A. N. Ostrovsky interprets “The Snow Maiden” in a completely different way in his already spring fairy tale in 1873. Under the influence different options fairy tales, he writes the play “The Snow Maiden”. Now she is an adult - a beauty - the daughter of Frost and Spring, who dies in the summer. She looks like a beautiful pale blonde girl. Dressed in blue and white clothes with fur trim (fur coat, fur hat, mittens). Initially the play was not a success with the public. And here is the opera of the same name, which in 1882 N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov staged the play and was a huge success.
The book can be bought with illustrations by V. Vasnetsov (Meshcheryakov Publishing House)
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or cheaper - from the series “ School library» artist Ionaitis Olga.
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And one more, much less well-known fairy tale about the Snow Maiden. Wrote it Veniamin Kaverin, and it is, of course, aimed at adults or teenagers who are already reading books for adults. Reviews say that this is “Monday begins on Saturday” in miniature.
But why are we all talking about our granddaughter! It's time to talk about grandfather.
What kind of fairy tales about Frost did people come up with (though not about Santa Claus, about Frost), no matter how they called him. And Frost the Red Nose, and Frost the Blue Nose, and Treskun-Frost. And how many storytellers were fascinated by this image! A. N. Afanasyev called him Morozko, V. F. Odoevsky called him Moroz Ivanovich, because each author has his own idea of this image.
So the following fairy tales appeared: “Moroz Ivanovich” (there is a shorter Russian folk tale and in the retelling of V.F. Odoevsky - a little longer (about the Needlewoman and Lenivitsa). In the proposed edition - illustrations by the artist V. M. Konashevich, publishing house Melik-Pashayev, 2013
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According to researchers who studied records of the fairy tale “Morozko” in different regions, there are at least forty Russian varieties of it.
“Morozko” - about a stepdaughter and his own daughter - here are several options:
Russian folk retelling by M. Bulatov, in the proposed edition illustrations by Nina Noskovich, Series: Mom’s favorite book
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in the book Russian folk tales with illustrations by Yu. Korovin, a version is given in retelling of Tolstoy Alexey Nikolaevich,
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In the adaptation of A. Afanasyev (in a large collection of his fairy tales there are 2 versions of the tale at once), in the proposed edition - the most common version.
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“Two Frosts” (about Blue-nose frost and Red-nose frost):
folk tale: In the Labyrinth
in the retelling of Mikhailov Mikhail Larionovich:
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And several more fairy tales where the action takes place in winter are also usually included in New Year’s collections:
Folk
- “At the command of the pike” (proposed edition - illustrator: Rafail Volsky, Meshcheryakov Publishing House)
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— “The Little Fox and the Gray Wolf” — there are many publications, choose which illustrations you like best – choose for yourself.
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for example, P. P. Bazhov “The Silver Hoof”, in 2015 a new edition of this wonderful tale by the Ural storyteller was published - one of the lightest, most elegant and at the same time meaningful magical stories. In this unique book, the talents of the author and the artist miraculously combined and multiplied each other's merits. What P.P. Bazhov said simply and laconically, the St. Petersburg artist Mikhail Bychkov turned into paintings with his magic brush.
Book by Watercolor publishing house, “Wizards of the Brush” series.
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Brothers Grimm “Mistress Snowstorm” (there are translations of the name “Grandmother Snowstorm”, “Grandmother Blizzard”).
We offer this fairy tale in the collection “The Brothers Grimm. Fairy Tales", published by the publishing house "Seraphim and Sofia" in the series: "Tales of the Wise Cricket" in 2011 with illustrations by the talented artist - graphic artist - illustrator Ksenia Kareva. She graduated with honors from the Moscow State Academy of Arts and Sciences. S. G. Stroganova, majoring in “Book Illustration”, student of the Honored Artist of Russia Alexander Koshkin.
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For many years, “The Twelve Months” has already been our “New Year’s classic” - a Slovak folk tale retold by S.Ya. Marshak, (although sometimes it is called spring). Marshak wrote the New Year's fairy tale-play "Twelve Months" in 1943, at the height of the war. In the 2014 edition from AST, S. Marshak’s New Year’s play was published without abbreviations - all 4 acts. A. Sazonov’s illustrations are unique, similar to pencil sketches for the animated film of the same name.
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Evgeny Permyak “Magic colors”. In addition to this fairy tale, this collection from the Eksmo publishing house in the series “Books are my friends” contains many wonderful fairy tales from Russian children's classics.
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Many winter tales were written by G.Kh. Andersen. First of all, this is, of course, the children’s favorite “Snow Queen”. For many years, one of the best editions of this book was considered to be the one with illustrations by Niki Golts.
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In 2015, The Snow Queen with illustrations was published by the Dobraya Kniga publishing house. Christian Birmingham, contains 35 illustrations, including 7 large canvases each covering a full spread. This edition is called the most beautiful illustrated version of Andersen's classic fairy tale to date.
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There were publications in the series “Masterpieces of Book Illustration for Children” (with illustrations by Pavel Tatarnikov in one and P.J. Lynch in the other).
Andersen also has “The Snowman”, and “The Story of the Year”, and “The Little Match Girl”. If it seems to you that Andersen’s winter tales are rather sad, then this is true - Andersen is generally a very sad author (and not a cheerful person - remember the film by E. Ryazanov?).
In the given collection of Andersen's fairy tales there is “The Snowman” and “The Little Match Girl” and, by the way, “The Snow Queen”. Artist: Renata Fuchikova, Publisher: Eksmo, 2014 Series: Golden Tales.
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We will call some fairy tale books “truly New Year’s” - they take place exactly on New Year’s Day.
Several tales about the main guest of the New Year - the Christmas tree.
Probably, the story “Yolka”, written by V.G. Suteev back in 1955, can already be considered a classic (there is also a cartoon based on this fairy tale - “The Postal Snowman”).
It is in the new collection of AST publishing house 2015 “New Year is coming soon!”
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Another New Year's story by V. G. Suteev, “The Gift,” was again published in a separate edition in 2015,
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appears together with “Yolka” in the collection: “Fairy tales for the New Year.”
And one more Russian classic there is a New Year's story called “Yolka” - M. M. Zoshchenko. It happens on New Year's Eve at the Christmas tree.
A variety of New Year's stories
V. Golyavkin “How I celebrated the New Year” (we offer a scan with pictures by the author).
N. Nosov’s story “Sparklers” was first published in Murzilka in the winter of 1945. This is from a series of stories about Misha and Kolya, when Misha made sparklers, and then they went together to the forest to get a Christmas tree... In the text by N. Nosov, quite realistic , you can somehow feel the difficulties the country is going through: the children make the sparklers themselves, they went into the forest to cut down the Christmas tree themselves, without their dad, the main and, apparently, the only treat at the table is a pie baked by Mishka Kozlov’s mother.
Around the same time, Evgeniy Schwartz’s fairy tale “Two Brothers” was written. A story about responsibility. On New Year's Eve, the younger brother, offended by the elder, left home. The father sent the elder to look for the younger, who met Great-Grandfather Frost in the forest...
This edition of the book contains not just illustrations by a wonderful artist Nikolai Mikhailovich Kochergin, it was published by Nigma publishing house in the series “The Legacy of N. Kochergin”
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Many people remember and love the cartoon “Hedgehog in the Fog.” The author of the fairy tale itself is Sergei Kozlov. He wrote quite a few more fairy tales - episodes from the life of the Hedgehog and the Little Bear. S. Kozlov composed a special fairy tale: “How a hedgehog, a bear cub and a donkey celebrated the New Year.” She gave the name to one of S. Kozlov’s collections.
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There is a book that combines most of S. Kozlov’s Winter Tales.
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U Eduard Uspensky there is a whole epic in 7 books about Prostokvashino. In the third part “Winter in Prostokvashino” final chapter— New Year in Prostokvashino. You can read it in the new collection of AST publishing house 2015 “New Year is coming soon!” (in the same place as “Yolka” by V. Suteev), or in separate publications:
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Book V. S. Vitkovich and G. B. Yagfeld"A fairy tale in broad daylight." In this fairy-tale story, the action takes place on December 31, snow women come to life and gain souls. And these souls turn out to be different, as are the desires and actions of the former snowmen. There are two more fairy tales in the collection, all three were written a long time ago; now these fairy tales would be classified as “children’s thrillers.”
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Nikolay Glagolev"The Tale of Tweekly the Mouse and Santa Claus"
Natalia Loseva “New Year's story”,
N. P. Wagner (Cat-Purr)"New Year ".
J. Rodari “Planet of Christmas Trees”, where “ The year lasts only six months. Each month has no more than fifteen days. And every day is New Year's».
This book was not reprinted for quite a long time, but in 2014 it was published by the Rosman publishing house with illustrations Victoria Fomina.
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Gianni Rodari's fairy tale "The Journey of the Blue Arrow", written in a fascinating and light manner, tells about the magical Christmas journey of the Blue Arrow toy train and its doll passengers.
This fairy tale is constantly republished; many different editions are on sale.
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We recently learned three more prose fairy tales by Gianni Rodari for readers aged somewhere between 6-7 years: “ New toy“- a kind of techno-fairy tale, “Under the canopy of the New Year tree” - it was written by a literate cat and sent to the editor of the newspaper. “Colorful Snow” is a short philosophical parable about the amazing Christmas events in the family where he lives. Together with the author’s poems, they are published in the book “ Amazing book fairy tales and poems by Gianni Rodari.
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Tove Jansson " Magic winter» Drawings by the author. Publisher: Azbuka, 2015
Series: Moomintroll and all-all-all
As you know, in winter the inhabitants of the valley sleep. But Moomintroll suddenly woke up and found that he had slept enough. He found little My, and they eagerly began to wait for the Ice Maiden. During the long winter they will have to go through a lot: dangerous adventures, amazing meetings and a fun holiday. But in the spring, Moomintroll can proudly say that he is the first Moomintroll in the world who has not slept for a whole year.
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- one of the most famous writers of fairy stories from Finland, was a younger contemporary of Hans Christian Andersen and, according to the famous Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, "saved fairy tale style in all its beautiful simplicity, adding to it only special warmth and cordiality.” His fairy tales, in which trolls, giants and forest spirits live, have been read by children and adults all over the world for many, many years. His winter tales were published with illustrations by one of the best Soviet children's book illustrators - Alexandra Nikolaevna Yakobson, thanks to which they acquired special expressiveness and visibility of images.
In 2015, the fairy tales were republished as separate books: “The Winter’s Tale” by Rech Publishing House, series: Mom’s Favorite Book
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and “Sampo-loparenok” by Oblaka Publishing House,
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Let us also remember here A.P. Gaidar. The story “Chuk and Gek”, where the action takes place in winter and ends on New Year, is not at all politicized, but on the contrary – bright, homely. Published frequently, this edition contains illustrations by the artist Anatoly Slepkova, Publisher: Melik Pashaev, 2013
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It is impossible not to mention D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. His “Gray Neck” is surprisingly kind and touching story with a happy ending - written in 1893 and since then has been a classic of world literature for children, a story about a duck that injured its wing and was left alone for the winter. In both editions offered illustrations Lyudmila Karpenko— gentle, in pastel colors, realistic, surprisingly accurately conveying the mood and atmosphere of the story.
In the Labyrinth edition from Ripol-Classic, 2012 in the series “Masterpieces of Book Illustration for Children”,
Another publication - TriMag Publishing House, 2008
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New Year's and Christmas tales
Often fairy tales and other texts that were written a long time ago (and not only) relate not so much to the New Year as to Christmas.
Charles Dickens is considered the founder of Christmas books. In the mid-19th century, he composed several Christmas stories and began publishing them in the December issues of his magazines “Home Reading” and “All Year Round.” Dickens combined the stories with the title "Christmas Books": "A Christmas Carol in Prose", " Yule story Haunted", "Bells", "The Story of the Spirits of the Church Clock", "The Cricket in the Hearth", "A Tale of Family Happiness", "The Battle of Life", "A Tale of Love", "The Possessed, or a Deal with a Ghost" - all these works are densely populated with supernatural creatures: angels and various evil spirits. Since ancient times, the time of the shortest days and the longest nights has been understood as a confrontation between light and darkness. If Dickens and his followers did not believe that the outcome of the struggle between Good and Evil depends on the will of people, there would simply be no Christmas stories. " Christmas, writes Dickens, This is the time when the memory of all the sorrows, insults and suffering in the world around us speaks to us louder than at any other time of the year.<…>and, just like everything that we ourselves have experienced in our lifetime, encourages us to do good.” Miraculous salvation, the rebirth of evil into good, reconciliation of enemies, forgetting of grievances are popular motifs in Christmas and Yuletide stories.
Now stores offer a paperback edition of this book from the “Classics” series (Azbuka Publishing House), in which there are 2 stories: “A Christmas Carol” (1843) and “The Bells” (1844).
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The tradition has taken root well in Russian literature. Until 1917, almanacs, special issues of illustrated magazines, and annual newspapers were published for the holidays - in the words of A.P. Chekhov, with “all sorts of Christmas stuff.”
Even before these stories by Dickens, the now well-known “The Night Before Christmas” by N.V. Gogol appeared. Proposed book from Eksmo publishing house 2012 with illustrations by the artist Anatoly Slepkova, which are called original. Most reviews praise these illustrations, but some found them not bright and expressive enough.
“...they are “alive” and give the book a certain mystery. The font is easy to read, despite the monotony of color, colorfully designed pages... The book turned out simply magical... the artist managed to convey this spirit of magic, miracle, wonderful holiday. Magic, which at least once a year allows not only witches and devils to fly. You look at these illustrations in snowy, white and blue tones, and you hear the creaking of snow under your feet, you feel how the light frost stings your cheeks, you breathe in the fresh invigorating night air... before your eyes there are wonderful pictures: Solokha with her unlucky admirers, the beautiful Oksana, admiring her reflection, and the blacksmith Vakula admiring her.”
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And the almost forgotten “Night at Christmas” by K. Baranov.
Indeed, Christmas books were ubiquitous and far from monotonous. They amazingly combined the heritage of ancient tales and Christian morality.
Wonderful Christmas stories were created by: N. S. Leskov: “The Unchangeable Ruble,” “The Beast,” “The Sealed Angel,” “Christ Visiting a Man.”
There is a collection best works N. S. Leskova “Lefty”, published back in 2006 by AST Publishing House in the “World Children’s Library” series Artist: Tyurin A. "Magnificent decoration(color illustrations and fabric cover) make this book even more attractive."
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A.P. Chekhov “Vanka”, “Boys”, “At Christmastide”, etc.
A. I. Kuprin A real Christmas story, almost like a fairy tale “The Wonderful Doctor” and another Christmas fairy tale: “Taper”.
F. M. Dostoevsky"The Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree"
and all this, and some other works from Russian classics on a Christmas theme, are in the wonderful book “The Christmas Miracle. Stories of Russian writers". Publisher: OlmaMediaGroup, 2014, series: Gift editions. Classics in illustrations.
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Shmelev I. . “Christmas, “Christmastide” (From the story “The Summer of the Lord”).
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From fairy tales D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak The Christmas theme concerns the fairy tale “It’s Time to Sleep” - the last of the series “Alyonushka’s Tales” and “Winter Quarters on Studenoy”.
Of the Christmas stories in their classic form, perhaps the most festive of Christmas tales is E. T. A. Hoffmann's "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." A tale of a gift. A fairy tale is a gift. The events of The Nutcracker begin on Christmas Eve (December 24), at that very solemn moment when Christians await the appearance of the first star in the evening sky. Of course, many “pre-Soviet” and even current publications emasculate the Christmas theme, but let’s keep in mind that Hoffmann once composed the most Christmas fairy tale.
There were many editions of this book by Hoffman. A very famous illustrator of the Nutcracker - Nika Golts, Makhaon Publishing House, 2015 offered publication in the series "Masterpieces of Children's Literature"
Back in 2011, the publishing house Rosman-Press published a publication with illustrations by the artist Maxim Mitrofanova: « The familiar, wonderful, romantic story is presented in superb illustrations that can bring even such a dark fairy tale to life as The Nutcracker«.
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In 2015, Eksmo Publishing House published the fairy tale “The Nutcracker and Mouse King"Illustrated by Artush Scheiner. Artush Scheiner (1863-1938) - an excellent Czech artist who created illustrations for the works of G.-H. Andersen, W. Shakespeare, E. T. A. Hoffmann, to fairy tales of Czech writers. His drawings are truly magical, detailed and bright.
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In 2015, the publishing house "Rech" published Hoffmann's fairy tale with illustrations of the work Valery Alferovsky, which give the fairy tale a special magic. This book became last book, which was illustrated by the artist, it was published only once - in 1978. There are a lot of drawings in this edition; out of 64 spreads, only 12 remained with bare text. The drawings here are of very different sizes: full page, half, third. All of them are in an unusual technique, drawn using goose feathers and watercolors. “The works are simply amazing: so delicate, bright, beautiful, like pictures from vintage European postcards.” The translation here is classic and most complete - by Irina Tatarinova.
On the Internet you can see several illustrations, as well as unique illustrations by Dagmar Berkove for the Nutcracker. There were also wonderful illustrations by G. Spirin.
There is a wonderful audio play based on The Nutcracker with music by Tchaikovsky, and there is already more than one cartoon.
The same thing happened with H.H. Andersen. We knew the “Snow Queen”, which was not tied to Christmas. But the author “... the children sang a Christmas carol: “The roses are blooming... Beauty, beauty! Soon we will see the baby Christ"(Translation by A. Hansen). Sometimes, in edited publications, formidable angels turned into “little men.”
Already in the 2000s, the fairy tale was translated into Russian Lyman Frank Baum"The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." Baum wrote it in 1902, right after The Wizard of Oz. The biography of Santa Claus invented by the storyteller has little in common with the biography of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Baum, in his own way, explains to the kids where Christmas gifts come from. " When the world was still young, a forest nymph adopted an abandoned baby - Klaus. He grew up and, living in the Laughing Valley, began making toys to give to children. In the end, people recognized him as a saint, and the immortals gave him their mantle. The storyteller has everything thought out. Over time, “Old Klaus not only delivered gifts, but also sent toys to stores so that parents, if they wanted to give their children more toys, could easily find them there. And if for some reason Klaus is unable to bring a gift to a child, he can go to the store himself and get as many toys as he wants. For the friend of the little ones decided that not a single child should be left without the gift he dreams of.”
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Lagerlöf Selma Ottilie Luvisa. "The Legend of the Christmas Rose." This is an amazing tale about the miracles that happened in the Heingen Forest. And the only surviving evidence of those events is a fragile flower that grew from the roots collected by Abbot John. Despite the cold, it blooms in the middle of winter, and for this they began to call it the Christmas rose - as a reminder of that wonderful garden that once bloomed in the wilderness on the holy night. A fairy tale in which even the most cruel and callous hearts are filled with the expectation of a miracle.
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When translating books from foreign languages in Soviet times, they often tried to replace Christmas with New Year, and Santa Claus and Pierre Noel with Father Frost.
Not all Christmas tales are expressly religious in nature, and some modern fairy tales and stories simply bring light and joy.
Elena Carling “The Night Before Christmas...or the Fairy Tale Became True”...
Elena Maslo “Christmas at the Godmother’s. True stories and a little magic." The book is written from the perspective of a girl whose parents have no time to deal with it. And she spends the New Year holidays with her godmother. And what miracles they create together, inventing various entertainments! Little Vika and her beloved godmother are inventors and kind souls- either they set up a factory for the production of snowflakes, then they invite everyone to ski right from the window of their apartment, then together with all the surrounding children they sculpt a snow horse, which, having put on a magic scarf, turns into a real Pegasus. New Year's gifts for children and adults are falling from the sky, all, all, all dreams come true - even the most cherished and unspoken ones, and there is more magic and kindness in the world! The book is filled with magic, tranquility and kindness! Rech Publishing House - 2014 and 2013, drawings by a Belarusian artist Vladimir Dovgyalo snowy and airy - very suitable for the text of this book.
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Nancy Walker-Guy"The best gift for Christmas." A Christmas story about the adventures of a bear cub, a bunny and a raccoon on their way to visit a badger. Christmas gifts are out in force! However, along the way they find themselves in a snowstorm, and the wind blows away beautiful garlands, multi-colored Christmas tree decorations and the sparkling Star of Bethlehem. There is nothing to do, they have to go to visit with empty paws. But Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas if miracles didn’t happen that night...
This story, absolutely Christmas in spirit, is wonderfully told with the help of illustrations (artist Briswalter Maren), can be considered even by the smallest child. The book very well conveys the feeling of a Christmas miracle in life - a child, with bated breath, waits for the end of a non-scary journey through the winter forest.
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Modern fairy tales
The above fairy tales have become, so to speak, New Year and Christmas classics, but in recent years many good books have been published, written by Russian authors, and fairy tales translated into Russian by the authors of the most different countries.
Fairy Tale Andrei Zhvalevsky and Evgenia Pasternak"The True Story of Santa Claus." The action of the story spans a whole century. By chance, travel engineer Sergei Ivanovich Morozov turns into Father Frost once a year. Together with him, we live through the 20th century and step into the 21st century, and the history of our country passes before our eyes, bright and gloomy, victorious and tragic, familiar and unfamiliar. Comments in the margins tell about important historical events and everyday life in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, about the reforms of the calendar and spelling, about what Santa Claus actually did wrong before Soviet power and about much, much more.
The book was written in 2007, addressed to children aged 8-12, those who have not yet completely given up their faith in New Year's miracle, but is already ready to learn the truth about the life and history of his country. There are already three editions of this book - standard, gift and collectible, all with illustrations by artists: Britvin Victor, Muratova Olga Valerievna.
In the Labyrinth - there are all three versions of the book, follow the link - the collector's edition
One of the most popular contemporary children's writers, Andrei Usachev, has great respect for winter and New Year's theme. He writes stories, poems, fairy tales and makes many audio books and plays. Then the available works are combined into collections. First appeared “From the Life of Snowmen” and “School of Snowmen”: One day before the New Year, Santa Claus decided that he did not have enough grandchildren to help him. And he and the Snow Maiden made 11 snowmen and 9 snowmen. And then his quiet life ended... Funny, exciting and instructive stories about the adventures of little snowmen in the magical village of Dedmorozovka.
Then the collections “Father Frost from Dedmorozovka” and “Miracles in Dedmorozovka” appeared. In 2008, the book was published in two parts and in New Year's design. It turned out very festive. A. Usachev came up with the wonderful village “Dedmorozovka”, settled Father Frost, Snegurochka and their snowman assistants (girls and boys) there and not only told about how they give gifts for the New Year, but also about what they do the rest time of year: snowmen study at snowman school and generally behave like all other children: they are upset about their grades, they play hooligans, they enjoy life. There are quite a few stories in each book. Usually the design of books is not inferior to the content: hardcover, thick white paper, chic New Year frames covered with winter patterns and colorful expressive illustrations. Alexandra Alira,Ekaterina Zdornova, Viktor Chizhikov.
Now stores offer 4 collections from this series: Snowman School, Olympic Village Dedmorozovka, Santa Claus Post Office.
“Miracles in Dedmorozovka” Publisher: Rosman 2013
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“School of Snowmen” Publisher: Rosman-Press 2012
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“Olympic Village Dedmorozovka” Publisher: Rosman 2013
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“Santa Claus's Mail” Publisher: Rosman 2013
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There is also a publication that combines all the fairy tales about Dedmorozovka and its inhabitants from these 4 books. “All about Dedmorozovka.” Author's collection. Andrey Usachev. Illustrators: Ekaterina Zdornova, Elena Zdornova, Victor Chizhikov. Publisher: Rosman 2014
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Especially for young readers, Andrei Usachev prepared a collection of poems, “The ABCs of Santa Claus.” To remember most letters, he came up with two poems. The entire primer concerns winter themes and New Year's holidays; each poem is accompanied by a colorful large picture. With this alphabet, you will not only repeat all the letters of the Russian alphabet with your children, but you will also find out where the New Year comes from, where Santa Claus lives and where crayfish spend the winter, and you will also reveal many, many other New Year’s secrets.
There are several editions of this book (in different publishing houses, framed by different artists).
Publisher: Rosman 2014 In Ozone
In the Labyrinth - Onyx publishing house 2010 (there are other publications).
In 2015, a New Year’s book of poems by Andrei Usachev, “It Happened on New Year’s Day,” was published. Artist: Avgustinovich Irina. Publisher: Ripol-Classic,
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Winter comes once a year.
Let's light a star on the Christmas tree,
To the delight of the little ones and adults.
And this is the time for
To see the magic
And meet Grandfather Frost.
V. Stepanov’s short story “The Silver Key” is just about Santa Claus - it is often included in various collections.
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The story of A. Kostinsky “The Day of the First Snow” (can be read in the collection The Invisible Tree, published in 1989) “At the North Pole there is an Ice House and an Ice Garden, where all the world’s Father Frosts, Pere Noels, Santa Clauses and others are raised in glass balls at a temperature of -33C. But they are in danger: due to general climate warming, they may not grow. Snowman Lollipop goes to the city of Tutaktamsk to the world's best specialist in refrigeration units, Leopold Aggregatov. But, unfortunately, Aggregatov categorically does not believe in fairy tales and simply hates storytellers...”
Elena Rakitina “Adventures” New Year's toys" Each chapter is dedicated to the history of one of the toys. This is a truly New Year's book, because it is a fairy tale about the adventures of New Year's toys. After all, children really want to believe that Christmas tree decorations really come to life! And in the New Year there must be a place for miracles. Illustrator: Lyudmila Pipchenko. Publisher: Rech 2014
“Land of New Year’s Toys” is a continuation of the book “The Adventures of New Year’s Toys” by Elena Rakitina. But here there are no longer individual stories, but a whole journey of the same heroes of the first book to the Land of New Year's toys. Many universal human problems are touched upon. The book makes you think about eternal values, experience a lot of emotions together with the characters in the book, and cultivate feelings of empathy, responsibility, and care. The book is made in the same format as the previous one, the same excellent quality of offset paper, color ratio of illustrations. Both of these books are for both children and adults; they create a New Year’s mood, take you back to childhood, make you believe in miracles and expect magic from the New Year! Illustrator: Lyudmila Pipchenko. Publisher: Rech 2014
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Sofia Prokofieva, Irina Tokmakova"A gift for the Snow Maiden." A fabulous New Year's book in which The Wolf and the Fox kidnapped the Snow Maiden, and the hare Mitroshka, the Christmas tree Bell and the fir cone, with the help of the Wise Raven, the wind Afanasy and the Box with magic songs, boldly rushed to save her. The fairy tale is written in beautiful language; the text contains short songs and spells that can be learned and read with children. Artist: Olga Fadeeva Publisher: Rech, 2015 Series: Fairy tales for children.
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Akim, Dragunsky, Zolotov"New Year. It's a terribly complicated matter." This book is interesting not only for its beautiful illustrations and text, but for the very form of the story. The story of the New Year is presented in the form of investigative materials. The entire volume of the book is divided into eight “cases”, each of which will tell the child about when and why this or that tradition associated with the celebration of the New Year arose. Artist: Borisova Elena. Publisher: Labyrinth, 2014 Series: New Year.
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Elena Lipatova “Yolka Alyonka”. Children's fairy tale in verse about a small Christmas tree named Alyonka, which was bought for Christmas. But she missed her mother so much that she decided to go into the forest in search of her... And then the adventures of Yolochka Alyonka began!
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Translations by foreign authors
Sven Nordqvist, a Swedish writer and artist, is already well known to children and parents in Russia. Sven Nordqvist illustrates his books himself. “I like to do everything myself,” he says. And he writes and draws about Petson, whose entire house and yard are inhabited by small funny creatures. Sven Nordqvist calls them mukles. Petson always has a couple of mukles in his pocket. On occasion they can give necessary advice or sing something funny. The most ordinary objects in Petson’s house look completely extraordinary: he has a lot of little things and gizmos lying around in his kitchen, multi-colored socks are drying on a line, there are all sorts of mugs and saucepans on the stove, and funny paintings with cows hang on the walls.
Among my favorite books are several stories about Pettson and his kitten Findus and Christmas.
"Christmas in Petson's house." Petson and his kitten Findus are in a hurry to clean up the house, because Christmas is coming, they have already done almost everything, all that remains is to decorate the Christmas tree and prepare a festive dinner. And suddenly trouble happened. Petson slipped and injured his leg. Now he won’t be able to go to the forest to pick up a tree or to the store to buy a treat. Petson and Findus no longer hoped to have a merry Christmas, but unexpectedly wonderful guests came to their house...
Continuing with S. Nurdqvist’s New Year’s book “Mechanical Santa Claus.” This story is a little different from other stories about these heroes - both in volume and in the slow pace of the story, but this story is the most magical, the most New Year's - Old man Petson and kitten Findus are preparing to celebrate Christmas. “But what would Christmas be without Santa Claus?” - Findus thinks. In order not to upset him, Petson decides to design Santa Claus himself. And one that can talk and move. But how can we make sure that Findus doesn’t notice the substitution?
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And also Sven Nordkvist: “Christmas porridge.” This book tells about Christmas in a family of gnomes, where their own traditions reign. On New Year's Day, the owners must bring them a bowl of porridge, otherwise misfortunes will happen. But this year people have forgotten ancient customs, and the gnomes need to save the situation. Funny adventures of a family of tiny people and their incomparable mouse.
“It’s Christmas Eve. Fluffy white snow lies motionless on the fir trees and roofs of houses. And the local gnomes are waiting for the owners of the house to present them with a plate of delicious Christmas porridge! But then the unexpected happens...” Publisher: Albus Corvus.White Crow, 2015
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Anu Stoner "Little Santa Claus". A whole series of 4 books by the Finnish writer, all of them are made in serial design, in addition, they were illustrated by one artist and translated by one translator. But each story is independent from each other. The artist Henrika Wilson and the illustrations are perhaps the most valuable thing in books about Little Santa Claus. They very “eloquently” complement and enhance verbal images. It turns out that there are many Santa Clauses in the world. And among them there is a small one. That is, Santa Claus is a child. Or, more precisely, Santa Claus is like a child - with all the experiences and grievances inherent in a child, although outwardly he differs from adults only in size. In all other respects he is theirs exact copy- He has the same clothes, felt boots, and even a beard. But a beard is not a sign of old age, but as a “mandatory attribute” associated with “snowiness” and symbolizing involvement in winter.
A book that tells the story that even the smallest (and not only Santa Claus) can do a lot. The main thing is kindness, believe in yourself and don’t despair, then you will find your place in life and bring a lot of goodness and happiness.
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2. “Little Santa Claus is coming to town.” In this book, Little Santa Claus, who is in charge of gifts for forest animals, receives many letters from the animals of the city who also want to receive New Year's gifts. The big Santa Clauses refuse to bring gifts for the animals to the city, because they can barely cope with the children’s ones. The path to the city is not close and difficult, but forest animals help Little Santa Claus. And, of course, the little animals from the city will receive their gifts!
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3. “Little Santa Claus travels around the world.” This is a fabulous story about how Little Santa Claus, together with his friends, the forest animals, gave all the children New Year's gifts in one night. And all because the Big Santa Clauses fell ill on the eve of the New Year because they did not get vaccinated on time. The journey around the world lasted all night, and Little Santa Claus visited small villages and big cities.
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4. “Little Santa Claus is growing up.” In the pre-New Year bustle, Little Santa Claus discovered that he had run out of powdered sugar. And he decided to ask for it from Santa Claus, who lived nearby. Going out into the street, Little Santa Claus saw that the whole village was empty and only the lights were on in the windows of the house of the Main Father Frost. Everyone gathered there and didn’t invite only him. And Little Santa Claus, forgetting about the cookies, sadly walked out of the village and did not notice how he ended up at the edge of the forest. His forest friends decided to stand up for Little Santa Claus. Arriving at the village, they find out why Little Santa Claus was not invited. It turns out that the main Santa Claus goes on vacation and leaves Little Santa Claus in his place.
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German author and artist Valko. "New Year's Trouble." The story is about how unexpectedly, on the eve of the New Year, a snowfall occurred that destroyed the house of Jacob the hare. And the animals all over the world had to build an igloo for him! And then the adventures began: just before the New Year, the animals saved the real Santa Claus, and, of course, this was followed by various miracles. The animals guessed that Santa Claus himself was a guest on New Year's Eve at the very end of the story. But an attentive reader will understand this much earlier. Publisher: Makhaon Series: New Year
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Another illustrated New Year's tale by Valko, “The Lost Christmas Letter.” The Hare and the Bear saw a letter to Santa Claus from a sick marmot, he asked Santa Claus to visit him. They felt sorry and went to catch up with Santa Claus to give back the letter that had been accidentally lost. They walked and walked... and saw Santa Claus, who had left, having previously visited someone’s house. The house turned out to be the house of a groundhog, and Santa Claus knew about the letter, he just wanted his friends to come visit the groundhog and celebrate the holiday together.
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Author and illustrator Luke Koopmans(Netherlands). "Winter Tales". Set of 3 books:
"Little Christmas tree": The story is about how a little Christmas tree was dissatisfied with its needles, she kept dreaming, now about golden, now about crystal, now about soft green leaves. And each time her wishes were fulfilled, but the result was disastrous: the golden leaves were stolen, the crystal ones were broken, and the soft and green ones were eaten by goats. And in the end, the Christmas tree became itself and realized that this was the best it could be!
“Snail, bee and frog are looking for snow”: In the spring, the snail learns from the bird about the past winter, how cold and snowy it was. But the bird flew away, and the snail remained perplexed; she had never seen either winter or snow. The snail tried to find out about this from his friends - the bee and the frog, but they also knew nothing. And then they went in search of snow!
"The Mitten" is a classic folk tale. Wonderful and kind books for the soul, which are pleasant to hold in your hands, pleasant to look at, and also to read such kind, gentle fairy tales. Publisher: Good Book 2013
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You can also buy each book separately.
Kate Westerlund is a famous American children's writer, Doctor of Education and Humanities."My dear snowman." Co-author and illustrator: Eva Tarle- very delicate watercolor drawings. Another story about how real miracles happen and wishes come true at Christmas. We always expect miracles in the New Year. And even falling snow seems magical to us. And if the snowman takes off his hat, then something extraordinary will definitely happen! And it is not surprising that a miracle happened to a little girl who did not expect it at all and who dreamed that the snow cat would become real. Publisher: Klever-Media-Group, 2011
Another winter tale by the same pair of authors is “The Winter Tale of the Fawn” - a very kind, warm and gentle story about forest animals who wanted a holiday in a hungry and cold time for them. On New Year's Eve we all believe in miracles! So the little animals expected that even in such a cold and snowy winter they would be able to celebrate the New Year cheerfully. The heart of the little deer, Alice, burned with the greatest hopes, and it was she who awakened in other animals the faith in miracles and celebration. This story creates in everyone’s soul a feeling of an approaching holiday, makes them believe in a fairy tale and never lose hope for a miracle. Publisher: Klever-Media-Group, 2011
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Genevieve Yurie "New Year's book of rabbit stories." One of the stories from the series “Once upon a time there were rabbits”, in which fidgety little rabbits sled down a hill, little rabbit Rozmarinchik danced in the snow, and Syroezhik attended a ball. This book is wonderful New Year's gift for kids. Illustrator: Loïc Juannigo. Publisher: Machaon, ABC-Atticus Series: Once upon a time there were rabbits.. 2014
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Writer and artist Rob Scotton. “Happy New Year, Shmyak!” Continuation of funny stories (fourth) about the kitten Shmyak. This is a fabulous story about the approach of the New Year. Kitten Shmyak is really looking forward to a gift from Santa Claus and is terribly worried. What if he didn’t behave well enough during the year and didn’t deserve a gift? And Shmyak decides from now on to be very, very good... Stories about the kitten Shmyak are suitable for reading to children aged three years and older. Publisher: Klever-Media-Group Series: Picture Book 2014
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Daniel Pikuli - the famous French writer, an economist by education, wrote a series of stories about a cheerful and brave turtle named Lulu Toropyzhka, who often commits rash acts and never refuses to help others and always tries to correct her mistakes. The illustrator and co-author of the series, Frédéric Pillot, is a famous French illustrator of literature for children and teenagers, as well as comics. Publisher: Polyandria Print, Series: Lulu Toropyzhka
"Lulu and the Christmas Tree". In this book we find our heroes in sadness. The New Year is approaching, and this is bad news: a woodcutter armed with a long saw comes into the forest and begins to cut down the spruce trees one by one until only one remains... She decides to save Lulu!
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Ian Falconer Olivia Celebrates the New Year. A book from the series about Olivia the pig, with wonderful illustrations by the author, for little inventors and their parents. Completely unique character designs and recognizable situations have made books about Olivia's adventures a successful project on the book market in recent years. Neither adults nor children can resist the charm of this mischievous girl. In the stories about Olivia you can find everything that is inherent in children - the desire to be more mature and childish spontaneity, a cheerful character and reluctance to listen to elders. Olivia is busy preparing for the New Year. She is really looking forward to Santa Claus, and tries to take part in everything - decorate the Christmas tree, help her mother set the festive table. As always, she has a lot of interesting things to do - learn and sing a song about a Christmas tree, go skiing, make a snow woman.
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Author and artist Judith Kerr. “Happy New Year, Meowly!” Due to the illustrations, this New Year's book is suitable for both the youngest and older children. Children are usually very partial to cats; many have real pets at home. The story is just about a pet, how a cat perceives phenomena that are common to us, how it reacts to preparations for the holiday, ending up on the roof, and how the situation is resolved. There is a whole series of books by Kerr about Meowley.
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Marcus Majaluoma "Dad, when is Santa Claus coming?" Who said that Santa Claus is alone? No, the real one, of course, is the only one, but he may be delayed on the road due to a snowstorm, then... Then dad Pentti Rozoholmainen and neighbor Trubkela simply have to take everything into their own hands, because Ossi, Veino and Anna-Marie are waiting for Christmas and gifts, and what would Christmas be without Santa Claus?!
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M. Mokienko “How the Baba Yagas celebrated the New Year.” There are a lot of characters in the book. Firstly - 3 Baba Yagas - Senior, Middle and Younger. This positive heroines who do only good. Secondly, Koschey and Dashing One-Eyed. These are sharply negative characters. Then in the book there is Grandmother - the Fun Girl, who spun this story in order to write a book about it. Of course, in the book there is Santa Claus, who suffered from Koshchei. Then there is the family - dad, mom and their son Timosha, who really wants to come to him for the New Year real Grandfather The frost brought the airplane.
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Collection “In the footsteps of Santa Claus” - translations. The book contains fairy tales by foreign writers on a New Year's theme, twelve wonderful New Year's stories - one for each month of the year. The baby will meet the witch Rata Mosh, a funny white donkey and the gnomes of Santa Claus. Here is another story about a small Christmas tree that was uprooted and thrown away as unnecessary, and a boy picked it up and planted it in the ground. And by the next New Year, a real winter beauty grew up next to his house - a Christmas tree! There is a story about a little sparrow whose feathers fell out. He was very worried, but his friends asked Santa Claus for help, and the sparrow received a gift - a coat of white feathers. And about mama bear, who wanted to do New Year's holiday for your cubs!
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Mauri Kunnas, Tarja Kunnas"Visiting Santa Claus." " The real autumn has come. The first snow is already falling in some places. This means that Christmas is just around the corner! Perhaps you think it’s too early to think about this? Good for you! For you, Christmas is just a joyful holiday, but for others it is not only joy, but also long, responsible work. This “someone” is, of course, Santa Claus. He lives far to the north, in Lapland, in a small village near Mount Korvatunturi. There is everything that the main organizer of the holiday needs: cozy accommodation, workshops, saunas, and even an airfield. Hundreds of Christmas gnomes – Santa Claus’s faithful assistants – also live here. They farm, herd reindeer, sort mail, make Christmas gifts, and in their free time they fish and go to mountain hikes, sing songs and have fun to their heart's content. The children of the gnomes go to school. Their favorite subject is zoology, and the most important ones are geography and labor. A real Christmas gnome should know perfectly well which country is which and which city is which. After all, on the eve of Christmas, gnomes help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children all over the world!”
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Quite a lot New Year's fairy tales written by modern Internet authors, for example, on the website Lib.ru Samizdat Magazine you can read:
Antonina Lukyanova “Why is snow white.”
fairy tale Kozhushner Tatyana"The Tale of Santa Claus and His Friends,"
several fairy tales Usacheva Svetlana Tales told on New Year's Eve (Rug, New Year for Ladybug, How the Mouse was looking for the New Year, the Most Expensive). You can probably find others here too.
The best books for parents
Towards the end
Every year, many different collections are published for the New Year (including in audio format). But they mainly include those fairy tales (stories, stories) that are collected in this review. The collections are supplemented with poems, songs, riddles, sometimes even crafts and coloring books. These books are illustrated by new artists. So no matter how many New Year's books there are in your library, you can find a new one every year. And if your library doesn’t have something, you can find it online, at the public library, or from friends and acquaintances. There are many options for lists of New Year and Christmas books on the Internet; a significant part of the books from these lists are presented in this review, without, of course, claiming to be comprehensive. We did not specifically indicate for which childhood This or that book is suitable. Different children, different preparation, different perceptions. But, of course, if the fairy tale is new to you, you will first read it yourself to decide whether it is suitable for your child. Happy New Year's reading!
Have you already seen how they greet Christmas in Germany? No? Then you definitely need to visit this good old fairy tale. European Christmas is a colorful spectacle in many places, but Christmas in Germany, as the hero of the film “Intervention” said on another occasion, “is something special!” There is hardly any other country where you can better feel what is in the air festive mood… Germany in general is a very original, eventful, eventful and diverse country. But December, before Christmas... that's exactly it Germany from famous German fairy tales: magical, romantic, cheerful, sentimental, with the aroma of Christmas trees and sweets... By the way, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm were first published as a separate book just before Christmas (1812).
“A Christmas tree was born in the forest...”
Essentially Christmas in Germany ("Weinachten") - this is not only a few holidays, but also that anticipation, anticipation of the holiday (called "advent"), which begins four weeks before Christmas. The music of the approaching holiday sounds everywhere. In many homes you can find wreaths made of fir branches and four candles. Every Sunday, one candle is lit on the wreath. The closer the holiday is, the more candles are lit. And for children they buy a sweet Christmas calendar with 24 windows. Every day, starting from the first of December, a chocolate surprise awaits the child in one of them.
Streets and squares, windows and balconies, solemnly decorated shop windows and trees sparkle festively and shimmer with lights and garlands. Choirs sing Christmas songs, organs in churches perform works of classics, cheerful attractions and performances by street musicians and artists lift the spirits. And, of course, “and here she came to us, dressed up, for the holiday” - luxuriously decorated beautiful Christmas trees everywhere - real ones, from the forest... Actually, the very tradition of mass decoration of holiday trees with stars, toys, and garlands appeared in Germany. The first evidence of this comes from the 17th century. And in XVIII-XIX centuries the idea has already been exported to other countries.
At the center of the upcoming holiday are famous Christmas markets(“Weinachtsmarkt”) with beautiful Christmas compositions and favorite characters from German fairy tales for children and adults. This is a feast of beauty, fun, diversity, complacency, communication. In numerous cute gingerbread houses with fir branches you can buy all kinds of Christmas paraphernalia, various souvenirs: Christmas tree decorations, half-timbered houses, bells, candles and candlesticks, lamps, crystal and glass figurines, elegant dolls, lace, amber, costume jewelry, handicrafts of local craftsmen of various forms and styles.
Fried sausages, hot chestnuts, vanilla, nuts, pizza, chocolate-covered strawberries, grapes, gingerbread with honey and cinnamon skillfully whet the appetite. There are more than 100 varieties of Christmas cookies alone in Germany. How invigorating mulled wine (hot red wine with sugar and spices) is in charming mugs in a light frost! The air of the fairs is saturated with a special cocktail - the aromas of different dishes, the enchanting smell of pine needles, the sounds of a barrel organ, songs and children's laughter on the carousels... And, if the feather bed of Mrs. Metelitsa from the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm is also being shaken out, then it's snowing and then the surrounding landscapes become even more fabulous...
Statistics say that for approximately 80 percent of Germans, Christmas is their favorite holiday of the year. After work, many of them go to Christmas markets... like going to work. With German pedantry. And many foreigners come to the markets with German pedantry. As a result, fairs are visited by millions of travelers every year.
Highlights
The German Christmas card is full of interesting diversity. Almost every German city has its own Christmas market. According to various sources, there are from two and a half to five thousand Christmas fairs and bazaars in the country. There is no such quantity anywhere else in Europe. Centuries of feudal fragmentation into dozens of small principalities in different regions of Germany have left their own traditions and features of the celebration. Many fairs have their own specialties, their own local delicacies, and the range of goods may differ noticeably.
Many consider Germany's Christmas capital Nuremberg- “the most German” city in Germany. On the famous Market Square, next to the majestic 14th-century Frauenkirche church, there is one of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets in Germany - the Christkindlesmarkt (market of the infant Christ). Interestingly, unlike most Christmas markets, there are no attractions here. But you can take a ride on an old postal carriage, taste the famous local gingerbread in bright metal boxes and go to the Town Hall to an exhibition on the history of this very colorful bazaar.
IN Berlin Doors are open to more than 70 fairs and markets. The most beautiful, interesting ones are on Alexanderplatz, on Gendarmenmarkt, at the Red Town Hall, at Charlottenburg Palace, on Schlossplatz... They will delight you with ice skating rinks, Ferris wheels, antique styling, Christmas delicacies, handmade things, music programs. Numerous shops and shopping centers, such as the famous Kurfürstendamm boulevard, offer excellent shopping opportunities. Mimino from the wonderful film by Georgy Danelia, I remember, buys in Berlin... a green inflatable crocodile.
In the Hanseatic Hamburg There are about 30 Christmas markets. The most interesting one is located in the city center, on the square near the ancient beauty of the Town Hall and pleasantly amazes the imagination with its colorfulness and variety of goods, and Christmas melodies. Munich... the capital of Bavaria is always charming, and especially in the days before Christmas. At the market, located on Marienplatz, you can even make your own Christmas gift while listening to Bavarian music and the performance of an Alpine choir.
In Frankfurt on Römerberg Square you can see a 30-meter Christmas tree with five thousand lights, and in Augsburg an eight-meter Christmas pyramid and angels on the balcony of the Town Hall. In Lübeck, near the Church of the Virgin Mary, a Fairy forest, and artists reproduce excerpts from the works of the Brothers Grimm. The market in Essen is considered the most international - here you can taste not only traditional German dishes and drinks, but also foreign ones, as well as buy souvenirs from around the world. The market in Bremen takes place from " Bremen musicians", and in Trier you can take a trip... to the medieval bazaar. Weimar's town hall turns into an advent calendar, and every day a new window opens with a new surprise, and the historical center of Düsseldorf is a continuous large Christmas market. Large fairs are also held in Cologne, Leipzig, Dortmund, Dresden...
Santa Clauses and bags of gifts
In Germany they believe that Christmas without gifts is not Christmas. The shops are filled with masses of people looking for gifts. Garlands, Christmas tree decorations, various decorations, perfumes, and household appliances are sold out very quickly. Many Germans adhere to tradition and buy a gift that is not very expensive, but not very cheap either... Some, long before Christmas, make a list of things that they would like to find under the tree and pass it on to their loved ones. Some people prefer to make a gift with their own hands.
It is also impossible to imagine Christmas in Germany without Santa Claus. German Santa Claus comes not for the New Year, but just before Christmas. His pedigree is quite confusing... Some call him St. Nicholas, others Weihnachtsmann, and still others call him Santa Claus in American. Be that as it may, this is usually a grandfather with a snow-white beard, whose red fur coat conscientiously flashes at Christmas markets and in large stores. There are even winter wizard championships. But who is not there is the Snow Maiden. True, from time to time she is replaced by a certain farmhand Ruprecht from German folklore, accompanying Father Frost with a bag of gifts.
Family and area
And the holiday itself traditionally takes place in a sincere family atmosphere. On the evening of December 24, markets, shops and restaurants are usually closed. The country is filled with the ringing of bells, Christmas services are held in churches. And then a delicious home-cooked dinner. On many tables there is stuffed goose, appetizers and Christmas cake (stollen). During the feast, they wish each other happiness and goodness, and exchange gifts. It's difficult to meet someone on the street on Christmas night. And on December 25 and 26 - meetings with friends, acquaintances, visits.
Christmas in Germany is more important and more important than New Year. But the New Year is also widely celebrated. Unlike Christmas, many celebrate it socially. “You see, every year on December 31, my friends and I go to the bathhouse. This is our tradition...” No, there is no such tradition here. But some young people go to clubs, parties, discos. Older people watch entertainment television programs (the comedy “Dinner for One”, charts of songs, music, films, symphony concerts), play board games, tell fortunes. At midnight, like us, glasses of champagne and wishes for happiness in the new year. And then going outside for the fireworks. In many cities, fireworks displays take place in central squares. For example, Berlin annually gathers about a million people from around the world at the Brandenburg Gate.
Holiday at any time of the year
In some places, traditional pre-Christmas sales start as early as October. The Germans joke that Christmas celebrations will soon begin immediately... after Easter. And for those who don’t want to part with Christmas throughout the year, a museum-store “Christmas Village” has been opened in the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The first of its kind in Europe. On an area of about a thousand square meters, snow-covered houses in half-timbered style, Santa Clauses, a five-meter Christmas tree, a sky covered in golden stars, angels, Christmas pyramids, vintage postcards, snowmen, dolls, plush toys. Tens of thousands of products, Christmas decorations and a wonderful holiday feeling.
And there is an amazing town Sonneberg in Thuringia. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, toys and Christmas tree decorations made here came to homes in many countries around the world. Much water has passed under the bridge since then, and much has changed, but even today some companies in the town continue the tradition of their ancestors. And there is a Toy Museum in Sonneberg - the oldest of its kind in Germany with 60 thousand exhibits and a library about the history of toys.
And there is also a town Lausha at the very foot of the Thuringian mountains. Very beautiful glass Christmas tree decorations are also made here, and the local museum tells about the history of decorations.
And in the town of Bretten, with the fabulous spirit of old Germany of the 16th century, there is the Museum of Guardian Angels. The collection features angels of different nations in figurines, miniatures, paintings different eras. This is probably one of the kindest museums in the world. The town also hosts its own Christmas market every year.
An ordinary miracle
Christmas melodies, good old traditions that are hundreds of years old, festive decor... “What kind of beautiful Christmas“, - many tourists say with admiration and a slight hint of sadness when leaving hospitable and fabulous December Germany. Germany lives for Christmas and recharges travelers with this feeling. All this generously diffused beauty and complacency that clearly soars in the winter air gives a feeling of joy, a holiday in which everyone will find something for themselves. This is the expectation of a miracle, which we know well in childhood, and then often forget in adulthood. This is Germany in December...
Sergey Brandt lives in Germany, where he moved from Anapa in 2000. He writes poetry, fairy tales, and stories in Russian and German. On the eve of the magical holiday, we invite you to read his Christmas tales. Frohe Weihnachten!
Sergey Brandt lives in Germany, where he moved from Anapa in 2000. He writes poetry, fairy tales, and stories in Russian and German. On the eve of the magical holiday, we invite you to read his Christmas tales. Frohe Weihnachten!
A trifle from heaven or the Square of Rainbow Hopes
There is a tiny town in one distant northern country: several narrow streets, a bread shop, a pharmacy, darkened by rain and dampness, a dilapidated church, several decrepit houses. But the most beautiful place, undoubtedly, is a small square with a fountain, surrounded on all sides by villas made of pink and gray marble. Local residents call it the Square of Rainbow Hopes and, most likely, because every year, four weeks before Christmas, the town hall put up a beautiful and magnificently decorated Christmas tree for the poor and needy. One of the luxurious buildings housed the municipality, along with a court and a law office, the second housed the city library, and the rest were given over to an orphanage and a hospital according to the will of the previous owner, who died five years ago.
Every evening, on the eve of the great festival, numerous garlands and lanterns were lit on the square. Patrons, flaunting expensive outfits, gave gifts and sweets, the baker handed out delicious pastries and apples dipped in chocolate to the children for free. The sweet smell of cinnamon hung around, children's laughter and the crackle of firecrackers exploding were heard. Just this year there have been global changes.
Not far from the town, one very rich man built a huge entertainment center"Oasis of Attractions" The opening was planned for the evening before Christmas. Patrons and bohemians, having received invitation letters, forgot about the orphans, because they so wanted to receive the title “The most generous patron of the past year.” What kind of Christmas trees are there in a town blown from all sides when there are gossip columns and reporters? The Christmas tree, of course, was installed on the square and decorated with what was still left from the last holiday. The baker, having not received money from the mayor’s office, never lit his oven and did not prepare the yeast dough. The gardener without money also did not bring a cartload of bright, ripe apples, and the confectioner did not weigh out twenty pounds of milk chocolate on credit. The square remained empty and lifeless, and the time was inexorably approaching evening.
It was at this time that the old Musician found himself in the town, who, seeing despondency and sadness in the eyes of small children, began playing one of his magical melodies. And immediately everything changed as soon as the first sounds of enchanting music touched the heavenly tablecloth. The capricious stars, overwhelmed by their emotions, opened their wallets embroidered with gold braids and threw down one shiny coin at a time. The wind, rightly mixing coins with snowflakes, generously sprinkled them on the threshold of the bakery, the gardener's yard and the confectioner's shop. Then he carefully fanned the fire in the oven and made the dough laugh with something very funny. Hearing the light ringing, people began to go outside from their houses, and coins continued to fall down like sparks, adding special beauty and charm to the melody. Somewhere out there, to the side, the Oasis of Attractions sparkled in the rays of lights and fireworks, champagne flowed like a foamy river, reporters were knocked off their feet, but all this was simple and cheap tinsel compared to the miracle on the Square of Rainbow Hopes.
Even if you don't have expensive toys and gifts, your clothes are a little worn out and outdated over time, but your smile is pure and spontaneous, and your joy is boundless, for your soul is filled with warmth and light. And an ordinary ripe apple in such an atmosphere is a thousand times tastier than the most exquisite delicacies. But, if Mercy does not knock on hearts hardened by routine and everyday life, it is necessary to wait for the magical Musician, and even less unimaginable stories happen around Christmas. People, be kinder and more merciful! Merry Christmas to you! Peace and Happiness to you!
The most cherished desires, or a fairy tale about a star cat
On the snow-covered narrow streets of the city, the short December day was dying down, but the bronze lanterns had already flashed with yellow fireflies, and the darkness had to retreat, and later hide in the dark empty gateways. Numerous shop windows sparkled with all kinds of lights, attracting children and adults. On Christmas Eve, everything became cleaner and tidier, and where it was impossible to hide imperfections with tinsel and garlands, light fluffy snow came to the rescue. It covered, smoothed and made courtyards, alleys, an old gloomy park and a small square cleaner. And, looking at this undoubted triumph of nature, I wanted to believe in miracles.
A little girl stood at a shop of expensive and bright toys, barely breathing. Her nose almost touched the transparent cold glass. And the eyes looked at a large doll in a blue dress. However, the girl’s coat was a little too big, her shoes were very much on the side, and the woolen scarf clearly belonged to her grandmother. In a word, the doll remained only a dream.
She sighed and was about to leave when she saw a black fluffy cat standing next to her, leaning her paws on the display window and carefully examining it.
I also immediately liked this doll. She is the most beautiful of all toys. Is it true?
The baby was taken aback, but remaining calm (after all, things happen before Christmas), she quietly answered the talking cat:
Yes, she is the most beautiful doll of all dolls, but very expensive. Is children's happiness measured by money?
A gust of wind suddenly scattered her words around, mixed them with street noise and carried them high into the sky. The cat sneezed loudly.
After all, one of the weightless snowflakes landed right on his nose.
What do you think children's happiness means? And what does money have to do with it then?
The girl straightened the unruly curl, hid it under a scarf, and blew on her chilled hands.
Happiness is when there is fun in the house and no one is sick, and there are gifts under the tree. But gifts cannot be sold without money.
The wind blew again, swirled snow, smelled cold. The girl opened her eyes - there was no one nearby. She sobbed and slowly walked home, where her sick grandmother and an undecorated Christmas tree were waiting for her. Passers-by walked and ran around with joyful faces, each of them was in a hurry to celebrate Christmas, but not one of them noticed the baby in her grandmother’s scarf.
Before entering the cold entrance, the girl looked at the sky. There, somewhere very high, there was the Star Cat, who fulfilled the most cherished children's wishes, who sometimes descended to the ground and wandered like an ordinary cat through the streets. She smiled and...
Gathered at a large table covered with a crisp tablecloth cheerful family. The father lit holiday candles, the mother divided the delicious turkey among everyone, the sweet grandmother looked tenderly at her little granddaughter. And the granddaughter did not take her eyes off the beautifully decorated Christmas tree, under which there were gifts wrapped in bright paper in a large pile, one of which was a toy doll, the most beautiful of all dolls. The clock struck midnight softly. The snow stopped falling and stars flashed in the dark sky. Christmas has come.
A colorful tale from the island of Langeoog
Outside the window of the small hut, a fine rain rustled about something. From the very morning, the sun was offended by the warm, prankish breeze and hid behind the clouds. A gentle sunny morning turned into “it’s not clear what”: wet jasmine bushes trembled from raindrops and shook off excess onto the wet dark hills in the garden - the houses of a hardworking mole. A storyteller was sitting at the table; he also didn’t really like such a damp mood, and he decided to write a funny fairy tale. The beginning of the tale was carefully typed on a decrepit typewriter: “It was a cloudless summer day. The sun was shining gently, and carefree moths were fluttering everywhere..."
Here he was distracted by the arrival of a neighbor who lived on the very shore of the North Sea: he had to postpone the creative process for more free time. A gray mouse ran past the table, looked at the unfinished sheet and added a little of his own: “For unknown reasons, the cat Matvey packed his things and decided to move to a forest farm. I invite all field mice to a dinner party. On the menu: Dutch cheese, fruits and dancing in the attic until the morning..."
Then the cat noticed the mouse and he had to urgently leave the room through narrow gap on a creaky wooden floor. The neighbor’s dog, Druzhok, looked into the room, wiggled his tail, and finished typing: “It just so happened that the little chickens in the chicken coop swapped places with the ducklings living in the pond, but the ducks refuse to go into the water when their mother calls. I'm opening a class for chickens who can't swim. I invite everyone...” Then there were bees and bumblebees with a proposal to improve the quality of pollen and the viscousness of dandelion honey. Then yellow ants with wishes to quickly cheer up the ladybug whose little feet were wet.
The last person to bring a huge amount of cheerfulness into the unfinished text was a ray of sunshine. He quickly ran over the piece of paper and pushed the sun in the side. The sun read it once, twice and, coming out from behind the clouds, laughed dazzlingly, and then changed the name at the top in yellow letters - “A Multi-Colored Tale from the Island of Langeoog.” It knew that the storyteller would not be against such a development of events, especially since the weather had improved greatly in the evening. After all, if you don’t get angry at each other over trifles, you will always be in a great mood and good weather.
In Germany, in almost every city there are Russian-German community clubs, which are attended by German and Russian children, teenagers and adults. So, before every Christmas/New Year, clubs do New Year's performance or in Russian they invite everyone to the “Yolka”! Usually "" is done a few days before Christmas in Germany; participants come up with every year New Year and Christmas scenario.
And a month before the Christmas tree, all club members and everyone who wants to participate get together to discuss the holiday script, and later to rehearse the New Year's performance.
Naturally, Christmas performances in Russian-German clubs can't do without Father Frost, the Snow Maiden and the heroes of our Russian fairy tales: Koschey the Immortal, Vodyanoy, Nightingale the Robber, Serpent Gorynych...I think it’s right to accustom Russian children born in Germany to our Russian spiritual wealth, our fairy tales... They definitely won’t teach bad things - only good things! Many more allow their children to participate in the Christmas performance, thereby imbuing them with the Russian spirit even more.
The Germans call this New Year's performance as Weihnachtsmärchen Christmas tale! By the way, you might be interested in as the Germans call some of our fairy-tale heroes! :
- They call a merman in German Wassergeist,
- Father Frost - Vater Frost or Weihnachtsmann,
- Snow Maiden in German Schneeweißchen,
- Nightingale the Robber - Räuber Nachtigall,
- Serpent-Gorynych will be in German Gorynytsch / Drache / Flatterechse
- Baba Yaga - bone leg in German Oma Jaga - Knochenbein,
- Kikimora — Kikimora
- Koschey the Immortal - Kastschej der Unsterbliche
- Goblin in German Waldgeist/Waldschrat
- Brownie - Gutgesell/Butzemann/Butzemummel
To the show "A Christmas Tale" or in a different way, both German and Russian children come, and children of other nationalities, who mostly speak and understand German perfectly well. Therefore, this holiday is held mainly on German so that it is clear to everyone.
Suits For the New Year's holiday, they usually create it themselves, on their own, and buy the necessary materials.
By the way, everyone parents donate money for the holiday and use them to buy and collect Christmas gifts for children. It can be candies and toys and cartoons... everything that has enough imagination and budget. The parents themselves also participate in the preparation and holding of the “Christmas Tale” holiday (of course, if desired).
And already on the day of the Christmas performance itself, everyone gets together, holds various competitions, shows the fairy tale they have come up with, have fun, dance, treats are offered to the guests and Christmas gifts are given to the children! Everyone is happy and leaves with a great positive mood, and then the children remember this day with great joy!
