old New Year
- international holiday
The Old New Year, as a holiday, occurred as a result of a historical change in chronology and the divergence of the “old style” or Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar - the new one, according to which almost the whole world now lives. The discrepancy between these calendars was 13 days. Thus, it turned out that now you can “pre-celebrate” your favorite New Year’s holiday once again - on the night of January 13 to January 14.
This holiday is especially important for believers, who can celebrate the arrival of the New Year with all their hearts only on the Old New Year - after the Nativity Fast ends.
Day of the creation of Russian pipeline troops
In Russia, the Pipeline Troops celebrate their professional holiday every year on January 14th.
November 22, 1951 I.V. Stalin signed a Decree on the production of a new prototype of the pipeline.
Based on the adopted Resolution of January 14, 1952, the Minister of War of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky signed a directive, which ordered the formation of the very first separate battalion to pump fuel. The date of signing of this directive became the birthday of the Russian pipeline troops.
Day of Defenders of the Motherland in Uzbekistan
In honor of the creation of the Uzbek Armed Forces, on January 14, independent Uzbekistan celebrates the Day of Defenders of the Motherland.
The celebration of this day was established according to the decision of the Supreme Council of the Republic on December 29, 1993.
Harvest Festival
- holiday in India
After the winter solstice, Pongal or Harvest Festival is celebrated in India every January. The date of this holiday is unchanged because it was determined based on the solar calendar. The Pongala holiday for Hindus is extremely auspicious and astronomically important - every year on January 14, the sun, moving into the constellation Capricorn, begins its journey to the north, which will last six months.
International Kite Festival
Paper kites of different colors, sizes and shapes will fly into the blue Indian winter sky today - one of the main embodiments of people's dream of flying in the sky.
The International Kite Festival takes place on January 14 every year in western India in the city of Ahmedabad, the largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. At the same time, the Makar Sankranti festival, or otherwise Uttarayan, is held in India - a festival celebrating the change of seasons and the movement of the sun to the northern hemisphere, and with it the end of winter.
Religious holiday
Circumcision of the Lord
Christians, starting from the 4th century, celebrate on this day an event that took place seven days after the birth of Jesus Christ - the circumcision of the Lord. The Apostle Luke spoke about this event in his Gospel.
Since then, every year on the eighth day after the Nativity of Christ, i.e. According to the new style, this is January 14, this event is celebrated.
The circumcision of the Lord is a great holiday for the Orthodox Church, and for the ancient Jews it determined belonging to God’s chosen people, because the uncircumcised was considered a Gentile who was unworthy to make a sacrifice to God and even turn to Him.
Circumcision from the Old Testament was a kind of prototype of modern Christian baptism. The Baby Jesus was brought to the temple for circumcision by the Most Holy Theotokos Mary and Joseph, Her betrothed and the imaginary father of Jesus. A ceremony was performed there and the child was named Jesus (Savior).
On this holiday, Orthodox Christians remember that the Most Holy Theotokos and Her betrothed Joseph were Jews who revered the Torah, which, to designate themselves as God’s chosen people, prescribes the ritual of circumcision.
Orthodox Christians piously recognize the right of the Jews to be chosen by God, therefore they celebrate the Circumcision of the Lord with reverence.
The first apostles and Christians, who were descended from Jews, were also circumcised.
Day of St. Basil the Great (Vasil's Day)
Before the calendar reform, Vasily's Day was celebrated every year on New Year's Day - January 1. This holiday was established in honor of Basil of Caesarea or Basil the Great.
Saint Basil the Great was the archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in the 4th century and became famous as the creator of the idea of the iconostasis, the author of sermons and theologian.
Saint Basil in Rus' had a nickname - Vasily the Pigman. But this name did not mean anything bad, it’s just that among the people Saint Basil was considered the patron saint of pigs, because on New Year’s Day Christians prepared various pork dishes.
On the day of St. Basil the Great, the peasants went to carol with sayings, stood under the windows and asked: “Give me a pig and a boletus for Vasily’s evening.”
People celebrated “holy evenings” from January 7 to January 14, and “terrible” evenings from January 14 to January 19.
On the day of St. Basil the Great, girls zealously wondered about their marriage.
According to folk superstitions, on the day of St. Basil the Great there had to be a cash reserve in the house, but in order not to “give away” your wealth to someone, they did not lend money on this day.
Sowing a house with grains is also a ritual that was believed to promote productivity. On this holiday, the older children scattered grains on the floor of the house, and the eldest woman in the house had to collect them and store them until sowing.
The harvest was judged by folk signs. Severe frost or snow on this day foreshadowed a fertile year, while a clear starry sky promised a harvest of berries and peas, and a snow blizzard foreshadowed a good harvest of nuts.
Name day on this day from Alexander, Bogdan, Vasily, Vyacheslav, Gregory, Ivan, Mikhail, Nikolai, Peter, Platon, Trofim, Fedot
What dates does our history not contain? The Old New Year holiday is not on any calendar in 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 emerging dual tradition greatly surprises foreigners, and not all of our compatriots know why this happens. Where did the custom of celebrating the Old New Year come from? What date is it celebrated? In our article we will understand all the mysteries of the appearance of this amazing holiday.
Change of chronology
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the Julian calendar was in effect in Russia. Back in the sixteenth century, astronomers recognized it as erroneous, and the countries of Europe began to live according to the Gregorian system, introduced by Gregory XIII. The thing is that the year has a different average length, and therefore a difference in dates gradually arose.
By 1917, there was a discrepancy of as much as 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 the same format as the European one. The decree issued by Vladimir Lenin in 1918 on the transition of Russia to one eliminated the confusion in numbers, and the whole world began to live according to the same chronology.
This is the history of the holiday. The Old New Year, as we see, arose due to a change in the calendar. Instead of moving the event from one date to another, the current historical situation provided another reason for celebration. Now we have two opportunities to celebrate the coming year, this can be done in the old and new style.
Origins - in church traditions
The Julian calendar was preserved in the Russian Orthodox Church, which to this day calculates everything only according to it. While preserving traditional time, the so-called “old style,” the Russian Church rejects the European chronology. Since the worldly New Year falls on January 14, the Old New Year can otherwise be called the New Year according to the old style. It was this day before the revolution that was considered the first day of January. Historically, our ancestors, having switched to a new calendar, did not move away from the previous one. This is the secret of the two New Year holidays in our country and some nearby countries.
Is it possible to have a feast during Lent?
For Orthodox people, the current January 1st falls during the strict Nativity Fast. During this period, believers refuse meat, savory food and entertainment. These prohibitions end only because on January 14, 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 set with any dishes.
Second chance, or To be continued...
Surprisingly, since 1918, people have traditionally celebrated the Old New Year every year. Today even children know what date to celebrate this holiday.
What is the secret of the holiday’s popularity is difficult to answer unequivocally. For some, this is the Orthodox New Year, for others it is a reason to gather the whole family at the table, for others it is an opportunity to complete what they did not manage to do before January 1st.
The pre-New Year bustle and hype has subsided, there is no more running around the shops in search of gifts and products, and a person has a unique chance to prolong the charm of the holiday. If you celebrated the chimes on December 31st with your family, then this time you can have a party with friends, or vice versa. If, when setting the table at the end of last year, you prepared the traditional Olivier salad and herring under a fur coat, then on this day you can experiment with new dishes.
What to do on Old New Year?
It's no secret that TV has become a part of our lives. The whole country watches TV programs, programs and films. Prepared specifically for New Year's Eve, some shows may be of interest. If you missed a holiday movie or program last time because of a trip to the Christmas tree or a noisy feast, then don’t be upset: TV people, well aware of this point, usually repeat their program on the evening of January 13th. Each family can come up with its own traditions for celebrating the Old New Year.
The carol has arrived - open the gates
Mid-January is Christmas time. They begin on Christmas Eve and last for two weeks until Epiphany. Being in the middle, the holiday divides Christmastide 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.” The ancestors believed that evil spirits were walking around these days. People turned to fortune telling and recalled various rituals. On the Old New Year, on Christmas Eve and the eve of Epiphany, it was customary to carol.
This folk event was something like a fun carnival. Young people and children dressed up in various costumes and masks and walked around the village. Stopping at each house, they sang special songs. Moreover, they were performed both on Christmas and Epiphany, and not just on the Old New Year.
The history of the origin of the word “kolyada” is associated with the Latin term calendae, which translates as “first day of the month.” The semantic meaning has gradually changed, and now it means funny songs that mummers sing under the windows of houses, while collecting alms - treats.
The sheepskin coat is inside out, the bag is in your hands, and off you go!
For this fun, young people usually gathered in a whole group. A “mekhonosh” was always appointed, who was responsible for a large basket or bag where treats brought by generous owners were placed. Most often they dressed up as animals, for example, a bear, a wolf or a goat. They also dressed as all kinds of evil spirits, for example, the devil or Baba Yaga. At the same time, complex costumes were not required; the transformation took place literally using scrap materials. The sheepskin coat was turned inside out and tied with a simple rope, the face was smeared with soot, coal or sprinkled with flour.
Treat a caroler to a year of living with dignity: signs for the Old New Year
The carolers praised the owners, their generosity, house, livestock and yard, congratulated them on the holiday, wished them health, wealth, a bountiful harvest, and for this the owners presented them with pies, pancakes and other goodies. Such treats were prepared in advance and in large quantities. It was considered to ignore the carolers. For those owners who regretted the treats, the mummers not only sang ditties ridiculing greed, but could also cause mischief by bringing down a woodpile of firewood, tying the doors with resin rope, or in other ways. It happened that a cheerful procession forgot to enter a house, accidentally letting it pass. Such an incident was considered a harbinger of something bad. Carol carolers did not enter homes that were visited by misfortune during the year and claimed someone’s life.
Protection from dark forces
Naturally, such dressing up as all kinds of evil spirits was not welcomed by the Church and was considered a devilish undertaking. Therefore, at the end of Christmas time, carolers washed themselves with holy water and hurried to atone for sin in the temple of God. For a long time, people have tried in every possible way to protect themselves and their home from various troubles; there were special conspiracies for this. On the Old New Year, for example, to protect against the evil eye, damage and misfortune, it was supposed to take 3 lit candles and read the following words near the entrance to the house: “Happiness is in the house, all troubles are out!” Whoever thinks evil will be returned threefold. Whoever wants to jinx him, trouble will find him. And the Lord will protect this house, Saint Basil will look after it. Amen". These Old New Year conspiracies were repeated not only at the threshold, but also at every window in the house. In the old days, people adhered to such rituals very strictly.
Folk signs for the Old New Year
As you know, there are events that contain unusual days and those associated with them. The history of the holiday is also noted in it. The Old New Year is celebrated on January 14 and is called Vasily's Day according to the folk calendar. People noticed that if the weather was frosty and little snow, this promised a bountiful harvest. The thaw on this day was perceived as a harbinger of a cold and lean summer. There were other signs too. On the Old New Year there was a blizzard - nuts would be born.
“Avsen, avsen, you walked around everyone...”
Vasiliev's Day was a holiday of agriculture, and therefore it was celebrated cheerfully: calendar songs were sung, round dances were held, people started dancing. Traditional rituals were also used. On the Old New Year, they carried out seeding and scattered wheat grain in the house. They also prayed that she would be born this summer.
The patron saint of not only agriculture, but also pig breeding was considered the holy martyr Basil, whose day was celebrated on the Old New Year. The story goes that the owners prepared meat dishes, pies, and pork jellied meats. It was believed that this would bring health and happiness to everyone at home. In addition, it was necessary to treat the guests with meat, so that night people went to each other - both to congratulate and taste goodies.
Whatever kind of porridge you brew, that’s how you’ll spend the year
Another interesting tradition has been preserved by the history of the holiday. The Old New Year was a day of predictions. At night, elderly members of the family, a man and a woman, prepared ritual porridge. First, they waited until the oven got hot, and then they poured water over the cereal and put the pot in the oven overnight. By how the porridge turned out, they determined what the coming year would be like. A whole pot and aromatic and crumbly porridge foreshadowed a happy future and a good harvest. This dish was eaten in the morning. If the cereal ended up outside the pot, running over the edge, or the vessel itself cracked, poverty and a bad harvest awaited the owners. In this case, the ritual porridge was not eaten, but was immediately thrown away.
Even in ancient times, people said: “As you greet the year, so will you spend it.” This statement, which has survived to this day, encourages us to set a rich table with treats and dishes on the holiday and have fun, inviting wealth, prosperity and health into our home.
Russians are accustomed to celebrating the New Year twice – on January 1 and 14. But this is not just because we love holidays. Not even because we love to eat and sing. Some people do not think about ancient customs, but celebrate the Old New Year out of habit, because they have always done it this way.
For the Romans, the day of St. Melania traditionally ended the year, and the day of St. Basil began a new one. In the popular imagination, these images turned into a stable pair and became tied to real historical figures (Prince Vladimir the Great and his mother Malusha). And in ritual texts one can find echoes of legal norms and some details of life in the 10th century.
On the night of January 13-14, Russians celebrate the Old New Year - a holiday that is incomprehensible to many foreigners. No one can really say - how does the Old New Year differ from the traditional New Year that is familiar to everyone? Of course, from the outside it would seem that the issue is only a discrepancy in dates.
However, we all treat the Old New Year as a completely independent holiday that can prolong the charm of the New Year. Or maybe this is the first time to feel it, because the situation can be different, but on this day the holiday is calmer, there is no fuss, so characteristic of the holiday on January 1st.
There are two reasons for the appearance of a unique New Year - a change in the date of the beginning of the New Year in Rus' and the stubbornness of the Russian Orthodox Church, which did not want to switch to the New Style.
Old New Year: History of the holiday
In pagan times, the New Year was celebrated in Rus' on March 22, the day of the vernal equinox, and this was associated with the agricultural cycle. With the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the Byzantine calendar began to gradually replace the old one, and now the New Year began on September 1. For a long time, discord persisted, and in some places the New Year continued to be celebrated in the spring. Only at the end of the 15th century in Rus' the beginning of the New Year was officially determined - September 1.
By decree of Peter I in 1699, the New Year was moved to January 1 according to the old style, that is, to January 14 according to the new style. After the revolution in 1918, the Bolsheviks “abolished” another 13 days a year, which made up the difference between our calendar and the European one.
This is how two New Year celebrations were formed - according to the new and old styles.
On the night of January 13-14, the Old New Year 2018 is celebrated - an additional holiday that arose as a result of the change in chronology.
Old New Year: Holiday Traditions
In the old days, this day was called Vasilyev's Day, and was of decisive importance for the whole year. On Vasilyev's Day, they celebrated the holiday of agriculture, which was associated with the future harvest, and performed the ritual of sowing - hence the name of the holiday "Osen" or "Avsen". This ritual differed in different regions of the country: for example, in Tula, children scattered spring wheat around the house, while saying a prayer for a rich harvest, and the housewife then collected it and stored it until sowing time. Ukrainian rituals were distinguished by fun, dancing and songs.
And there was also a peculiar ritual - cooking porridge. On New Year's Eve, at 2 o'clock, the eldest of the women brought cereal from the barn, 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 - the cereal was usually buckwheat.
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 one could expect a happy year and a rich harvest - such porridge was eaten the next morning. If the porridge came out of the pot, or the pot cracked, this did not bode well for the owners of the house, and then disaster was expected, and the porridge was thrown away. This was the program - either for troubles or for prosperity, and it is not surprising that it was often implemented - after all, they believed in it seriously.
An interesting ritual is going from house to house to treat yourself to pork dishes. On the night of Vasily, guests certainly had to be fed pies with pork, 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. The fact is that Vasily was considered a “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 that night, then these animals would breed in abundance on the farm and bring good profits to the owners. This sign is much more positive than the ritual with porridge, especially for zealous and hardworking owners. The surprisingly sonorous and coherent saying: “A pig and a boletus for Vasiliev’s evening” also contributed to the mood of the owners for economic prosperity and abundance.
But the tradition of making dumplings with surprises for the Old New Year appeared not so long ago - no one remembers exactly where and when, but it is happily observed in many regions of Russia. In some cities, they are made in almost every home - with family and friends, and then they arrange a cheerful feast and eat these dumplings, eagerly waiting for who will get what kind of surprise. This comic fortune telling is especially popular with children. They even bring dumplings with them to work to cheer up their friends and colleagues; and local food factories often produce such dumplings - just for the Old New Year.
The modern Old New Year is now celebrated in the same way as on New Year's Eve. It is believed that on the Old New Year you need to accomplish what you couldn’t do on January 1st. For example: make a wish by first writing it on a napkin, which is burned and thrown into champagne; watch concerts and letters that you haven’t had time to watch yet; send Old New Year greetings to family and friends with repeated wishes for good and health; put gifts that were previously forgotten under the New Year tree, after which it can be removed. In the southern regions, the custom of cooking pig or pork dishes has been preserved to make the New Year rich in good news. In some villages, carols are celebrated, but their true meaning is often lost.
And yet, despite the fact that this day, unfortunately, is not even a day off, the popularity of the Old New Year is growing. According to the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion, the number of people wishing to celebrate the Old New Year has already exceeded 60%. Among those who are going to celebrate the “old” New Year are the majority of pupils and students, workers, entrepreneurs, housewives and, in general, people under 40 years old, with secondary specialized and secondary education, with relatively high incomes.
Fortune telling for the Old New Year
For dinner, as on Christmas Eve, the whole family sits down. It is very important that clothes on this day are thoroughly washed and clean. After dinner, you must definitely go to your neighbors and ask each other for an apology for possible guilt towards each other, so that you can celebrate the New Year in peace and harmony.
The evening before the New Year also gives a chance to those guys who failed during matchmaking. It is this evening that you can make a second attempt. True, for this you need to find the girl at home, and this is very difficult, since gangs of generous girls are already walking around the village. The girls could only be generous under the windows of houses, and then only towards the end of the Generous Evening, that is, towards midnight.
Girls' fortune telling deserves special attention. Whatever the representatives of the weaker half did, just to find out what capricious fate had in store for them. Try at least this: before going to bed, put a comb under your pillow, while saying: “My betrothed mummer, comb my head!” “The one who scratches his head in a dream will be the one who is betrothed.
If you go out into the yard at midnight, you can feel how the new year drives away the old one. On the first day of the New Year, the most common ritual was, and still is, the sowing ceremony. It is believed that this ritual came to us from pre-Christian times, because our ancestors celebrated the New Year not in winter, but in spring, and therefore the sowing ritual is associated with hopes for a good harvest. Most of the sowing was done by children, and the most generous gifts were given to those who came to the house first. In addition to single sowers, there were entire sowing groups. In this case, this interesting ritual turned into a real performance, where the main characters were Vasily, Melanka (Malanka), and the gypsy.
Old New Year: Signs
Signs for January 13 and 14 We were attentive to the signs, among which the following especially stood out:
The weather on Melanka was warm, then the summer will be good;
Frost on the trees meant a fruitful year;
If there was a blizzard or blizzard at night, it was believed that the year would be restless;
Hearing an unusual ringing in the morning was news of a possible replenishment. They made sure to appease livestock so that the New Year would be calm and fruitful for them.
If at least some elements and traditions of the celebration are returned to modern reality, you can improve the New Year's mood even more and make the celebration unforgettable.
Another New Year - on the night of January 13-14 - is usually celebrated with many more rituals than just raising a glass of champagne.
Where did it come from?
For the fact that we celebrate the New Year twice, we must say thanks to the Russian Orthodox Church, or rather, to such a feature of it as conservatism. When the new Gregorian calendar was introduced in Russia in 1918, according to which other countries had lived since 1582, the church did not recognize the innovation and continued to honor holidays according to the Julian calendar or the “old style.” This gave rise to incidents: two Christmases and two New Years, one of which (from December 31 to January 1) falls during Lent.
It is curious that the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars grows by one day every 100 years - this happens when the number of hundreds in the year from the Nativity of Christ is not a multiple of four. From March 1, 2100, the difference will be two weeks, and from 2101, Christmas and Old New Year will come a day later.
Simultaneously with Russia, the Old New Year is celebrated in Belarus and Ukraine, Serbia and Macedonia, Montenegro and Georgia, as well as in Kazakhstan (40% of the population) and in the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. This happens because either the local churches still live according to the Julian calendar, or the people do not forget the tradition of not accepting the transition from the old calendar to the new one.
Meeting between Vasily and Melanka
People call the night from January 13 to 14 the meeting of Vasily with Melanka. According to the Orthodox calendar, January 13 is the day of remembrance of St. Melania (Melanka), and January 14 is the day of St. Basil the Great.
The Melanka festival has long been popular among young people. On a festive evening, guys could get a second chance to win the girl they liked: if earlier the matchmaking ended in refusal (“garmelon”), then on the eve of the Old New Year he could send matchmakers again.
And the girls were supposed to guess about Melanka. People used to say: “If a girl makes a wish for Vasily, she won’t miss it.” According to tradition, during girls’ fortune-telling, the boys removed the gates from the fortune-tellers’ fences, and the girls’ fathers could return the stolen goods only through the Magarych.
Fortune telling
Some fortune telling looks like this.
Go outside: whichever animal you see first is the one you will be betrothed to. If you meet a sheep, you will find a quiet and docile husband. And the cutest dog is for a dog's life.
Place three piles of grain at the gate, and check in the morning: if everything is untouched, it means a happy family life, and if on the contrary, alas...
You can also put a comb under the pillow, saying before going to bed: “Mummer, comb my head!” Whoever you see in your dream is the one you will marry.
Another fortune telling. Before going to bed, place broken brooms in a plate of water and say: “Mummer, take me across the bridge.” If in the morning you find that the debris has gathered in a halo, then get engaged to the one in your dream.
Generous evening
According to a long-standing tradition, on New Year's Eve, Vasiliev's evening is celebrated - it is also “generous”. On this day it is customary to set a rich table. To thank those who sow and give, housewives bake pies, fry pancakes and make dumplings. Pork dishes are especially relevant, because holy
Vasily is the patron saint of pig farmers.
As at Christmas, kutia is prepared for Vasily, which is called “generous”. Unlike Lenten (on Kolyada), generous kutya is usually seasoned with lard and meat - skoromnina. You need to cook kutya early in the morning, without taking your eyes off the utensils. According to legend, a cracked pot or kutia falling out of a pot means trouble. If the kutia succeeds, it must be eaten clean, and if a bad omen comes true, then the brew must be thrown into the hole with the pot.
On a generous evening, kutya is placed in the red corner - on pokuti. For dinner on the Old New Year, you need to sit down, just like at Christmas, with the whole family. It is important for everyone to wear clean clothes. And after dinner, it is customary to ask forgiveness (including from neighbors) for possible offenses in order to celebrate the New Year in harmony.
The key to the treat
"Shchedrik-Petrik,
Give me the dumpling!
a spoonful of porridge,
Top sausages.
This is not enough
Give me a piece of bacon.
Take it out quickly
Don't freeze the children!
How many aspens,
So many pigs for you;
How many Christmas trees
So many cows;
How many candles
So many sheep.
Good luck to you,
The owner and the hostess
Great health,
Happy New Year,
With all the family! "
Once upon a time, Shchedrovki were vesnyankas, because until the 15th century the Slavs celebrated the New Year in March. It was the time of return of birds from warmer climes, therefore many ancient Shchedrovkas contain references to spring birds - finches, cuckoos or swallows.
How to give and sow
The first guest brings happiness to the house. It was considered a good sign if he turned out to be a guy from a large family with a strong household. It was not welcomed if the first guest was a girl or woman of childbearing age. And it’s really bad if an old maid, a widow, a cripple or an old man comes to visit first. Therefore, girls most often do not sow, and if they go to give generously, they do not enter the house or come after the guys.
On the evening of January 13 (Melankin evening), girls (women) give generously. And on January 14, only boys (men) sow.
What does a goat have to do with it?
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, the festive mood continues 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 counting systems was 13 days and created inconvenience for conducting 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.”
An unusual holiday also appeared - 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 New Year 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, the Old New Year is celebrated by about half of the country's population, gathering at the festive table. A number of museums and cultural organizations devote thematic exhibitions to the holiday.
