New Year themed skating rinks, curling and Guinness Book of Records: how the Journey to Christmas festival changed over a decade

For the tenth time, Journey to Christmas festival immerses Muscovites and tourists in the cozy spirit of the New Year. It started out as a small Christmas fair, but grew year to year, became more ambitious and multi-faceted, set new national and global records.

“Today, Journey to Christmas is a new Moscow tradition and a feature event of Moscow Seasons. It is also the most popular winter festival in Russia that brings together millions of Muscovites and tourists. You do not have to go downtown to get your share of festive mood; festival venues open all around the city. Visitors come there with families and friends, taste food on the festival menu, look for souvenirs to give to their relatives and loved ones. Every year, there are music shows, creative and sport sessions, stage performances waiting for them,” said Deputy Moscow Mayor Natalya Sergunina.

According to her, tens of thousands of interactive programs have been performed for the Journey to Christmas.

Let us have a trip to the past with mos.ru and learn how that tradition has started, where Strasbourg fair was set up and how were Muscovites and tourists able to compose over 5,000 holiday letters.

How winter fairytale started

The history of the largest Moscow winter festival starts in 2012. That year, on December 24, a Strasbourg fair was set up on Manezhnaya Square. Guests who came there had a chance to try different foods, find presents for their friends and soak in the holiday cheer. The venue was open till Christmas; exceeding all expectations, 600,000 people visited it in two weeks.

The Strasbourg fair was such a hit with both Muscovites and tourists, a decision was made to make it a tradition. The very next year, Moscow went on its first ever Journey to Christmas. It lasted from December 20, 2013 to January 8, 2014.

Guests were stunned by its magnificence. 34 venues were set up in the city: chalets and Christmas fairs, with festive illumination setting the mood. The festival got its first tradition then: to offer theme games to guests. Everyone who felt so inclined could try their hand in a Christmas quest.

The first Journey to Christmas was so fun, six million visitors attended it. Participants came from over 20 Russian cities and 7 countries. That level of interest set Journey to Christmas on a new course as the festival became even more ambitious the next year.

Program expansion

After becoming a hit with Muscovites and tourists in its first winter, the festival returned to Moscow in 2014. The number of venues grew to 36 with over 400 trade chalets operating there. The event lasted for nearly a month: from December 12, 2014 to January 11, 2015.

With their folktale-themed activities, organizers were able to charm both children and grown-ups. Themed master classes and performances started being offered to visitors.

Even more guests came that year: 8.5 million people joined the fairytale adventure. Thanks to that, Journey to Christmas set a new record, becoming the largest winter festival in Europe.

Ballet on ice, Snow Maiden parade and a world record

The festival decided not to limit its scale to quests and master classes, so next year, they added ballet shows on ice that involved famous figure skaters. They were performed in the theatre on ice located at Revolution Square. The repertoire included Swans’ Lake and The Nutcracker.

Another novelty event was revealed that year: the first ever Snow Maidens’ parade in Moscow. Everyone was free to participate in the flash mob, donning a costume was the only requirement. The colorful procession marched along the main festival route: From Tverskoy Boulevard to Pushkin Square.

Once again, the event lasted for a month: from December 18, 2015 to January 17, 2016. In order to attract even more guests, the number of venues was expanded to 38. Thanks to new opportunities and fun-packed schedule, 10.4 million people visited the third Journey to Christmas.

That was when large illuminated objets d’art were first introduced to the city. One of them even made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest LED sculpture in the world: the huge Christmas bauble, as big as a five-storey building, on Manezhnaya Square.

Striving for records was the motto of the next winter festival as well. The fourth Journey to Christmas lasted from December 16, 2016 to January 15, 2017. It was a whole month of celebrations for guests, complete with ice rinks, free guided tours and ice performances. That time around, the festival enticed everyone with master classes: over 8,000 sessions were hosted for Muscovites and tourists.

42 venues opened at once; 12.2 million visitors attended the festival: two times as many as in the first year.

On top of being informative, that Journey to Christmas was also extremely pretty. Kuznetsky Most, for instance, featured Christmas trees decorated by famous designers. That would also go on to become one of the festival’s traditions. In order to help guests believe in miracles, the event launched the New Year mail service. It accepted over 5,000 letters to Father Frost written by participants.

Fairytale forest and theatre city

By 2017, Journey to Christmas transformed from a traditional winter event into a veritable fairytale which not only Muscovites and people from other Russian cities, but visitors from all over the world were eager to experience. They came from many different countries to spend three weeks in the breathtaking grandeur. That was what the fifth Journey to Christmas was all about.

From December 22 to January 14, streets of Moscow became a theatre. Manezhnaya Square turned into a fairytale forest, the stage for an immersive performance, while Tverskaya Street became the biggest stage in the country. It hosted over 150 shows where 3,500 artists and musicians performed. Guests were treated to shows by Golden Mask winners, leading theatres from Moscow and other Russian cities.

83 venues launched in the city, almost twice as many as the year before. That year, the festival started some new traditions: curling games and New Year parties on Tverskaya Street. 14.5 million people went on a Journey to Christmas that year.

In 2018, the festival was still all about theatre. Ballet performances on ice had become so popular by then that organizers scheduled 79 of them. But Journey to Christmas did not limit itself to arts, adding sports competitions to its list of attractions.

Fans of outdoor activities got motorcycle trials; a huge structure for ski and snowboard jumping, was erected on Mokhovaya Street. In three days, over 60,000 people attended pro athletes’ performances.

But the highlight was the 2019 new year party. For the second year running, Muscovites and tourists came in droves to Tverskaya Street that became pedestrian only between December 31, 2018 and January 2, 2019. For those who could not come, the event was streamed online.

New year, new record: 18.6 million visitors attended the festival. Over 5 million tourists from Russia and other countries joined Muscovites in celebrations.

Space swing, zipline and lessons from champions

2019 was when the festival launched into orbit, not only in its themes, but in scale, too. Over 26 million people attended the seventh Journey to Christmas which lasted for 50 days: from December 13, 2019 till January 31, 2020.

It was not just theme installations and huge objects d’art that decorated the streets of Moscow. Visitors could try a space sling, zipline tracks and watch breathtaking highline shows. They also had a chance to attend lessons by figure skating champions.

In the 2019/2020 season, Journey to Christmas came to all administrative districts of Moscow. 81 festival venues were open, so everyone got a chance to soak in the celebratory mood close to home, with no need to go downtown.

Acts of kindness and All-Russian Father Frost congress

The festival got canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2021, it reopened with new and fun activities. 27 theme venues opened in various districts: fairs, ice rinks and fairytale chalets. Like in past years, everyone could ride a merry-go-round for free.

Next year, Journey to Christmas also did not leave either Muscovites or tourists cold. Skating and curling rinks opened for them in 2022, along with various fun master classes. Guests could make 3D models of Christmas tree ornaments and even play laser chess.

Another amazing event was the first All-Russian Father Frost congress, documented as a national record. New Year wizard missions from different Russian regions came to visit the festival.

The ninth Journey to Christmas became a symbol of kindness. New Year gift collection points for the Moscow Helps project opened at multiple venues. The Dobraya Elka initiative was also in effect.

This year Journey to Christmas festival is scheduled for December 15-January 8. Thirty-six venues are awaiting their visitors, packed with celebratory programs and surprises for the festival’s anniversary.