Georgian New Year Tree 'Chichilaki' Featured on BBC

BBC’s Russian channel has featured a story about the Georgian New Year tree called Chichilaki, a Georgian alternative of Christmas trees; (ჩიჩილაკი) is traditionally made from dried walnut tree branches, its production dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. 

As Gia Datashvili, Chichilaki master, says in the BBC story, nearly every family in Georgia knew how to make a Chichilaki, but the tradition is now fading away. “To make Chichilaki, there’s no need to cut the trees, Chichilaki’s are made from dried nut branches that are usually cut during the winter period,” he says that Georgian Chichilaki tradition probably started in the region of Guria in Georgia, in pre-Christian times, when Gurian’s had a god named Aguna, a god of fertility and wealth, and when you brought Chichilaki to a family as a gift, it meant you were bringing well-being to it. 

“Tangerines, Churchkhela apples and sweets were used as Chichilaki decorations, but it’s getting trendy to hang dollars on it now,” he says in the story. 

As BBC reports, Datashvili made almost 2000 Chichilaki trees to sell this year.

Read the full story here 

Photo source: sputnik-georgia.com

By Nino Gugunishvili