcards of various kinds have begun to be printed in large quantities in Europe. Germany is in the lead. It was there that, during the Franco-Prussian War, the first postcards without a picture with a stamp on the back appeared, and soon the illustrated postcard also came into fashion.
Open letter. Until 1894, only the address was allowed on one side, only the text on the other.
Around the same time, the European greeting card appears in Russia. Enterprising merchants first bought colorful cards (without inscriptions), made the signature "Merry Christmas!" and sold at a ruble apiece. Later, direct deliveries from foreign publishing houses were established under the order of domestic bookstores.
postcard
The artist and the princess
Postcards of their own production appeared in Russia only in 1871. These were postcards without pictures, with a stamp, and were called "open letters." The issuance of "open letters" was initially a state prerogative. Only the post office could print and sell postcards.
The artistic postcard appears in Russia ten years later. The reason was almost romantic story: a student of the Academy of Arts Gavriil Kondratenko, having gone to Sevastopol for sketches, met a sister of mercy. During the Russian-Turkish campaign (1877–78), she nursed the wounded, and then was left without funds and a roof over her head. The artist was so shocked by the story of the mendicant heroine that, returning to St. Petersburg, he immediately organized a charity exhibition to raise funds to help the sisters of mercy.
The artist's initiative was picked up at the "top": the "St. Petersburg Board of Trustees for the Red Cross Sisters" (St. Eugenia Community) was created, with a hospital, an orphanage for elderly sisters of mercy and - a publishing house that was engaged in the production of printed albums, calendars and art postcards ...
The Committee was looked after by the granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I, Princess Eugenia of Oldenburg. They say that it was the princess who came up with the idea of publishing albums and postcards.
It was with the Christmas card performed by the best artists that the history of the greeting card began in Russia
However, until 1894, only the state post office could publish postcards. Even for the princess, no exception was made. The monopoly on printing was lifted personally by the decision of the Minister of Internal Affairs Timashev: Russian merchants and book publishers insisted, nodding to the experience of Europe. Since 1894 in Russia it was possible not only to publish postcards published by private publishers, but also to make them illustrated.
Publishing House of the Community of St. Eugenia ”was among the first to launch the issue of postage artistic envelopes. They quickly gained popularity as they were used to send out business cards, which was convenient, fashionable and progressive.
The reverse side of postcards with the stamp society of st. Eugenia
Postcard performed by Bakst, Somov, Benoit
Russian picture postcard the end of the 19th century was a real work of art: the publishing house “St. Eugenia ”attracted both classics and“ modernists ”: Ilya Repin, Konstantin Makovsky, Elizaveta Boehm, Sergei Solomko, Nikolai Samokish and others. A series of postcards based on watercolor drawings were prepared for Christmas 1898.
E. Boehm, "Heart sends a message to heart"
Illustrator Elizaveta Boehm created a series of postcards, each with a short signature. One of the most famous wishes for the New Year on her postcard sounded like this: “Live in goodness, walk in silver. One hand in molasses, the other in honey. "
The postcards (with a circulation of 10 thousand copies each) were partly placed in envelopes with the signature "In favor of the Committee for the Care of the Red Cross Sisters", partly they were sold separately. They were sold out instantly, the publishing house had to repeat the circulation.
And although the postcards did not have the inscription “Merry Christmas!” That we are used to today, according to the publishers' plan they were to become precisely Christmas greeting cards. It was with the Christmas card performed by outstanding artists that the history of the greeting card began in Russia.
A little later, the “Community of St. Eugenia "to the publication of greeting cards for Christmas and easter theme The artists of the World of Art were involved: Alexander Benois, Konstantin Somov, Mikhail Vrubel, Evgeny Lansere, Ivan Bilibin and Leon Bakst.
I. E. Repin. Zaporozhets
Postcards of the Society of St. Evgenia ”favorably differed from the usual expensive European cards. And not only high quality printing and impeccable artistic taste: the postcards of the "Society" also had a cultural and educational mission. Soon they started talking about as an artistic encyclopedia of the era. High marketing played a role here: exhibitions, auctions of original drawings for postcards, publication of a magazine with postcards, placement of trade kiosks of the “St. Eugenia "at railway stations, where everyone could buy beautiful postcard and send it to the address.
V. Ovsyannikov. Head
The World of Art artists were involved in the publication of greeting cards on Christmas and Easter themes: Alexander Benois, Konstantin Somov, Mikhail Vrubel, Evgeny Lansere, Ivan Bilibin and Leon Bakst
E. Samokish-Sudkovskaya. In the garden
Many European publishing houses, observing the increased interest in greeting cards in Russia, at the beginning of the 20th century, along with traditional European subjects, began to publish reproductions of works by Russian artists and views of Russian cities. So, in the Swedish publishing house Granberg (Stockholm), the works of the artist Boris Zvorykin were published.
Publishers Granberg V. Zvorykin. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year !. Stockholm: Joint Stock Company "Granberg", 1900s - 1910s
Postcard to the biggest boss
The further the publishing activity developed, the larger and more varied the products were. In pre-revolutionary Russia, postcards for the most different topics, among which the main one has always been the winter landscape and family scenes at the Christmas tree, as well as scenes of sledding and ice skating.
Postcards intended for family and friends were usually decorated with gold. The postcard for the biggest boss was supposed to be comme il faut: strict, and very expensive
Until the revolution, Christmas in Russia was celebrated on December 25 according to the Julian calendar. The holiday smoothly spilled over into the celebration of the New Year, so postcards with the signature "Merry Christmas!" sent to addresses and on the New Year.
Publishers Granberg V. Zvorykin
No less popular than winter landscapes were scenes of festive church services on Christmas cards.
The quality and plot of the postcard strongly depended on the recipient, but they were for every taste: embossed, with enamel, glossy, plush, engraving, bromide silver and even with a gold edge.
Postcards intended for family and friends were usually decorated with gold. If it was a question of congratulating colleagues in the service or higher authorities, then the plot and design were stricter. The postcard for the biggest boss was supposed to be comme il faut: strict, and very expensive.
According to the laws of veneration, an official had to personally pay respect to his boss on a holiday by visiting his reception and leaving a congratulatory note in a special book. Sending a postcard was often less troublesome and soon even became more prestigious.
Postcard as a subject of bourgeois life
When, after the revolution, Russia, following Europe, switched to the Gregorian calendar, and the Russian Orthodox Church did not recognize this transition, Christmas began to fall on January 7th. It became dangerous to celebrate Christmas; any congratulations on it, both oral and written, were forbidden. Greeting cards were declared the subject of bourgeois life. This is what the materials of anti-religious propaganda said about Christmas: "Christmas is coming soon - a disgusting bourgeois holiday."
The propaganda Soviet slogan, proposed by the poet Alexander Vvedensky, sounded like this: "Only the one who is a friend of the priests is ready to celebrate the Christmas tree."
Publishing House of the Community of St. Eugenia "somehow existed until 1920. But in 1920, all the organizations of the sisters of mercy of the Red Cross were liquidated, and the publishing house, having received the name "Committee for the Popularization of Art Publications" (KPHI), was transferred to the jurisdiction of the State Academy of Material Culture.
Anti-christmas poster
However, already in 1928, the issue of postcards of the KPHI was banned for ideological reasons. In 1927, after Stalin's speech at the next party congress, the country rose new wave anti-religious campaign, in which they decided to include children, depriving them of their traditional Christmas tree. Her slogan, proposed by the poet Alexander Vvedensky, sounded like this: "Only he who is a friend of the priests is ready to celebrate the Christmas tree." Dark times have come in the history of postcards.
Anti-christmas poster
Christmas tree rehabilitation and folk New Year
True, these times did not last long. It was not easy to "evict" the Christmas tree from the apartments. Believers, despite the prohibitions, continued to celebrate Christmas and organized a holiday for children.
Then in 1935 it was decided to rehabilitate the tree, but not Christmas! In December 1935, Komsomolskaya Pravda published an article "Let's Organize a Good Christmas Tree for Children." By the decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the celebration of the New Year was introduced, the New Year's ritual and symbols were developed.
Celebration scripts have been created Christmas trees in kindergartens. The best writers worked on the images of Santa Claus, Snow Maiden and a snowman. Mass production started Christmas tree decorations, corresponding to the needs of the new system. The eight-pointed Christmas star was cleverly transformed into a five-pointed Kremlin one and they began to decorate the Christmas trees with it. And in 1942, during the Second World War (!), The mass production of greeting cards resumed, which now adorned tanks and Kremlin stars.
Soul-patriotic themes in the spirit of Stalin's "brothers and sisters" made sense and were in demand. Increasingly, postcards were supplied with independent text, often poetic:
"Sweeping the enemy out of the way,
Will lead to victory
Great, Coming,
People's glorious year! "
“Happy New Year, comrade soldiers, commanders, political workers! In the name of the Motherland forward, to the complete defeat of the enemy! "
After the Great patriotic war greeting cards literally poured into the country. Hundreds of thousands of them were sent by soldiers from liberated European cities. The Soviet government decided to go with the flow, starting the mass production of greeting cards, which by 1953 had become one of the main means of propaganda. Several publishing houses were involved in the case at once: Izogiz, the Ministry of Communications of the USSR, the publishing house Soviet Artist, which was (since 1964) in the system of the Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Press.
Gradually, old forgotten plots, reinterpreted by Soviet illustrators: Ded Moroz and Snegurochka with fairytale heroes, scenes with ruddy children playing winter sports, birds - tits and bullfinches became symbols of the New Year, abstract compositions appeared with glasses of sparkling champagne and a clock that was about to strike midnight.
Even space exploration was reflected in New Year's cards, on which Santa Claus or his partner, a young boy, New Year, soared into the sky on a rocket. The Olympics, labor exploits, space exploration - all this was reflected in the postcards that came out in millions of copies, cost a penny and were indispensable participants in the New Year holidays.
Christmas card in the USSR
However, the departure of Santa Claus into space did not mean that Christmas was gone from the life of Soviet citizens.
On December 19, 2015, a unique exhibition "Christmas Letter" was opened in the Tula Historical and Architectural Museum. Presented collection of Christmas cards Archpriest Rostislav Lozinsky from the funds of THIAM testifies to how religious art developed in Soviet times -
Exhibition curator, historian Alexey Panin.
Lozinsky Rostislav Romanovich (1912 - 1994) Archpriest, Doctor of Theology and Honorary Citizen of the city of Tula. He was familiar with many people, primarily priests appointed to the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, with many of whom he corresponded for years and, of course, received greeting cards. He began his ministry in Estonia, where he was remembered until the early 1990s.
After the death of Fr. Rostislav, his archives were transferred to the TIAM Museum, including albums of "artistic greetings" on Easter and Christmas for the period 1957 - 1989, allowing to trace the dynamics of religious art in Soviet times.
Of course, postcards with a religious plot were not officially published in the USSR. But since there was demand, there were believers who continued to celebrate Religious holidays, then there was a proposal. Used pre-revolutionary postcards with religious symbols; similar postcards published abroad; photo postcards and lithographs, issued illegally in state photo workshops and then distributed mainly on trains by the "deaf and dumb".
And, of course, the species, art and greeting cards with a neutral theme that were at hand were used. Sometimes these postcards were altered. The usual quite "atheistic" postcard, supplemented by a "church" inscription, could have been given at Christmas or Easter.
Almost all types of postcards that could be used in the USSR as greeting cards are presented in the collection of Father Rostislav.
Lubok, postcard and religious art
Conventionally, Christmas cards in the USSR can be divided into several groups.
First of all, these are postcards published at the initiative of the Church in 1970-80 (pre-revolutionary and reprint editions). Given the lack of imprint, most likely such postcards were issued not by the publishing department of the Russian Orthodox Church, but by some large parish or monastery, because they are a cross between manual and printed work, involving the use of technical devices and some replication.
In terms of print quality, they are practically indistinguishable from congratulatory photo cards, which were made semi-legally in the USSR (1949 - 1975). These postcards were produced without the participation of the Soviet state (by the Church, artisanal photographers, they were often made by hand).
Another significant part of the collection are postcards of "foreign origin". Some of the congratulations, although published abroad, contain congratulatory texts in Russian. For example, a completely "Catholic" postcard published in New York, which was simply used to send congratulations to Russia. Or a postcard with a reproduction of the painting "The Nativity of Christ" (1523, State Gallery in Washington). The author of the painting is the Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto (1480 - 1556).
Although the image has nothing to do with Orthodox tradition, and the picture itself was most likely unknown in the USSR, on the front and back sides it has a text in Russian. With a high degree of probability, we can assume that this is a postcard published in the USA for the needs of believers in the USSR.
Among the greeting cards there are also ordinary, Soviet New Year's or specific cards, published quite legally. The congratulatory text on the back makes these modest samples of postcards unique postcards congratulating on Orthodox holidays.
Of the greatest interest in the collection are six postcards from the Easter cycle from 1982 to 1987. These are works of authorship belonging to the brush of the Moscow artist and icon painter Vladislav Nizov. Each of these works is designated as "Etching with watercolors and gouache tint" but has a congratulatory text on the back, which turns these "etchings" into a special kind of Easter and Christmas cards.
It is interesting to see how the style of such postcards changes over time. The first thing that attracts attention is the use of religious symbols, which become more “canonical” as relations between the Church and the state normalize, up to the use of iconographic images in the 1980s.
As for the plots, they seem rather arbitrary and rather speak about the sender's capabilities than about a conscious preference for a particular topic. Another confirmation of the limited choice of postcards with religious themes is the presence of homemade (or converted postcards).
In general, on the basis of "artistic congratulations" about. Rostislav, we can come to the conclusion that the plots of Christmas cards have become more diverse compared to their pre-revolutionary counterparts, and the requirements for the form have decreased - semi-handicraft photocopies, and ordinary Soviet holiday cards and author's etchings are used as cards. In fact, if we try to combine all these diverse examples of the genre, we will see that we have before us a new kind of applied art - Father Rostislav himself called the collection "artistic congratulations". In these "congratulations" folk splint, postcard and religious art were combined into one.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th. Until 1918, Christmas in Russia was celebrated on December 25 - the day when Catholics and Protestants celebrate it, but in our country it was December 25 according to the Julian calendar, and in most European countries and the United States - according to the Gregorian calendar.
The Gregorian calendar was introduced in Russia only after the revolution, and in the modern Gregorian calendar "Julian" December 25 falls on January 7.
Most pre-revolutionary Christmas cards feature Bible stories or angels. Popular ideas about the birth of Jesus Christ were formed under the influence of Gospel legends, legends and traditions. Traditional images associated with the birth of Christ are a nativity scene (cave), a manger with a baby, animals - an ox (a symbol of obedience and hard work) and a donkey (a symbol of perseverance), Joseph and the Mother of God.
On the oldest postcards with Merry Christmas, all the characters are drawn, but with the advent of photography, postcards with staged scenes and children disguised as angels began to be printed. Most of these postcards were sold in a photo studio, and they were very popular, because the image was really alive.
It was customary to celebrate Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve) modestly, and the next day festivities began - Christmastide. And despite the fact that Orthodox Church always opposed these pagan remnants, the desire of the Russian people to guess and have fun is obviously impossible to overcome.
On many pre-revolutionary postcards, you can see mummers - people dressed up as pigs, bears, and various evil spirits, made scary masks and scared each other, played snowballs, rode a sleigh, and the girls wondered at their betrothed.
Other Christmas cards depict children or young people walking from house to house on Christmas night and praising the Born Christ. This custom is called glorification.
It was customary to stop under the windows, sing songs, wish the owners of the house well and all the best in jokes. The hosts treated the glorious, while competing in generosity, which is why there was always someone in the company with a large bag or box for treats.
No less popular were postcards with everyday scenes on a Christmas theme - like the very first Christmas card, they depicted a table set for the holiday, children opening gifts, funny, sometimes not very sober companies and couples. Sending such postcards, people wished each other what was depicted on the postcard - so that the house was a full cup and there was always enough money for a good festive table.
Postcards from the First World War depicted soldiers returning to their families on Christmas Eve - this was also a kind of wish.
Other “household” Christmas cards feature decorated Christmas trees. The tradition of decorating a coniferous tree came to Russia with the first new year holiday from Germany, however, until the 30s of the 19th century, Russians, as a rule, limited themselves to spruce branches.
The first Christmas trees and Christmas tree decorations appeared in the houses of St. Petersburg Germans, but by the end of the 19th century, the tradition of starting holidays with decorating a Christmas tree had spread throughout Russia.
Among the "household" postcards were "postcards for adults" depicting couples kissing. Indeed, the custom required the guests who came to the house at Christmas to exchange kisses with the hosts, and for young people the holiday was almost the only opportunity to kiss before the wedding, so it was awaited with trepidation.
And of course, from many pre-revolutionary Christmas cards, kittens, chickens and piglets look at us, who seem to be happy too. bright holiday Christmas.
