What calendar is the new year on January 14th. History and modernity. What to do on the Old New Year

The charm of the winter weekend, many of us, residents of Russia and countries in the post-Soviet space, dream of prolonging it as long as possible. Therefore, in the overwhelming majority of families, the Christmas tree is not cleaned until January 14, and on the eve of this date they set the table and arrange a celebration for themselves - a quieter, more calm and very family one. It is called strange, and foreigners are ready to break their heads, trying to understand what kind of holiday - the Old New Year.

This day is not a public holiday, rarely anyone gives gifts, Christmas trees for kids have already died down, but still among Russians and representatives of other peoples of the former Soviet Union there is a belief that the real New Year comes on January 14th. Where did this holiday come from, what it is and why it has such a strange name - we tried to collect answers to all these questions in this article.

The history of the holiday "New Year"

The change of years has always been celebrated solemnly among all peoples. She was taken very seriously. The New Year was associated with mysterious natural forces, with successive cycles, with the normal and consistent functioning of human life. In the old days, every significant action had a sacred meaning: they got married, built a house, sowed and harvested bread at a certain time. Therefore, the New Year was tied to a certain period of existence.

• During the days of paganism (polytheism) in Russia, the new year began from the day of the spring solstice - March 22. This date has always been associated with the beginning of field work - plowing, after which grain was sown. The farmers considered it their duty to appeal to the gods with a request for a harvest, a successful start of the season, and good weather.
• With the advent of Christianity to Russia, the countdown gradually shifted, according to the Byzantine calendar, to autumn. The celebration of the indict - that was the name of the first day of the New Year - fell on September 14. Until now, in Orthodox churches on this date, hymns glorifying the new year are sung. Important here symbolic meaning had, on the contrary, fertility, collection of gifts of the earth, gratitude for them to God.
• The first Russian emperor Pyotr Alekseevich changed the whole way of life of a Russian person. He did not pass by the celebration of the New Year. The sovereign moved the date to January 1. Of course, at first such an innovation seemed wild to the Russian people, but the command to have fun, congratulate each other, dance, decorate the Christmas tree and light the lights, and most importantly, not work and rest, gradually inclined people to enjoy the holiday with pleasure. By the way, the tradition of decorating Christmas tree branches, adopted in Europe, is originally pagan. It is of the same nature as dressing in carnival costumes- coaxing evil spirits or an attempt to deceive them and hide.

However, it must be said that the country, which until 1917 was almost completely Orthodox, could not celebrate the New Year on the Nativity Fast. Entertainment and entertainment were not allowed on the days of abstinence, theaters practically did not work, there were no balls and parties, no festivities. How did these facts relate to each other?

The Old New Year itself and the history of this holiday is a unique phenomenon. This simply did not happen in the world before and after the establishment of the celebration. And this event is connected with the opinion of the Russian Orthodox Church and the abrupt restructuring of the country's life on the Soviet track in the revolutionary years.

All disagreements in the dates and the calculation of the days of the year are rooted in history and are caused by the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

Julian calendar

Named after Emperor Julius Caesar, who decided to keep track of days and years not according to lunar calendar, which gave an error, but according to the solar. According to him, it turned out that the year lasts 365 days.

This institution of the Roman emperor had great importance and for the Christian Church. At the Ecumenical Councils - the congresses of priests and bishops who adopted the rules for believers, the importance of one-time reckoning and accurate adherence to the calendar in celebrating church celebrations was discussed. Thus, at the First Ecumenical Council, the celebration of Easter was ordered, which falls on different days every year, is carefully calculated and depends on the spring lunar cycle.

Gregorian calendar

In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII ordered to change the chronology so that the vernal equinox was postponed to March 21. Since the triumph of the Light One is tied to him Christ's Resurrection, sometimes the celebration took place before the Jewish Passover. For orthodox Eastern Christians, such liberty was a gross violation of the rules of the Ecumenical Councils. Therefore, half of the Christian world did not accept the Gregorian calendar and still does not accept it. But the whole Western world lives on it, celebrating, for example, Christmas not on January 7, like the Russian Orthodox Church, but on December 25, before the New Year.

The main difference between calendars is how they calculate leap years... In the XX and XXI centuries, the Julian and Gregorian chronology differ by 13 days, but one more day will be added in less than a hundred years. This is due to the fact that the Earth makes its annual revolution around the Sun in an inaccurate number of days.

According to the Julian calendar, the calendar year is ahead of the astronomical one. This leads to a gradual shift of important dates: for example, in more than a hundred years, Christmas will come on January 8th.

Today, most experts note the accuracy of the Gregorian calendar. It does not need major edits or even changes. There are projects that require minor adjustments, but the very principle of chronology was decided to remain unchanged.

The essence of the holiday Old New Year

In the revolutionary hard times, the authorities were ordered to switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar so that the dates coincide with those that are accepted throughout the world. However, the Church categorically disagreed with this, since the orders of the Holy Fathers are her priority. Thus, it turned out that the secular holiday New Year has moved to a position before Christmas. If the Russian Orthodox world agreed with the authorities, the New Year would be celebrated a week after the end of the fast on December 24.

What is the Old New Year? This is the New Year according to the Julian calendar, which follows the Nativity of Christ. Almost all over the world, the Julian calendar has already been forgotten, but our unofficial celebration is the day on which the new year began before the 1917 revolution.

Holiday charm

Russians love the Old New Year, although it is already difficult for many to explain how it differs from the usual one. However, the tradition of celebration is good in itself, and for good reason:

• Tired of New Year's fun, people, nevertheless, feel sorry to close the series of these lovely days with a Christmas tree, treats and gifts. I would like to do it somehow solemnly and, at the same time, in a family way. Therefore, many get together with friends or family, at home or in any institution and celebrate the beginning of the New Year in the old style.
• Any tradition is good, it unites the family and unites the nation. The Old New Year came to us from the distant pre-revolutionary years, and remembering it, if you, of course, want, is great.
• January 14 is traditionally still Christmastide - happy post-Christmas days. They dispose to fun, fun, walks and feasts.
• On the Old New Year, you can perform what did not work out on the night of the new year - to be with your loved one together, try to cook something original, go dancing or take a walk on fresh air... Such small joys always unite people and give them a feeling of happiness and fulfillment of life.

: what kind of holiday it is and how it came about. The time for a completely unique holiday is approaching. Such a holiday is the Old New Year. In 2018, as usual, it is supposed to be celebrated on the night of January 13-14.

Old New Year is a relatively young holiday. It appeared not so long ago and is not an independent holiday. Old New Year is a holiday that arose as a result of the transition from one calendar to another, that is, from the Julian to the Gregorian. This happened in Soviet Russia in 1918 by order of Lenin. Until now, Russia, like other countries of the former Soviet Union, celebrates the New Year twice. However, many people mistakenly believe that only the countries of the former USSR celebrate the Old New Year. In a number of other countries, citizens also celebrate the New Year twice.

According to the current Gregorian calendar, we celebrated the New Year 2018 on the night of December 31 to January 1. And on the night of January 13-14, 2018, we will celebrate the onset of the New Year "according to the old style", that is, the Old New Year.

It is worth noting that opinions on the celebration of the Old New Year are different. Some people are happy to collect a festive feast on this day, set a rich table, and invite guests. Others, on the contrary, do not take the Old New Year for a full-fledged holiday, and therefore do not celebrate it at all. In this situation, there are no tips and tricks. Everyone has the right to decide for himself whether or not he celebrates the Old New Year on the night of January 13-14, 2018.

This is an absolutely amazing holiday that is celebrated in only a few countries. The tradition of celebrating the old New Year in Russia arose after 1918, when a new chronology was introduced. At first this holiday was called New Years in the old style. But such a long name was inconvenient, and the phrase "old New Year" appeared. It is absolutely impossible for foreigners to understand it: how can you be old and new at the same time ?! But that's how we Russians are, unpredictable ...

Old New Year is celebrated on the night of January 13-14, when everyone can afford to "celebrate" their favorite holiday. This holiday is of particular importance for believers. After all, the modern New Year falls on Christmas fast, when many products cannot be eaten, and excessive fun is inappropriate. The fact is that Orthodox Church continues to celebrate all church holidays according to the old Julian calendar (according to the "old style").

After the collapse of the USSR, in addition to Russia, the old New Year is also celebrated in Moldova, Armenia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The tradition of celebrating the old New Year has been preserved in Serbia and Montenegro, since the Serbian Orthodox Church, like the Russian one, continues to live according to the Julian calendar. Serbs call this holiday the Serbian New Year. Old New Year is also celebrated in Macedonia, as well as in some German-speaking parts of Switzerland.

From the history of the holiday old New Year

In Russia, this day once fell on January 1 and was called Vasilyev's day, and the eve of it - December 31, which became later January 13 - Vasilyev's evening. According to an old tradition, the "rich" Vasiliev's evening was celebrated on New Year's Eve. On this day, it was customary to lay the table generously. Basil the Great was considered the patron saint of pig breeders. There is folk signs related to this night. If the sky is clear and starry, there will be a rich harvest of berries. On January 14, the gardeners shook fruit trees, because Saint Basil the Great, according to popular belief, also protected gardens from pests.

On Vasil's evening, witches steal a month from heaven, but still cannot stop the gradually growing day, shortening the long winter night.

On this day, early in the morning, it was customary to cook Vasilyev's porridge and watch how it is cooked. If the porridge comes out of the pan, there will be trouble. It was considered a bad omen if the pot or pan in which the porridge was cooked cracked. If the porridge is successful, you need to eat it clean. And in order not to come true any of the bad omens, it was necessary to throw the porridge along with the cracked pot, preferably into the hole.

Today, on the old New Year, very few people cook porridge. But the number of those wishing to celebrate this day is growing every year. And, despite the fact that this day, unfortunately, is not even a day off, the popularity of the old New Year is growing.

The most widespread tradition in Russia on the night of the old New Year- sculpt and cook dumplings.

You can make dumplings with a surprise and agree on what this or that surprise means. For example, a button - for a new thing, a coin - for a gift, a thread - for a journey, a peppercorn - for unexpected joy, etc.

This holiday is cozy and calm. He is not characterized by the fuss that inevitably accompanies an ordinary New Year. On such an evening, after a meal, it’s not a bad idea to play some quiet family game, for example,

Strange after all, this is a holiday. Just some kind of continuous oxymoron, a kind of "combination of incongruous." Well, how is it - Old and then New Year? Nevertheless, the popularity of the Old New Year in Russia today is growing from year to year. Everything more people treat it as a holiday in its own right that prolongs the charm of the New Year.

In 1918, when the new revolutionary government was carrying out a lot of reforms, the calendar also "got it". On January 24, the "Decree on the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic" was adopted, which came into force on February 1, 1918. Thus, the Old New Year is a rare historical phenomenon, an additional holiday that resulted from the change of chronology. Due to this discrepancy in calendars, we celebrate two New Year holidays - the old and the new style. So it happened that in Russia two New Years are celebrated at once: traditional, on the night of January 31 to January 1, and according to the old style, on the night of January 13 to 14.

Why celebrate the Old New Year?

In Orthodox Russia, all Christian holidays are still celebrated according to the Old Russian calendar, the Julian one. In the Julian calendar, January 14 was dedicated to Basil the Great and was called Vasiliev's day. After the cancellation of the old calendar, believers did not change their traditions and celebrated the New Year at their usual time, January 14. And now, despite the fact that almost a hundred years have passed since the replacement of the Julian calendar with the Gregorian, many meet New Year old style. For believers, the Old New Year is of particular importance, because you can fully enjoy it only after the end of the strict Christmas fast, which lasts until January 6. New Year's Eve from December 31 to January 1 falls on the most strict time - the Orthodox forty-day fast in honor of the Nativity of Christ. According to the old style, everything went on as usual: the Nativity Fast preceded the Christmas holiday, soon after which people celebrated the New Year.

Where else is Old New Year celebrated?

To be fair, I must say that we are not the only happy "owners" of this holiday. Old New Year is celebrated in many countries of the post-Soviet space: in Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia. And also in Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Romania - in these countries, church holidays are also celebrated according to the Julian calendar. Old New Year is also celebrated in northeastern Switzerland, in some German-speaking cantons and in a small Welsh community in Wales in western Britain. Residents of these places in the 16th century did not accept the reform of Pope Gregory and still celebrate the holiday on the night of January 13-14.

How to celebrate a holiday that is not marked in red on the calendar?

Old New Year is the same holiday for most of us, only they celebrate it in the last and in a "light version": the table is no longer bursting with treats, wishes are not made, gifts are not given and the chimes do not strike. You can modestly celebrate the New Year according to the old tradition with a bottle of champagne, which is opened at 12 o'clock at night, with an original dessert or a light snack. For several years now, all TV channels on this night broadcast the same concert program as on New Year's Eve - this creates a pleasant feeling of deja vu and puts an end to the New Year and Christmas fun. And since January 15, it is customary to disassemble Christmas trees, remove decorations and immerse yourself in a familiar work atmosphere, no matter how much you want to extend the holiday.

Old New Year- an excellent excuse to stop again for a short while in the daily hustle and bustle and pay attention to loved ones and loved ones. On this day, it was customary to cook many dishes, varied and hearty, because the more dishes on the table, the more generous the next year promised to be. Mandatory on festive table special traditional dishes were present:

Old New Year - Julian New Year (Old Style). In XX and XXI centuries falls at midnight between January 13 and 14 ("new style"). After the transition to a new style, the old New Year continues to traditionally be unofficially celebrated in some countries.

In Russia, the tradition of celebrating the old New Year is associated, in addition to preserving the tradition, with the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church continues to celebrate all church holidays according to the Julian calendar ("old style"). At the same time, the modern New Year falls on the Christmas fast - an Orthodox forty-day fast in honor of Christmas.

The tradition of celebrating the old New Year arose after 1918, when a new chronology was introduced in Russia.
Old New Year is a rare historical phenomenon, an additional holiday that resulted from the change of chronology. Due to this discrepancy in calendars, we celebrate two "New Years" - according to the old and new styles. Thus, on the night of January 13-14, everyone can afford to "celebrate" their favorite holiday. Indeed, for many believers, the Old New Year has a special meaning, since they can only celebrate it heartily after the end of the Nativity Fast.

Today, from year to year, the popularity of the Old New Year is growing. More and more people regard it as an independent holiday that prolongs the charm of the New Year or allows you to feel this charm for the first time. After all, this holiday is calmer, it is unusual for it to be bustle, which is an inevitable companion of the New Year.

Many customs and traditions are associated with the Old New Year. In the Old Russian calendar, this day was dedicated to Basil the Great and was called Vasiliev's day. This day was considered very important in terms of its impact on the entire following year. On Vasilyev's day, the peasants celebrated the ancient holiday "avsen" or "oats" - an agricultural holiday associated with the rite of sowing, coaxing the future harvest.