MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia’s main New Year symbol, the 90-year-old fir tree, arrived on Sunday at the Kremlin through the Spassky Gate to decorate the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square for the New Year and Christmas holidays.

"It was a precious cargo and we handled it with special caution. While driving we observed all the traffic rules and never exceeded speed limits. I was afraid we could be delayed by the bad weather but, luckily, everything went smoothly and we arrived in time," driver Pyotr, dressed as Father Frost (or Ded Moroz in Russian, the Russian Santa Claus), told journalists.

A logging vehicle made a stop near the Spassky Gate, and the driver handed special travelling papers to the guards and reported about the arrival of the valuable cargo.

The preeminent symbol of the New Year is about 90 years old and 25 meters tall. The diameter of the mammoth tree trunk is 6 meters. This perfect tree for the Kremlin was picked out of a selection of 12 rivals, with requirements stating that it is not supposed to be shorter than 25meters, nor older than 120 years.

The fir tree was cut at the Borodinskoye Forestry near Moscow on Friday. It is the second in the Borodinskoye Forestry’s history. It will take several days to install it on the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square and adorn it with festive decorations.

A concert was organized at the site where the tree was cut and all those willing to watch the process were invited to take part in master classes on making decorations for the New Year holiday.

On December 25, the tree will be unveiled and take center stage on traditional children's holiday shows in the Kremlin, set to delight thousands of children from all Russian regions.

The tradition to install a real New Year tree on the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square goes back to 1996. However an artificial fir-tree was installed in 2001-2005 because of heavy frosts.