What dates does not contain our history! The Old New Year holiday is not in any calendar of the world, but for almost a century it has been celebrated in our country and in some countries near and far abroad. Almost two weeks after the first of January, the fun at the Christmas tree returns. The existing dual tradition is very surprising for foreigners, and not all of our compatriots know why this happens. Where did the custom come from to celebrate the Old New Year? What date is it celebrated? We will understand in our article all the riddles of the appearance of this amazing holiday.
Change of chronology
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the Julian calendar operated in Russia. Back in the sixteenth century, astronomers recognized it as a mistake, and the countries of Europe began to live according to the Gregorian, introduced by Gregory XIII. The thing is that the year has a different average duration, and therefore, a difference in dates gradually appeared.
By 1917, there was a difference of thirteen days in Russia and Europe. Having come to power, the Bolsheviks carried out numerous changes and reforms, including the issue of bringing time into one format with the European one. A decree issued by Vladimir Lenin in 1918 on the transition of Russia to the Gregorian calendar eliminated confusion in numbers, and the whole world began to live according to one calendar.
This is the story of the holiday. The old New Year, as we see, arose due to a calendar change. Instead of moving the event from one date to another, in the current historical situation, there was another reason for celebration. Now we have two opportunities to meet the coming year, this can be done in the old and new style.
Origins - in church traditions
The Julian calendar is preserved in the Russian Orthodox Church, which to this day calculates all Christian holidays only on it. Preserving the traditional time, the so-called "old style", the Russian church rejects European chronology. Since the secular New Year falls on January 14, the Old New Year can be called the New Year in the old style. This day before the revolution was considered the first day of January. Historically, our ancestors, having switched to the new calendar, did not depart from the former. This is the secret of the two New Year holidays in our country and some of the closest states.
Is a feast possible during fasting?
For Orthodox people, the current January 1 falls on a strict Christmas fast. During this period, believers refuse meat, food and entertainment. These prohibitions end only on the 7th, so January 14th, the Old New Year becomes a truly special day when you can enjoy life and enjoy the holiday. In European countries, Catholic Christmas is celebrated on December 25, so the New Year's table can be safely covered with any dishes.
The second chance, or To be continued ...
Surprisingly, since 1918, traditionally and annually people celebrate the Old New Year. Today, even children know what date to celebrate this holiday.
What is the secret of the popularity of the holiday, it is definitely difficult to answer. For some, this is the Orthodox New Year, for others it is an occasion to gather the whole family at the table, for others it is an opportunity to complete what they did not have before January 1.
New Year's bustle and hype settled down, there is no more shopping running around in search of gifts and products, and a person has a unique chance to extend the charm of the holiday. If you met the chimes on December 31 with your family, this time you can have a party with friends, or vice versa. If, by laying the table at the end of last year, you were preparing a traditional salad of Olivier and herring under a fur coat, then on this day you can experiment with new dishes.
What to do in the Old New Year?
It's no secret that television has firmly entered our lives. TV shows, programs and films are watched by the whole country. Prepared specifically for New Year's Eve, some shows may be of interest. If you missed a holiday film or program last time because of a trip to the Christmas tree or a noisy feast, then you should not be upset: television people, who understand this moment very well, usually repeat their program on the evening of January 13. Each family can come up with its own traditions for celebrating the Old New Year.
The carriage came - open the gate
Mid January is Christmas time. They begin on Christmas Eve and last two weeks, right up to Baptism. Being in the middle, the holiday divides the Christmas time into two halves. The first week was called "holy evenings." This time is dedicated to the birth of Christ. But the second week was called "terrible evenings." Ancestors believed that unclean power was walking these days. People turned to fortune telling, recalled various rites. On New Year's Eve, on Christmas Eve and Epiphany Eve it was customary to carol.
This folk action was a bit of a fun carnival. Young people and children dressed in various costumes, masks and walked around the village. Staying at each house, they sang special songs. Moreover, they were performed both at Christmas and at Baptism, and not just on the Old New Year.
The origin of the word “carol” is related to the Latin term calendae, which translates as “the first day of the month”. The semantic meaning has gradually changed, and now it denotes funny songs sang by young people under the windows of houses, while collecting alms - treats.
A sheepskin coat - inside out, a bag - in your hands, and go around the yards!
For this fun, young people usually gathered in a group. Be sure to appoint a "mech", who was responsible for a large basket or bag, where the treats made by the generous owners were formed. Most often dressed up in animals, for example, a bear, a wolf or a goat. Dressed and all evil spirits, for example, the devil or Baba Yaga. At the same time, complex costumes were not required, the transformation was literally due to improvised materials. The sheepskin coat turned inside out and tied with a simple rope, the face was smeared with soot, charcoal or sprinkled with flour.
Treat the caroller - to live with dignity: signs for the Old New Year
The carols praised the owners, their generosity, home, livestock and yard, congratulated them on the holiday, wished them health, wealth, a plentiful harvest, and for this the owners presented them with cakes, pancakes and other goodies. Such treats were prepared in advance and in large quantities. Ignoring the carollers was considered a bad omen. Those owners who took pity on the treats, the mummers not only sang the ditties making fun of greed, but they could also spoil them by bringing down a pile of wood, tying doors with tar pitch, or in other ways. It happened that a fun procession forgot to go into a house, accidentally missing it. Such an incident was considered a harbinger of something bad. The carols did not enter the dwellings that were visited during the year by a disaster that claimed their lives.
Dark Force Protection
Naturally, such dressing up in all evil spirits was not welcomed by the Church and was considered a devilish undertaking. Therefore, carollers at the end of Christmas time were washed with holy water and were in a hurry to pray for sin in the temple of God. Since ancient times, people have tried every way to protect themselves and their home from various troubles, for this there were special conspiracies. For Old New Year, for example, it was supposed to take 3 lighted candles and read the following words near the entrance to the house to protect against evil eye, damage and misfortune: “Happiness is in the house, all troubles are over! Whoever concocts an evil will return three times. Who wants to jinx, that trouble will find. But this Lord guards the house, St. Basil will look. Amen". These plots repeated on the Old New Year, not only at the doorstep, but at every window in the house. In olden times, people very strictly adhered to such rites.
Folk omens for the Old New Year
As you know, there is a calendar of folk signs and events that contain unusual days and natural phenomena associated with them. The history of the holiday is also noted in it. Old New Year is celebrated on January 14 and is called according to the national calendar - Vasiliev Day. People noted that if the weather was frosty and lightly snowy, then this promised a plentiful harvest. The thaw on this day was perceived as a harbinger of a cold and lean summer. There were other signs. A blizzard broke out on the Old New Year - nuts will be freed.
"Avsen, Avsen, you walked about everything ..."
Vasiliev’s day was a celebration of agriculture, in connection with this he met merrily: they sang calendar songs, had round dances, people started dancing. Traditional ceremonies were also used. On the Old New Year sowing was carried out, a grain of wheat was scattered in the house. They also prayed that she would be born this summer.
The patron saint of not only agriculture, but also pig farming was considered the holy martyr Basil, whose day was honored in the Old New Year. The story goes that the owners prepared meat dishes, pies, pork jellied meat. It was believed that this would bring health and happiness to all home. In addition, it was necessary to treat guests with meat, so this night people went to each other - and to congratulate, and taste the goodies.
What porridge you make, so you spend a year
Another interesting tradition is the history of the holiday. Old New Year was a day of predictions. At night, elderly representatives of the family, a man and a woman, prepared ritual cereal. At first they waited for the stove to heat up, and then they poured the cereal with water and put the pot in the oven for the night. By what the porridge turned out, they determined what the coming year would be like. A whole pot and fragrant and crumbly porridge portended a happy future and a good harvest. This dish was eaten in the morning. If the groats turned out to be outside the pot, running over the edge, or the vessel itself cracked, poverty and a lean year were waiting for the owners. In this case, they did not eat ritual porridge, but immediately threw it away.
Even in ancient times, people said: "As you meet a year, you will spend it." Reached to this day, this statement encourages us to set a rich table with treats and dishes on holiday and have fun, inviting wealth, prosperity and health to your home.