Russian Reporter magazine conducted a
sociological study in 2015, the lyrics of the song took 29th place in the top 100 most popular lines of poetry in Russia.[1]
History
Initially, Raisa Kudasheva published the poem "Yolka" (Russian: Ёлка) in the children's magazine "Malyutka" (Russian: Малютка) in 1903. And 2 years later, Leonid Beckman composed a melody for it for the birthday of his eldest daughter. He had no musical education, played the piano by ear, but improvised easily and sang excellently. The melody of the song was transferred to the notes by his wife, pianist
Yelena Beckman-Shcherbina [
ru], who graduated from the
Moscow Conservatory.[2]
During the
World War I and the
revolution, including due to the prohibition of Christmas,[3] the song was forgotten, but in 1941
Esfir Moiseyevna Emden [
ru] compiled a poetic New Year's collection, which gave the song a second life.
There are several variations of the last verse, beginning with "now you're here, dressed up...",[4] "and here it is, dressed up...",[5] "now it is, dressed up..."[6]
^Rozhkov, Alexander Yurievich. В кругу сверстников: жизненный мир молодого человека в Советской России 20-х годов : в 2 т. (in Russian). Перспективы образования, 2002.
ISBN5937490177.