Russian and
Turkish New Year's trees are of the same varieties as those used for Christmas trees, although a
spruce tree is the most usual type. The decorations are the same as for Christmas trees; however the Russian style New Year's tree is completely secular and its decorations include no religious symbols. While Russian and Turkish North Americans purchasing a tree after Christmas when prices have plummeted might enjoy notable savings, most do not wait beyond Christmas to buy their trees.
History of the Soviet New Year's tree '', distributed by the
League of Militant Atheists, depicting an Orthodox Christian priest being forbidden to cut down a tree for Christmas The tradition of installing and decorating a
Yolka (
cyr.:
Ёлка) for
Christmas dates back to the 17th century when
Peter the Great imported the practice as a result of his travels in Europe. Peter decreed in 1699 that the New Year will be celebrated on 1 January instead of 1 September, and that "Fir tree, pine and juniper branches and trees shall be used to decorate houses and gateways along main streets". However, in
Imperial Russia,
yolka were banned beginning in 1916 by the
Synod as a tradition originating in Germany (Russia's enemy during
World War I). After the
revolution of 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were discouraged and de facto prohibited as a result of the Soviet
antireligious campaign. The
League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including
Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. With the Christmas tree being prohibited in accordance with
Soviet anti-religious legislation, people supplanted the former Christmas custom with New Year's trees. The New Year's tree was encouraged in the USSR after the famous letter by
Pavel Postyshev, published in
Pravda on 28 December 1935, in which he asked for trees to be installed in schools, children's homes,
Young Pioneer Palaces, children's clubs, children's theaters and cinemas. In his letter, Postyshev wrote: In 1937, a
Yolka (
Novy God tree) was also installed in the
Moscow House of the Unions. An invitation to the Yolka at the Palace of Unions became a matter of honour for Soviet children. After the
dissolution of the USSR, stigma against religion subsided amidst renewed public interest.
History of the Turkish New Year's tree A Turkish New Year's tree, in
Turkish Yılbaşı Ağacı, looks the same as a Christmas tree with Christmas ornaments. It is called a New Year's tree because it is specific to the New Year and, with about 95% of Turkey's population being
Muslim, most
Turks do not celebrate Christmas. During the
modernisation of Turkey, the
Islamic calendar and the
fiscal calendar were replaced by the
Gregorian calendar and New Year's celebrations started in the late 1920s. The celebrations became popular in Turkey. The
Christians in Turkey already set up Christmas trees and the latter started to be sold as New Year's trees too. Since then, the custom of setting up a tree for the New Year is a traditional event throughout Turkey. It is usually put up between the beginning of December and the end of January, the mid date being New Year's Eve. Also, the habit of giving presents at Christmas was changed to the giving of New Year's presents. The New Year's tree can be considered an example of westernised
Turkish culture or Turkified European culture. In 2024, when students of the
Yıldız Technical University in
Istanbul tried to decorate a tree, Islamically motivated protesters tried to prevent it, saying that it had no place in Turkey. Afterwards, they also held a prayer in front of the tree, but the students still managed to decorate it. ==Vietnamese and Cantonese custom==