New Year in Tashkent and Uzbekistan in the past: what it looked like

In the USSR, which included Uzbekistan and, of course, its capital Tashkent, New Year was celebrated for the first time in 1935, making the old attributes of Christmas — Ded Moroz, the tree, and gifts under the tree — secular. In January 1937, Ded Moroz received a companion — Snegurochka.

In Soviet times, New Year also gained its own attributes: tangerines, Olivier salad, the chimes at midnight during which one must make a wish, and the formal address of the state leader to the country’s citizens.

When celebrating New Year, close people usually gathered at the festive table on the evening of December 31. They first saw off the old year — recalling what it was remembered for or what was most important for each person. Then they wished that all the best from the old year would carry into the new one.

At the New Year table in the USSR, people necessarily served champagne, Olivier salad, Mimosa salad, herring under a fur coat, vinaigrette, sprats, cold cuts, sausage, pickles, tangerines, and often wine and vodka.

New Year was associated with many beliefs. For example, one had to wear new and best clothes on New Year’s Eve so that the whole year would be spent in new outfits; sleeping that night was forbidden (except for children under 7) — otherwise the whole year would be dull and uninteresting; the festive table had to be full of food and drinks so that the whole year would be prosperous and joyful.

In the USSR, including Uzbekistan, before each New Year, television traditionally showed a set of “New Year films,” among them “Carnival Night,” “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!,” “Magicians,” and others.

At New Year celebrations, people sang traditional songs such as “A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest,” “The Little Christmas Tree Is Cold in Winter,” and “Five Minutes.”

If readers have testimonies, photographs, or articles about how New Year and Christmas were celebrated in Uzbekistan and, of course, Tashkent in the pre-Soviet and Soviet periods, share them in the comments. And how do you celebrate these dates now?

Post image: New Year 1979 in the 8th quarter of Chilanzar celebrated by students of the 10-A class of Tashkent School No. 183 (at that time schooling lasted 10 years). The author and founder of the site Yep.uz is in the center in the front row. The photo is colorized by neural networks.

Here you will find many old photos of Tashkent in winter.