Walking route through the Christmas markets.

Every year Moscow is transformed before the New Year - central squares New Year's paraphernalia fills, Christmas markets and other entertainments appear. This year, the annual Journey to Christmas festival will run from December 16 to January 19, 2017. We decided to walk around the main venues on the opening day and note the most interesting ones for ourselves. Sharing feedback in hot pursuit.

If earlier we looked with interest at photographs of European Christmas markets and dreamed of seeing it with our own eyes, now Muscovites and guests of the city do not need to go anywhere, because every year Moscow hosts many New Year's fairs, sites with giant New Year's decorations and installations, and how many winter entertainment! Winter 2017 was no exception, Journey to Christmas festival, parks, shopping centers and the skating rinks have prepared so many surprises that it is not easy to choose what to see in New Year's Moscow, where to take a walk, where to arrange a photo session, where to go with children. We have chosen the most interesting places and New Year's events in Moscow, went outside with a camera and prepared for you a guide to the New Year's center of the capital.

Perhaps the most anticipated New Year's surprises are these.

1. Designer Christmas trees: Kuznetsky Most street, property 6-3 (near the Bolshoy restaurant)
2. Christmas tree 3D toys and magic animation on Pushkin Square
3. Tverskoy Boulevard: light tunnel on
4. Hundred-meter ice slide: Revolution square(transition to Manezhnaya Square)
5. Skating rink and Christmas market on Red Square
6. Magic Theater on Revolution Square: free ice performances
7. Fairs
8. Christmas tree-carousel, 160-meter light tunnel and starry sky at VDNKh

The long-awaited illumination in Moscow lit up on Friday evening, December 16th. We, forgetting about the frost, set off on a journey through the center of Moscow. In order to spend the time most efficiently, we preliminarily compiled a route: we decided to start from the Teatralnaya metro station (from the Bolshoi Theater), then walk to the Central Department Store, and walk along Stoleshnikov to the fair, which is located opposite the Moscow City Hall. From there they planned to walk to Pushkinskaya Square. Well, it was decided to complete our first New Year's walk on Revolution Square. Although it is best to start the journey with the latter - but first things first.

New Year's Bolshoi Theater

At about 19-30 we met near the Teatralnaya metro station, went out to the big theater. The first thing we saw was a light composition similar to the crown from the play The Nutcracker. What was our surprise that the Bolshoi Theater did not have any fair this year, and in fact there was in previous years. Well, let's move on.

View from the Bolshoi Theatre.

The Central Department Store (TsUM) shimmers like a precious diamond before the New Year.

The windows of the Central Department Store surprise as always - the fruit of the inflamed imagination of the designers, but looking at them is very funny.

Fair on Kuznetsky Most

With a quick step, we reached the first fair on our way - the fair on the Kuznetsky bridge. This year, the shape of the houses that housed the fair surprised me a little personally. The outlets are glass pavilions decorated with LEDs. Modern, but the feeling of a holiday does not create.
We went into one of these houses and bought mulled wine - the frost was raging in earnest.

According to my companion, the most beautiful Christmas trees in Moscow are located near the Cartier store on Kuznetsky Most. Perhaps I agree.

Very nicely decorated shopping complex Petrovsky Passage - we also dropped in to warm up - silence, beauty, no one there.

Then we went to Stoleshnikov lane in the direction of the City Hall. Almost all pedestrian streets are decorated in the same way - the ubiquitous LED trees. Beautiful, but since they are in Moscow all year round, they didn't really surprise us.

True, there were such interesting compositions - a symbol of the holiday. Either a watch or a carriage.

Fair near the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky (Moscow City Hall)

Near the City Hall, a fair has unfolded, oriented to be shown on television - everything is very beautiful, in a European way.

Along the perimeter of the square there are shops where you can buy Christmas goods from different countries Europe.

Next, we go to Tverskaya street. The main feature of Tverskaya is the special design of lighting poles - if you look closely, you can recognize glasses of champagne in these lights.
In short dashes we ran to Pushkinskaya Square. Here, as if not to burst: near the monument to Pushkin, there is a musical forest composition, and on Tersky Boulevard - a light tunnel. What to do? We decided to look at everything in order and started with a fun, oh, musical forest.

Musical Forest on Pushkin Square

Music sounds every 10 minutes and this whole white composition is filled with different bright colors. The sight is very beautiful! In addition, you can penetrate into the very heart of this composition.

In the center is a kind of fabulous white tree, decorated with balls and icicles. There are so many people that it's hard to even take a picture. Everyone wants to plunge into a fairy tale!

There are also glass pavilions on Pushkinskaya Square where they sell balls, Christmas trees and all kinds of New Year's rubbish.

Pretty cold at this point, we decided to go to Pushkinskaya Square to warm up in a famous self-service restaurant with the letter “M”. I was a little surprised that at all these fairs there were practically no places to eat. And so I wanted to eat a hot sausage in the cold!

Light tunnel on Tverskoy Boulevard

The main attraction of Tverskoy Boulevard is, of course, the light tunnel, which this year was moved closer to the people, closer to the metro.

We went through the tunnel and expected to see fair houses, but we saw only one, and in it ... a guard lives. A little further along Tverskoy Boulevard, we saw an ice town, apparently intended for playing snowballs.

The second part of Tverskoy Boulevard seemed somehow dark and not cozy to us - so we decided to turn around and finally head towards Okhotny Ryad and Manezhnaya Square.

On Tverskaya Street, in addition to the aforementioned "glasses of champagne" opposite Kamergersky Lane, they can note a chess composition, where the royal throne is located in the center.

We lingered here a little - to admire the Kamergersky lane.

Okhotny Ryad is ready for the New Year

The end of the evening - and we are just approaching the "Heart" of the Christmas festivities. On Okhotny Ryad we see a New Year's carousel and numerous glass boxes-stalls. By 10 o'clock they were all closed.

Traditional carousel.

Large postcards on Soviet motives.

Against Historical Museum located unusual ice town.

After seeing the fair on Okhotny Ryad, we set off for Revolution Square.

Revolution Square before Christmas

Not far from the metro, the Ice Theater is deployed. It looks quite impressive and beautiful from all sides. To get to the performance here, you need to carefully study the program. It even became interesting how it will accommodate everyone? Ice ballet starts at 19:00.

In order to adequately complete the visit to the first day of the festival, we decided to look at Nikolskaya Street. Nikolskaya is decorated in the same way as last year - with Italian LED arches.

This is how our almost four-hour walk around New Year's Moscow flew by unnoticed.

So, the most interesting sites in my opinion are:

1. Ice Theater on Revolution Square
2. Ice slide on Revolution Square
3. Musical Forest on Pushkin Square
4. Light tunnel on Tverskoy boulevard
In general, when walking around New Year's Eve Moscow, a strong feeling is created that you have already seen all this last year. Glass houses-pavilions are probably more comfortable for sellers, but they do not create a New Year's mood.

Traditional light tunnel on Tverskoy Boulevard. This year it was located at the very beginning of the boulevard, next to the metro. It's so long that you can't even see the end of it! Enough space for everyone to take photos. #TverskoyBoulevard #TravelChristmas #Christmaslight #MoscowNew Year #newyear2017 #NewYear2017 #SoonNewYear #merrychristmas #travelRussia

Posted by Nina and Natasha, travelers (@shagauru) Dec 17, 2016 at 2:11 am PST

Addresses of Christmas markets in the center:

1. European Christmas Market on Tverskaya Square
2. Manezhnaya Square, possession 1
3. Pushkin Square
5. Novopushkinsky square - gingerbread, pastries, kurabie
6. Sweet Christmas trees and mulled wine: Arbat street, house 19
7. Handmade decor items on Kutuzovsky Prospekt
8. Tea and coffee traditions in Stoleshnikov Lane
9. Christmas toys and Christmas masks
10. New Year's book fair "Buk-Market" on Novy Arbat
11. Square in front of Sokolniki Park
12. There will be a Sweet Fair on Leningradsky Prospekt, 62
13. Fair near the Raikin Plaza shopping center on Sheremetyevskaya street
14. VDNH

All this is my subjective opinion, but otherwise - everything is fine, all with the coming!
The next post will be about the festival venues on Novy Arbat.

Being a purely Christian holiday, Christmas, however, does not leave indifferent either ardent atheists or followers of other faiths around the world. This is a celebration of kindness, love and mercy, which unites people, regardless of what day the celebration takes place and what traditions it is accompanied by. Christmas in Russia will be one of the brightest moments winter holidays when among a series of noisy holidays there is a place for the spiritual component.

A holiday that unites

The tradition of celebrating Christmas carries the deepest meaning - believers glorify on this day Christ, who was born in the glorious city of Bethlehem. Bright joy and gratitude - these are the feelings that should accompany the Orthodox on this day. Attending festive services, spending this time with the family, we comprehend the most important meaning of existence, trying to get closer to God.

This holiday belongs to the Orthodox Church to the Twelve and therefore the question of what date is Christmas in 2017, as well as at any other time, must be answered - January 7, since this date is fixed and does not change from year to year. Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar. This is the reason why the Orthodox, celebrated according to the Julian calendar, and the Catholic Christmas in 2017 do not coincide in numbers. But the essence of the holiday from this still does not change.

Indeed, in fact, it does not matter at all what date this celebration falls on, be it Catholic or any other, the main thing is that it exists and brings great joy to all people. In European countries, this Catholic celebration surpasses the New Year's Eve in its significance. Christmas preparations there begin 2 weeks before the holiday itself, trying to foresee everything, buying gifts for the whole family, decorating the house, taking care of the festive dinner.

Christmas Eve and its customs

Christmas is preceded by Christmas Eve - the day that ends the Advent fast. For Catholics, it falls on December 24th, for Orthodox Christians, on January 6th. In Russia, on Christmas Eve, a two-week fasting ends, and only when the first star lights up in the sky is it allowed to eat a meal. Dinner traditionally consists of 12 lean treats, among which must be contained:

kutya with nuts, poppy seeds and honey,
vareniki,
pancakes,
porridge,
boiled peas,
mushroom soup,
uzvar (a kind of dried fruit compote).

And only the next day meat, fish and dairy dishes appear on the table, from which they abstained during the fast. Roasts, homemade sausages, porridges with cracklings, kutya with meat - everything the housewives had not cooked before for Christmas dinner. However, their example can be followed now.

Christmas traditions

No matter how different were the customs in different countries regarding the celebration of Christmas, they all have one thing in common - this holiday traditionally involves the manifestation of mercy to absolutely all people. In Russia, it was believed that a stranger who accidentally looked into the house these days, even if it was a beggar, could turn out to be the Savior himself. Therefore, such guests were willingly welcomed and given various honors. And for Europeans, charity events dedicated to Christmas have become a kind of symbol of this holiday. One way or another, these days the Church calls us to show mercy not only to people close and well known to us, but also to everyone, without exception, to whom our help will come in handy. Even the remnants of the festive dinner were carried out over the fence, leaving them to forest animals, trying to appease them.

Also, this time requires not only spiritual purity. In Russia, before Christmas, they arranged a general cleaning, polishing the whole house to a shine. Having put the house in order, they tried to take care of their own appearance- went to the bathhouse, put on new elegant clothes if possible.

Christmas is the first day of Christmas celebrations, which last exactly 12 days until the Epiphany. This is the time all young people have been looking forward to. After all, now you can carol, arrange noisy festivities, engage in Christmas fortune-telling. The latter is not welcomed by the church, but it has always been practiced everywhere. In this Christmas tradition, pagan rites bizarrely resonate. This is a magical time in which the sky is approaching a person, and it is quite possible to lift the veil of secrecy over your future.

Christmas omens

Particularly attentively, our ancestors looked closely at nature and the phenomena occurring in it, trying to predict what awaits them in the coming year. You can also take advantage of the ancient experience in the coming 2017:

any dream for this holiday is prophetic;
a blizzard and a blizzard means the early onset of spring;
you can not do household chores;
doing sewing on this day, you doom one of your relatives to blindness;
while preparing a festive dinner, you notice that everything literally falls out of your hands? This is for a good harvest;
a lot of stars and frost - a lot of peas will be born;
warm weather for the holiday by late and cold spring;
during a gala dinner, do not drink water with food, this is prohibited;
from the day of Christmas until Epiphany, hunters are not allowed to hunt game, otherwise, there will be trouble;
the loss of a comb by a young unmarried girl these days means that her betrothed is already in a hurry to her.

Preparing for the celebration of Christmas in 2017 and devoting yourself to pleasant chores, do not forget about the main thing - that this is a holiday of the soul, family unity, peace and tranquility. When looking for gifts and preparing a festive dinner, take the time to pray by visiting the temple, help disadvantaged people, do good not out of self-interest, but at the behest of the heart, and then with full confidence it will be possible to say - the holiday was a success!

Magic Journey to Christmas again expecting Muscovites in new year holidays: at Christmas and New Year In 2016, the capital will host the Journey to Christmas festival for the umpteenth time - this time a colorful holiday will turn Moscow into a fabulous ocean with "dream islands" - fairs.

This year the festival will be several days shorter than , but it will cover a larger number of venues: at 38 festival venues located in different districts of the capital (mainly in the center), visitors will see unusual art objects, exciting street shows and concerts, will be able to take participation in master classes in cooking and decor, as well as buy delicious food and souvenirs. In addition, Muscovites can expect exciting quests and contests, the winners of which will receive a reward: special Christmas coins that can be exchanged for gifts.

The festival venues will become dream islands in a fabulous ocean. This year, the organizers have prepared 3 thematic routes that you can take on the Journey to Christmas: the Main Christmas Route, the Main Art Route and the Main Children's Route.

. Main Christmas Route will pass through Manezhnaya Square and Revolution square, where 5 islands will be located: the island where dreams come true, the island of winter fun, the island of the enchanted forest, the island of the magic ball and the island of science - the city of geniuses.

Here you can ride from the largest ice slide in Russia: a 7-meter-high and 100-meter-long slide will be built according to the old technology used in the construction of "rolling hills". Waiting for lovers of winter fun and ice rink- during the day it will work completely free of charge, and in the evening it will become the stage for the ballet on ice "Swan Lake" directed by Pyotr Chernyshev.

The main "highlight" of the route will be historical labyrinth in the form of a map of Russia, which will be erected on Manezhnaya Square. In the center of the labyrinth is a 17-meter natural spruce and huge garlands.

. Main Children's route will pass through Stoleshnikov Lane and Tverskaya Square, where the Gnomes' Christmas Labyrinth, the Christmas Story Lane and the Christmas Children's Town will be located.

Here for children there are workshops on sewing dolls and making lollipops, children's animation, carousel rides and a "magic house" with gifts.

. Main Art Route will pass through Pushkin Square and Novopushkinsky square, as well as Tverskoy Boulevard: will be placed here magic island, Royal Square, City of Little Storytellers and a number of other sites.

On the Pushkin Square an ice skating rink and a figure skating school will open, in addition, Muscovites will be taught the basics of hockey, snowboarding and curling.

A feature of the route will be a large number of art objects created specifically for the Journey to Christmas festival: the 4-meter installation "Magic Forest", 2-meter "Queens Through the Looking-Glass", 1.5-meter "Cakes" and many others.

The venues that are not included in the 3 main routes will also delight Muscovites with the variety of leisure activities offered: Red Square, Nikolskaya Street, Bolshaya Dmitrovka, Kuznetsky Most, Trubnaya Square and other squares and streets of the capital, as well as on VDNH visitors will find no less number of master classes, games and unusual art objects.

This year, the festival has living symbols - fabulous creatures Fjoki, inhabitants of the snow-covered New Year's islands. To meet Fjoka on a Moscow street is good luck!

Learn more about the program and content of all festive venues Journey to Christmas festival You can read the announcements of events and see their detailed schedule on the official website of the festival:

New Year holidays have a calming effect on people. With the advent of each new year, hopes that pain, sadness and resentment will sink into the abyss in the company of the old year. Life seems to start anew, from scratch, and the mistakes made along with the achievements will fall into the annals of history, on a distant and dusty shelf. On our site there is a great opportunity to watch online free New Year movies for every taste, distributed in various genres.

Movies about New Year and Christmas watch online can be in the form of a magical, fairy tale story with indispensable attributes in the form of a good fairy or other carrier of magical powers, armed with a magic wand, a representative of an evil inclination, dressed in power and oppressed by him, a defenseless hero. Having gone through a series of difficult trials that required a lot of strength and emotional stress, a good hero receives a well-deserved reward, while hard times come for his oppressor. Now he is invited to taste all the charm of the oppressed situation. Viewers are very close to such a denouement. For the most part, this is reminiscent of their own life ups and downs, and only relying on a liberator who appears magically helps them to endure this difficult part of the path.

New Year's stories fit very well into the comedy genre. Due to New Year's confusion and confusion, some heroes mistakenly take someone else's luggage. Others, trying to fit into the festive mainstream, go too far with the intake of high-grade strong drinks, so they are already sent on an unexpected journey by friends who believe that they are acting logically correctly. It is customary to think that against the background of a bright New Year's tree with dazzling illumination and a crowd of costumed guests, declarations of love look especially impressive and piercing. The directors' favorite targets are Santa Clauses, they are much more vulnerable than the Snow Maidens, more sentimental and not so vigilant, so they most often fall into comedy plots ..

The Slavic people tend to believe in magic. This belief is rooted in ancestral heritage. And the New Year and Christmas are always filled with the energy of magic, the flight of fluffy snowflakes. White snow is associated with purity and purity, the beginning of a new life. Everything can be replayed, rewritten, start over. It is only necessary to have time before the fatal twelfth strike of the tower clock to correctly make a wish and make all the necessary preparations. And then a miracle will happen, the adepts will be rewarded, and the doubters will be defeated. For there is no power greater than faith. Interesting and exciting New Year's stories are available for viewing online on the site for free.

A magical journey to Christmas again awaits Muscovites during the winter holidays: on Christmas and New Year 2017, the capital will host the New Year and Christmas festival so beloved by the townspeople for the fourth time.

Festival "Journey to Christmas" 2016-2017 promises to be no less colorful than the previous ones, while remaining the same long: the holiday will be held from December 16, 2016 to January 15, 2017 - a whole month!

At 42 thematic venues located in different districts of the capital (mainly in the center), festival visitors will be able to see unusual art objects and light installations, exciting street performances and concerts, as well as take part in various master classes. The venues of the Journey to Christmas festival will be located on the streets and squares of the city and will be decorated in the spirit of the New Year and Christmas: this year 144 live Christmas trees will be placed on them.

In addition, quests and contests await the townspeople: by taking part in the "Happy Time" quest, festival visitors will be able to test their knowledge of the traditions of celebrating the New Year and Christmas and receive special festival coins that can be exchanged for gifts.

Festival Venues

Journey to Christmas festival will be held at 42 venues, b about most of which - and the most interesting - will be located in the city center.

. Manezhnaya Square:"Magic Time" The highest living New Year tree of the festival (17 meters), brought from the forests of the Tver region, will be installed on the site. Here, children will be given master classes in journalism, animation and making New Year's gifts, and adults will be able to visit a themed fair that will sell Christmas decorations (including antiques), exclusive souvenir watches, carnival masks and gifts.

. Revolution square:"Magic Ice Theatre". On Revolution Square, visitors to the festival are waiting for daily shows: ballets on ice "The Nutcracker", "Swan Lake", "Snow White" and "Cipollino". More than 50 professional figure skaters are involved in theatrical productions; when there are no performances, the "Ice Theater" works like a skating rink, on the ice of which anyone can ride.

. Revolution square:"Milky Way". In addition to the "Magic Ice Theatre", a 100-meter ice slide awaits festival visitors on Revolution Square, which will be located near Manezhnaya Square.

. Pushkin Square:"Cozy Time" The fountain turned off for the winter will turn into the "Musical Forest" installation, which will combine New Year's and Christmas melodies loved by the public with a light show. For children, master classes will be held on animation and drawing fairy-tale characters in Adobe Photoshop, as well as creating Christmas decorations using 3D printing.

. Novopushkinsky square:"Gingerbread Village" In Novopushkinsky Square, visitors will be drawn into the world of fairy tales; here you can taste traditional Russian gingerbread, curly gingerbread cookies, pumpkin donuts and other sweets. There will also be lessons on site. in English and master classes in robotics.

. Kuznetsky Most:"Magic Time" and "Gallery of Magic Trees". Kuznetsky Most Street will become the home of high fashion and style, where you can buy items from the collections of Russian designers. Theater and acting master classes will be held for children. In addition, an exhibition of magical Christmas trees will open on the street.

. Gogol Boulevard:"Star of Bethlehem" The site near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior will be dedicated to the Nativity of Christ. Here you can buy monastic goods.

. Tverskaya Square:"European Christmas Market". On Tverskaya Square near the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky, as part of the Journey to Christmas festival, a real Christmas village with houses, restaurants and a smartly decorated Christmas tree will be spread. Here you can buy gifts, sweets, Christmas tree decorations and dishes from France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany and other European countries. There will also be children's Christmas trees in the traditions of different countries (Finland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain and others), as well as Christmas trees in Russian traditions, handicraft workshops, poetry readings and concerts.

. Stoleshnikov Lane:"Warm time". Festival visitors will be able to take part in coffee and tea ceremonies, as well as master classes in needlework, New Year's table decor, latte art and preparation of New Year's drinks.

This year, the Journey to Christmas festival will acquire a truly international format: 15 countries will take part in it, representatives of which will introduce Muscovites to their New Year traditions, and the festival venues are preparing to receive (according to the organizers' plans) as many as 12 million guests from Moscow and different cities Russia and the world.

Trade fairs

As before, bright fairgrounds and shopping chalets will open their doors to festival visitors. This time, Muscovites were allowed to take part in the formation of the range of fair chalets: the Active Citizen portal voted on what the townspeople would like to see on sale at the festival venues.

In beautiful chalets decorated in the style of New Year and Christmas, festival guests will be able to purchase sweets and sweet gift sets, New Year and Christmas souvenirs, home decorations and toys, as well as holiday accessories and paraphernalia.

Visitors who want to have a snack or warm up can buy pastries and hot drinks.

Learn more about the program and content of all festive venues Journey to Christmas festival You can also find announcements and a detailed schedule of events on the official website of the festival: