Old New Year: why is the same holiday celebrated twice in Russia
On the night of 13 to 14 January, Russia celebrates the Old
New Year. This repeated celebration almost two weeks after the official one has
become a family tradition for many generations in our country. But why did this
calendar paradox arise, and what is the meaning of the new year the old way? We
will explain it in our material.
CALENDAR REFORMS
Throughout its history, Russia has transitioned to a new
chronology several times. Before the adoption of Orthodoxy, our ancestors lived
by a calendar in which the start of the year changed repeatedly. Notable
periods included the winter solstice (21-22 December) and the spring equinox
(20-21 March), or the first spring full moon. This was so until 988 — the
Baptism of Rus — when the Byzantine chronology system ("from the creation
of the world" from the year 5508) and the Julian calendar were adopted.
In 1492, during the reign of Ivan III, the new year began to
be celebrated on 1 September. Ninety years later — in 1582 — Pope Gregory XIII
introduced a new chronology system and replaced the Julian calendar with the
Gregorian one. 117 years after that, Tsar Peter I issued two decrees. The first
prescribed counting the new time from the Nativity of Christ. Thus, the
then-current year 7208 from the creation of the world became the year 1699. The
second decree established the secular celebration of the New Year on 1 January.
Peter I did not adopt the Gregorian calendar, and Russia continued to live by
the old Julian calendar. The date used by the Church to mark the new year
remained unchanged — 1 September.
The next, and to date last, reform occurred with the rise to
power of the Bolsheviks. On 24 January 1918, the Council of People's Commissars
of the RSFSR adopted a decree on the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in
the country. This chronology came to be called the new style, while the Julian
one — the old style. The decree prescribed that the day following 31 January
1918 should be considered not 1 February, but 14 February, thus creating a
13-day difference between the old and new styles. The Russian Orthodox Church,
as before, retained the Julian calendar chronology.
OLD NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
The Old New Year is celebrated not only in Russia. Similar
holidays exist in countries of the former USSR, as well as in Greece, Serbia,
Romania, Montenegro, Algeria, Tunisia and others. And each of them has its own
traditions. In the German-speaking regions of Switzerland, for example, old
Saint Sylvester's Day is celebrated on 13 January, with people dressing in
masquerade costumes and wishing each other a Happy New Year. In Macedonia,
carnivals are held for the New Year by the old calendar. An analogue of our
holiday exists in Wales, where for over 250 years a small community has
celebrated it on 13 January as part of the Hen Galan festival. It is celebrated
without fireworks and champagne, but according to ancestral traditions — with
songs, carols, and local home-brewed beer. It also marks the arrival of the New
Year according to the Julian calendar, and on this day children go from house
to house receiving sweet gifts.
In Russia, before the transition to the Gregorian calendar,
the Feast of Agriculture, or St. Basil's Day, was celebrated. On this day,
everyone tried to show as much generosity as possible towards others. Mandatory
dishes on the festive table were wheat porridge with meat, pies, and pancakes.
In honour of St. Basil's Day, a festive dinner would be organised in the
evening and neighbours would be invited.
When the Old New Year replaced St. Basil's Day, the customs
slightly changed. A new tradition emerged — making dumplings with a surprise.
Family members make them all together, and virtually anything can be chosen as
a surprise. According to beliefs, the "lucky dumpling" meant a whole
year-long good luck for the person who ate it.
CAROLS: FROM PAST TO PRESENT
One of the important and still preserved traditions of the
Old New Year is carolling. In the old days, it was believed that the New Year
would be as happy as the old one was cheerfully seen off. That is why children
and young people learned songs and ditties, and on 13 January they dressed up
to go carolling. Young people went from house to house, entertained the hosts
and received sweets as a thank you.
This year,
the National Centre RUSSIA revived the carolling tradition. During the
New Year holidays, theatrical carolling sessions titled "Fairytale Path" were held at the venue of the "Book of Fairy Tales"
exposition. All comers could learn about the culture and traditions of eight
regions of the country. They were assisted by fairy-tale characters: from the
Cossack Father Frost from Stavropol and the Karelian Frost Pakkayne to the
Polar Giant from Yamal and the homlin Grandfather Karl from Kaliningrad.
Today, celebrating the New Year the old way has become an
extra reason to gather with loved ones, to set a generous table with kutya
dish, pancakes, dumplings with surprises, and meat dishes. The holiday, born of
a calendar reform, has firmly taken root in cultural memory and family
traditions. For some, it is a tribute to history; for others, an opportunity to
gather their thoughts once more, analyse the past year, and calmly enter 2026
without the pre-New Year's hustle and bustle of 31 December.
Event photobank
A presentation of the Young Journalists School was held at the National Centre RUSSIA.
The start of the "A Braid to the Baltic" competition was announced by the Governor of the Kaliningrad region, Alexei Besprozvannykh.
The National Centre RUSSIA in the Primorye region has summed up the results of two gastronomic events which were held at the start of the year.
