Old New Year: history, traditions and signs of the holiday. Why and how to celebrate the old new year January 13 new year in what style

On the night of January 13-14 in Russia, as well as in many neighboring countries, Old New Year. AiF.ru explains how and when this holiday appeared.

The Old New Year is a rare historical phenomenon, an additional holiday that resulted from a change in chronology. Because of this discrepancy in calendars, we celebrate two “New Years” - according to the old and new styles.

How did the Old New Year appear?

The date of creation of the world (according to the ancient translation of the Old Testament) was previously considered March 1, 5508 BC. e. Therefore, the New Year began on the first day of spring (March 14 according to the new style).

However, in the era of Constantinople, this date was recalculated more accurately, and September 1, 5509 BC was considered the day of the creation of the world. e. Therefore, the New Year henceforth began on the first day of autumn.

In pagan times in Rus', the New Year was celebrated on March 22 - on the day spring equinox. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the Byzantine calendar began to gradually replace the old one, and the New Year now began on September 1. This date is still interpreted today by some teachings as the true birthday of Christ. D For a long time, New Year's inconsistency persisted in Rus' - some continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring, others in the fall. And only at the end of the 15th century - in 1492 - was a single date for the beginning of the New Year in Rus' officially determined - September 1.

Only 2 centuries later, on December 19, 1700, Peter I promulgated the decree of summer to be calculated from January 1 from the Nativity of Christ (that is, according to the “new” style - January 14). Thus, in the Russian state, 1699 lasted only 4 months, from September to December.

By the twentieth century, the calendar of Russia, which continued to use the Julian calendar, was 13 days behind Europe, which had long ago switched to the Gregorian calendar. To reduce this gap, in 1918, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the transition to the Gregorian calendar was carried out - new style, and January 14 - the day of St. Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea of ​​Cappodacia - turned out to be the Old New Year.

What other countries celebrate the Old New Year?

The Old New Year is celebrated not only in the CIS. On January 13, a festive table is also set in the following countries:

• Greece;
• Macedonia;
• Romania;
• Serbia;
• Montenegro;
• Switzerland.

The Old New Year is also celebrated in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. True, it is celebrated according to the Berber calendar, which is the Julian calendar with minor differences. As a result of accumulated errors, the eve of the holiday falls on January 11th.

Old New Year today

On the night of January 13-14, everyone can afford to “pre-celebrate” their most favorite holiday. Indeed, for many believers, the Old New Year has a special meaning, since they can wholeheartedly celebrate the beginning of the new year only after the end of the Nativity Fast.

Today, the popularity of the Old New Year is growing from year to year, and Russia is no exception. All more people treat 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 not characterized by the bustle that is an inevitable companion of the New Year.

When will New Year be celebrated in 90 years?

Interestingly, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars increases every century when the number of hundreds in the year after Christ is not a multiple of four for one day. Currently, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is 13 days. And from March 1, 2100, this difference will be 14 days. And from 2101, Christmas and Old New Year will be celebrated a day later.

The Old New Year is an unofficial, but unusually warm, joyful and magical holiday, which is celebrated on the night of January 13-14. This additional New Year was the result of a change in the order of chronology, so it can be considered a cultural and historical phenomenon.

Where did this holiday come from?

Confusion with the celebration of the Old New Year began in 1918, when the Gregorian calendar was introduced instead of the Julian calendar, and the concept of “old” and “new” styles entered our lives. At the same time, that day, which for centuries was considered the first of January, “moved” in the calendar to January 14. For those who did not want to change their habits, it remained a holiday.

In addition, celebrating the New Year from January 13 to 14 turned out to be more logical for Orthodox believers, who are accustomed to celebrating it 6 days after Orthodox Christmas. But they tried not to celebrate the holiday from December 31 to January 1, since it fell during the Nativity Fast, when you can’t set a festive table, you can’t drink wine and you can’t have fun to your heart’s content. And in general, in the public consciousness, since the 19th century, the New Year was considered a cheerful and riotous holiday.

“The New Year is the same as the mummers’ march in the village,” he writes in his essay historian Lev Lurie. – This is the time when people can behave indecently. After the New Year, it’s time for girls’ fortune telling. They told fortunes, of course, about the suitors - they let the rooster peck oats, melted wax, put pieces of paper with the names of potential suitors into a basin, and used a mirror.” The traditions of fortune telling are pagan; they were not only not welcomed by the Orthodox Church, but were also prohibited. Of course, it was clearly inappropriate to do all this during Lent.

Why do we still celebrate it?

By the way, there is no scientifically based date for the start of the new year. This is the subject of a social contract. It is simply more convenient for people to unify the calendar and consider that in all countries the calendar new year begins on the night of December 31 to January 1.

So, why not stop at this wonderful date? After all, now even Orthodox believers do not refuse to celebrate the New Year with everyone else. However, annual Levada Center polls show that the tradition of celebrating the Old New Year in our society not only does not die out, but only grows stronger from year to year. The number of people who celebrate this holiday is growing and amounts to recent years already from 43 to 47% of respondents.

Scientists believe there are several reasons for this. The first is that in our culture, everything that confirms the idea of ​​​​the mystery of the Russian soul is traditionally welcomed. “Our people generally like the idea that Russia has its own unique third way,” says expert at the Center for Political Technologies, social psychologist Alexey Roshchin. – That’s why we have our own specific holiday – Old New Year. This allows us to feel that we stand out against the backdrop of general globalization.” However, in fairness it should be said that the Old New Year is celebrated not only in Russia, but also in most CIS countries, as well as in the former republics of Yugoslavia.

The second reason, according to psychologists, lies in the fact that our protracted cold winter and the lack of light provokes us into seasonal blues. And the holidays - the best remedy to fight it. Holiday garlands, colorful lanterns, cheerful chaos, feasting, the desire to pamper yourself with food and alcohol. So we grab every opportunity not to fall into winter depression. How else can you defeat her?

The third source of why we so want to extend the New Year holidays follows from the previous one. “The fact is that the New Year holidays are best suited for feeling like children and pampering our “inner child”, which is hidden in the soul of each of us,” says psychologist Oksana Poleshchuk. – Christmas tree, tangerines, snow, skating rink, cafe, cinema, the opportunity to just have fun, be reckless, push aside the burden of daily responsibility, relax, sit in front of the TV, eat whatever you want without counting calories, and finally, just do nothing. Many of us, in fact, lack this, and after the holidays this lack is felt most acutely.”

There are even wonderful poems about this by Yunna Moritz, which Sergei Nikitin set to music, and the result was an unusually lyrical, wonderful song:

He's old, old, he's not new at all,

And still we are children, we are at the Christmas tree,

And we are flying for this ghostly supplement,

For the irrevocable and unique,

Add us at least the Old New Year.

Make your dreams come true

Finally, an important reason for the growing popularity of the Old New Year is that in our divided world, people are experiencing an increasingly noticeable lack of human understanding with each passing decade. And therefore we increasingly need warm, unhurried communication. Best of all - for festive table, in the circle of the closest and most understanding people. Perhaps that is why the holiday from December 31 to January 1 remains wild and cheerful, with shooting and dancing until the morning. But the Old New Year is now assigned, rather, the role of a quiet, sincere, warm and magical holiday.

So if you feel that you celebrated the New Year not the way you would like, but “like people”: with frantic running around the shops and bowls of salads, then you still have a chance to realize your secret desires and celebrate the Old New Year like this , as you yourself want. Or just dream, let your dreams go into extraordinary distances, believe in miracles and return at least for a while to such a wonderful world - the world of childhood!

Tatiana Rubleva

The tradition of celebrating the Old New Year is associated with the divergence of two calendars: the Julian - the "old style" calendar and the Gregorian - the "new style" calendar according to which people live modern people. This discrepancy in the XX-XXI centuries is 13 days, and the New Year according to the old style is celebrated on the night of January 13-14.

From March 1, 2100, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars will be 14 days. From 2101, the Old New Year will be celebrated a day later.

Almost all Protestant states of Europe switched to the Gregorian calendar back in the 18th century, removing a few extra days from the calendar. Russia switched to new calendar only in 1918, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of January 26, 1918, after January 31, 1918, February 14 immediately came.

As a result of the transition to a new chronology, the start date of the New Year has changed. January 1 according to the new style falls on December 19 according to the Julian calendar, and January 14 according to the new style is January 1 according to the Julian calendar.

Russian Orthodox Church continues to celebrate everything church holidays according to the Julian calendar: both the Circumcision of the Lord (until 1918, which coincided with the civil New Year), and the Nativity of Christ. The modern New Year falls on the pre-Christmas fast - the Orthodox forty-day fast in honor of Christmas. According to the old style, everything went as usual - the Nativity Fast preceded the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, after which six days later people celebrated the New Year.

Therefore, the Old Style New Year is important for Orthodox believers living in countries where the church continues to use the Julian calendar.

In Russia, until 1918, the arrival of the New Year fell during the Christmastide period, so all folk New Year's signs are more applicable to the Old New Year. People believed that if a woman comes to the house first on the morning of New Year's Day, then this will inevitably bring misfortune, if a man - happiness. If you have money in the house on New Year's Day, you won't need it all year, but only if you don't lend it to anyone. In addition, the following signs were known: “If the first day of the year is cheerful (happy), then the year will be like that”; “Snow or fog that falls on New Year’s Day foreshadows the harvest”; “A full hole of water and fog on New Year’s Day foreshadow a big flood”; “If there is wind on New Year’s Day, there will be a nut harvest”; "New Year - turn to spring"; "New Year - sleigh on the move"; "The New Year is picking up the first hour of the day."

In addition, January 14 (January 1, old style) in the old days was called Vasily’s Day - the celebration of the memory of St. Basil the Great of Caesarea - and was decisive for the whole year.

On this day, it was customary to perform all kinds of fortune-telling and ancient rituals. The evening before (now January 13) was called Vasilyev's evening. Especially waiting for him were unmarried girls, who at that time willingly told fortunes. They believed: whatever you predict on Vasily’s Day will definitely come true.

Saint Basil was considered the “pig farmer” - the patron saint of pig farmers and pork products, and they believed that if there was a lot of pork on the table on the night before St. Basil’s Day, then these animals would breed in abundance and bring good profits to their owners.

Therefore, the main festive dish on Vasily’s Day was a pig, which was roasted whole; a hare and a rooster were also prepared. According to legend, roast pig ensures prosperity for the coming year; They ate hare meat to be as agile as a hare, and rooster meat to be as light as a bird.

An interesting ritual was going from house to house to treat yourself to pork dishes. On the night of Vasily, guests certainly had to be fed pork pies, boiled or baked pork legs, and in general any dishes that included pork. A pig's head was also required to be placed on the table.

There was also a custom on Vasily’s day to cook porridge with special rituals. On New Year's Eve, at 2 o'clock, the eldest of the women brought cereals from the barn (usually buckwheat), and the eldest man brought water from a well or river. It was impossible to touch the cereal and water until the stove burned out - they simply stood on the table. Then everyone sat down at the table, and the eldest of the women began to stir the porridge in the pot, while pronouncing certain ritual words.

Then everyone got up from the table, and the hostess put the porridge in the oven - with a bow. The finished porridge was taken out of the oven and examined carefully. If the pot was simply full, and the porridge was rich and crumbly, then you could wait happy year and a rich harvest - they ate such porridge the next morning. If the porridge came out of the pot, or was small and white, and the pot cracked, this did not bode well for the owners of the house, and then trouble was expected, and the porridge was thrown away.

In the old days, on Vasiliev's Day, peasants went from house to house with congratulations and wishes for well-being. At the same time, an ancient ritual was performed, known under different names: avsen, ovsen, autumn, etc. Its essence was that the children of the peasants, having gathered together before mass, went from house to house to sow grains of oats, buckwheat, rye and other grains and at the same time sang a sowing song.

The owners of the house gave the sprinkler something as a gift, and the grains scattered by him were carefully collected, stored until spring and mixed with other seeds when sowing spring crops.

There is also a tradition in Russia on the night of the Old New Year to make and cook dumplings, some of which contain surprises. In each locality (even in each family), the meanings of surprises may differ.

According to signs, if the night before Vasily’s Day the sky is clear and starry, it means there will be a rich harvest of berries. According to popular belief, St. Basil the Great protects gardens from worms and pests. On the morning of the Old New Year, you need to walk through the garden with the words of an ancient conspiracy: “As I shake off (name) the white fluffy snow, so Saint Basil will shake off every worm-reptile in the spring!”

Some regions of Russia have their own traditions of celebrating the Old New Year. For example, in Yalga, a suburban village of Saransk (Mordovia), residents gather around the New Year’s bonfire, dance in circles and, along with old things, burn all the troubles that have accumulated over the year. It has also become a tradition for them comic fortune telling with an old boot or felt boot. Yalga residents stand in a circle and pass each other a “magic shoe”, in which there are notes with good wishes. They believe that a note pulled from a boot will definitely bring good luck.

The tradition of celebrating the Old New Year has been preserved not only in Russia, but also in the former Soviet republics. In Belarus and Ukraine, the evening before January 14 is called “generous”, since it is customary to prepare “generous kutya” - a rich table after the Nativity fast. Both Georgia and Abkhazia celebrate the Old New Year.

In Abkhazia, January 13 is officially listed as Azhyrnykhua or Khechhuama - Day of the Creation of the World, renewal. It is a holiday and non-working day. The holiday of renewal or creation of the world originates in the pagan past of the country and is associated with the veneration of the deity Shashva, the patron saint of blacksmiths. Traditionally, on this day, roosters and goats are slaughtered as a sacrifice to Shashwa. The holiday brings together all paternal relatives under the roof of the family sanctuary - the “smithy”. Representatives of other people's clans - wives and daughters-in-law - remain at home.

The Old New Year is also celebrated in some other countries.

In the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia) the Old New Year is also celebrated on the night of January 13-14, since the Serbian Orthodox Church, like the Russian, continues to live according to the Julian calendar.

Serbs call this holiday "Serbian New Year" or Little Christmas. Sometimes Serbs on this day bring “badnjak” into the house - one of the two logs that they prepared on Christmas Eve for Christmas and Little Christmas.

In Montenegro, it is customary to call this holiday “Prava Nova Godina”, which means “correct New Year”.

Basilica is prepared for the Old New Year: round pies made of corn dough with kaymak - cream curdled like cheese. Sometimes another dish is prepared from corn dough - parenitsa.

On the night of January 14, people gather at the festive table to celebrate the arrival of the New Year in Greece. This Greek holiday is called St. Basil's Day, famous for his kindness. While waiting for this saint, Greek children leave their shoes by the fireplaces for St. Basil to put gifts in them.

In Romania, the Old New Year is celebrated more often in a narrow circle of family, less often with friends. For the festive table, they make New Year's pies with surprises: coins, porcelain figurines, rings, hot peppers. A ring found in a pie promises great luck.

Old New Year is also celebrated in northeastern Switzerland in some German-speaking cantons. Residents of the canton of Appenzell in the 16th century did not accept the reform of Pope Gregory and still celebrate the holiday on the night of January 13-14. On January 13, they celebrate the old day of St. Sylvester, who, according to legend, captured a terrible monster in 314.

It was believed that in the year 1000 a monster would break free and destroy the world, but this did not happen. Since then, on New Year's Day, Swiss residents dress up in masquerade costumes, put fancy structures on their heads that resemble dolls' houses or botanical gardens, and call themselves Sylvester Klaus. Walking along the streets, local residents make noise and shout, thereby driving out evil spirits and inviting good spirits.

In addition, Old Style New Year is celebrated in the small Welsh community in Wales in the west of Great Britain. On January 13th they celebrate "Hen Galan". There are no fireworks or champagne on this day. "Hen Galan" is greeted according to the traditions of their ancestors with songs, carols and local home-made beer.

Since 1752 in the United Kingdom The Gregorian calendar is in effect, where the New Year begins on January 1. But a small community of Welsh farmers, centered in a village called Guane Valley, celebrates the New Year according to the Julian calendar, and unlike the rest of the country, January 13 is their official day off.

The reason why the Gwayne Valley and its surrounding farms fell behind the times is now unknown. Some say that it was the will of a local feudal lord opposed to the Catholic Church. Others believe that it was the will of the entire community, which decided to defend its traditional way of life.

The children start the holiday. WITH early morning they carol throughout the valley, collecting gifts and money. For adults, the fun comes in the late afternoon. The whole village and nearby farms gather at the local pub. Outside visitors are not allowed. The ancient pub, one of the few in the UK where beer is brewed and then poured into jugs, serves nothing but beer. Local residents bring their own food. In the pub, people, to the accompaniment of an accordion, sing songs in Welsh that were sung by their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

For local residents, "Hen Galan" is a celebration of good neighborliness and "open doors" - but open to their own. According to legend, in ancient times the inhabitants of the valley danced and sang from house to house to visit.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Http://rian.ru/spravka/20110113/320985003.htm

It is customary to celebrate the New Year in Russia for a long time and on a grand scale - in January we rest for more than a week. However festive mood persists even after the end of the official holidays, because on the night of January 13-14, the whole country celebrates the Old New Year. Kultura.RF talks about when and how a holiday with such a controversial name appeared.

New Year's pre-revolutionary postcard. Russia, before 1917.

The Old New Year came to our culture along with the old style of chronology.

In 1918, the Bolshevik government decided to change the calendar. Tsarist Russia lived according to the Julian calendar, and Europe lived according to the Gregorian calendar. The first was created in the Roman Empire and was based on ancient Egyptian astronomy. The Gregorian calendar was more accurate; it was created in the 16th century, taking into account the latest knowledge about the structure of the universe. The difference between the two calculation systems was 13 days and created inconvenience for the conduct of international political and economic affairs and led to funny incidents in everyday life. For example, judging by the dates on the postmarks, it turned out that the telegram was received in Europe several days earlier than it was sent in Russia.

The transition to the Western European calendar occurred on February 14, 1918. According to the decree, the main goal of the entire project was “to establish in Russia the same calculus with almost all cultural peoples.”

Appeared and unusual holiday- the old New Year, that is, the New Year according to the old style, which was not forgotten among the people. However, the Old New Year was not celebrated on such a large scale as the night from December 31 to January 1.

The Russian clergy did not agree with the transition to a new style and did not abandon the Julian calendar. But this was not so important for the Bolsheviks, who had already signed the Decree on the separation of church from state and school from church. The old style became unofficial.

Today, the Russian Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar. Therefore, Christmas in our country is celebrated on January 7, and in Catholic countries on December 25. The Orthodox Church celebrates the New Year, or rather “new year,” on September 14 (September 1, old style) - not from the Nativity of Christ, but from the creation of the world. During the secular period New Year's holidays Believers keep the Nativity Fast.

Directly on January 1, the holy martyr Boniface is commemorated, to whom one should pray to get rid of drunkenness (the disease of drinking wine).

Contrary to popular belief, the tradition of celebrating the Old New Year exists not only in our country. There are similar holidays in the countries of the former USSR, as well as in Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Algeria, Tunisia and many other countries. In all countries, the appearance of an unusual date is associated with transitions to different calendars, but each country has its own traditions. In the German-speaking regions of Switzerland, for example, on January 13, they celebrate the old St. Sylvester's Day, dress up in fancy dress and wish each other a Happy New Year. In Macedonia, carnivals are held on New Year's Day according to the old calendar. There is an analogue of our holiday in Wales - the Hen Galan festival. It also means the onset of the New Year according to the Julian calendar, and on this day children can “carol” - go from house to house and receive sweet gifts.

In Russia, according to statistics, about half of the country's population celebrates the Old New Year, gathering at the festive table. A number of museums and cultural organizations devote thematic exhibitions to the holiday.

On the night of January 13-14, Russia celebrates a unique holiday for the entire post-Soviet space. And while the whole world looks at this with bewilderment, let’s try to figure out how this holiday arose and what its traditions are.

So, the celebration of the Old New Year came from a change in chronology - when, according to tradition, the holiday was celebrated in the old and new styles. Moreover, for many, the night from January 13 to 14 is the real New Year, because this tradition is much older. The new chronology was introduced in Russia not so long ago - in 1918, while the old New Year is already more than 300 years old. In addition to Russia, the Old New Year is also celebrated in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other countries inhabited by the Eastern Slavs.

Now about the traditions of the holiday: the Old New Year falls at the very height of Christmastide - a time of fun and matchmaking. According to Orthodox church canons, it is forbidden to work on these days, you cannot baptize children, get married and tell fortunes. It is curious that, despite all the prohibitions, fortune telling is the most popular tradition of the Old New Year: it is believed that this particular period is one of the most mystical of the year and the most suitable for fortune telling. Basically, this is fortune telling for the betrothed - they use everything that comes to hand: candles, mirrors, wax, books, coffee grounds, wax and household items.

Even though the Old New Year is inferior in popularity and scale to the night from December 31 to January 1, it has firmly entered the homes of Russians and has become a full-fledged winter holiday. Perhaps because it provides an opportunity to take a break from the hustle and bustle, to be close to loved ones and family in a cozy and calm environment.

As psychologist Natalya Kuznetsova said, two new years are like two birthdays, and at the same time they are very different:

— They don’t give up on the old New Year not only because people are always happy about an additional holiday, but also because it clearly shows psychological aspects holiday, such as reluctance to part with the old year, the difficulties of experiencing losses and separations, anxiety for the future.

Fortune telling, according to the psychologist, allows you to cope with anxiety about the future:
— I myself, like many girls, also wondered in adolescence. But I stopped when I was 20 years old, when at the next fortune-telling for the New Year I saw the death of one person very close to me, and then I had a dream that night about it. That same year, a terrible event happened... So fortune telling can reduce anxiety, or maybe increase it. Rather, by guessing, we are trying to overcome the fear of uncertainty. It’s interesting that the church forbade fortune-telling, but people kept guessing anyway, because the fear of uncertainty is stronger than the ban,” notes Natalya Kuznetsova.

On the eve of the Old New Year, you can do everything that you didn’t have time to do on December 31: make a wish during the chimes, go to city ​​tree, set off fireworks, clink glasses of champagne again with your loved ones - after all, the holiday should be in the soul, and its origin and traditions, dates and canons = not so important.
Mikhail Lansky