New Year is the most anticipated and favorite holiday. During the New Year holidays, we relax, meet with loved ones and friends, think about the future and dream. As a child, we believed in magic, but in fact there is a place for magic and miracles at any age, the main thing is just to want. New Year's holidays are the best time to transform into a princess or princess.

You can focus on the images of the princesses of the Middle Ages, but today we will focus on the luxurious images in the Russian style. Let's take a look at our history. Indeed, on its pages you can see not only tragic events, but also how the Russian people were having fun. What costume balls and masquerades were held in palaces! And everyone loved to have fun, regardless of belonging to the class.




The tradition of holding fancy-dress balls is very old. Foreigners who found themselves at such balls in Russia were amazed at the brilliance of the court masquerades. It was not easy for the guests to describe the impression that these celebrations made. Masquerade balls were held not only on New Year's Eve, it could be any celebration, including a wedding.

A large number of the public were allowed to attend the court masquerades. The empresses and grand dukes themselves took part in all the games and dances. They loved to dress up - women - in men's suits, and men - in women's suits (especially the cheerful and cheerful Empress Elizabeth loved it).



On New Year's Eve, a particularly crowded masquerade took place. Public celebrations became popular in the 19th century. The festivities were held in the halls of the Noble, Merchant Assembly, in the Bolshoi Theater.



All these masquerade balls largely prepared the historical costume balls at the royal court. The tradition of so-called historical balls began under Alexander III. In January 1883, the first such ball was held at the Tsar's younger brother, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. In 1903, there was the last ball of imperial Russia. The ball was timed to coincide with the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty and took place at the end of the Nativity Fast.



The holiday lasted for several days. It reached its culmination when the distant 17th century, the era of the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter I, came to life in front of all those present. Everyone was at this ball: boyars and boyars, falconers and archers, princes and princesses.



They prepared for the ball in advance and with great care and responsibility. Future participants studied costumes in old family portraits, visited art galleries and museums. Not everyone, of course, managed to convey the original costumes. Some of the "boyars" in their costumes suddenly showed the features that were characteristic of modernity. But still, this did not in the least diminish the dignity of the costume and did not deprive it of its proximity to the historical era of the 17th century.



Before the waltzes, quadrills and mazurkas began, specially prepared dances were performed: Russian, round dance and dance. The first two beauties of the royal court - Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fyodorovna and Princess Zinaida Yusupova - performed solo in the Russian dance.

At that time, photography already existed.At the request of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the best photographers of St. Petersburg made portraits of participants in the costume ball, as well as group photographs. And we can see those who soon left Russia forever, and someone disappeared without a trace or died in the whirlpool of events.