What is the New Year according to the old one? Old New Year: studying the history of the holiday

The charm of a winter weekend many of us, residents of Russia and countries located on post-Soviet space, dream of extending it as long as possible. Therefore, in the vast majority of families, the Christmas tree is not removed until January 14, and on the eve of this date they set the table and arrange a celebration for themselves - quieter, calmer and very family-friendly. It has a strange name, and foreigners are ready to rack their brains trying to understand what kind of holiday the Old New Year is.

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

History of the New Year holiday

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 people's lives. In the old days, every significant action had sacred meaning: got married, built a house, sowed and harvested grain at a certain time. Therefore, the New Year was tied to a certain period of existence.

• During the times of paganism (polytheism) in Rus', the New Year began on 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. Farmers considered it their duty to turn to the gods with a request for a harvest, a successful start to the season, and good weather.
• With the advent of Christianity in Rus', the countdown of time gradually moved, 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 14th. To this day, in Orthodox churches on this date, chants are sung glorifying the New Year. Important here symbolic meaning On the contrary, it had fertility, the collection of gifts from the earth, and gratitude to God for them.
• First Russian Emperor Pyotr Alekseevich changed the entire way of life of Russian people. He did not bypass the New Year celebration either. The sovereign moved the date to January 1st. Of course, at first such an innovation seemed wild to Russian people, but the command to have fun, congratulate each other, dance, decorate the tree and light the lights, and most importantly, not work and relax, gradually persuaded people to enjoy the holiday with pleasure. By the way, the tradition of decorating Christmas tree branches, adopted in Europe, was originally pagan. It has the same nature as dressing in carnival costumes - appeasing 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 during the Advent Fast. Amusement and entertainment on days of abstinence were not allowed, theaters practically did not work, there were no balls and parties, or public festivities. How were these facts related to each other?

The Old New Year itself and the history of this holiday are a unique phenomenon. This simply never happened 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 drastic restructuring of the country’s life along Soviet lines during the revolutionary years.

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

Julian calendar

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

This establishment of the Roman emperor was of great importance for Christian Church. At the Ecumenical Councils - congresses of priests and bishops who adopted rules for believers, they talked about the importance of simultaneous calendar calculation and exact following calendar in the celebration of church celebrations. Thus, at the First Ecumenical Council the celebration of Easter was regulated, which falls every year on different days, is carefully calculated and depends on the spring lunar cycle.

Gregorian calendar

In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the calendar to be changed so that the spring equinox would be moved to March 21. Since the triumph of the Light is tied to him Christ's Resurrection, sometimes the celebration was held before the Jewish Passover. For orthodox Eastern Christians, such freedom was a gross violation of the rules Ecumenical Councils. Therefore half of Christendom Gregorian calendar I didn’t accept it and still don’t accept it. But everyone lives by it western world, 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 20th and 21st centuries, the Julian and Gregorian calendars differ by 13 days, but in less than a hundred years another day will be added. This is due to the fact that the Earth completes its annual revolution around the Sun in an imprecise number of days.

According to the Julian calendar, the calendar year goes ahead of the astronomical year. This leads to a gradual shift 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 doesn't need drastic edits or even changes. There are projects that require slight adjustments, but the principle of chronology itself has been decided to remain unchanged.

The essence of the Old New Year holiday

During the revolutionary times, the authorities ordered a transition from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar so that the dates coincided with those accepted throughout the world. However, the Church categorically disagreed with this, since its priority is the orders of the Holy Fathers. Thus, it turned out that the secular holiday of New Year moved to a position before Christmas. If only 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 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 in our country an unofficial celebration is considered the day on which the new year began before the 1917 revolution.

Holiday charm

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

• People tired of New Year's fun, however, feel a pity to close the series of these lovely days with a Christmas tree, treats and gifts. I would like to do this somehow solemnly and, at the same time, in a family way. Therefore, many people gather with friends or family, at home or in some institution, and celebrate the beginning of the New Year according to 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 it’s great to remember it, if you want to, of course.
• January 14th is traditionally still Christmastide - the cheerful days after Christmas. They are conducive to fun, fun, festivities and feasts.
• On the Old New Year, you can do what you couldn’t do on the night of the New Year - be alone with your loved one, try to cook something original, go dancing or take a walk in the fresh air. Such small joys always unite people and give them a feeling of happiness and fulfillment in life.

Holiday January 14 - Old New Year. The story of the Old New Year. Celebrations and traditions for the Old New Year 01/13/2018 14:33

On the night of January 13-14, Russians celebrate Old New Year- a holiday incomprehensible to many foreigners. No one can really say - how does the Old New Year differ from the traditional, familiar New Year? 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.

History of the Old New Year

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 still 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.

Church about the Old New Year

The custom of celebrating the Old New Year on the night of January 13-14 in Russia is due to the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church continues to celebrate both the New Year and the Nativity of Christ according to the Julian calendar, which still differs from the generally accepted Gregorian calendar by 13 days. But starting from March 1, 2100, this difference will be 14 days. From 2101, Christmas and Old New Year in Russia will be celebrated a day later.

Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, said that the Russian Orthodox Church does not yet intend to make adjustments to its calendar.

“Indeed, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars increases by one day every 100 years, when the number of hundreds in the year from the Nativity of Christ is not a multiple of four. And if the Lord allows this world to exist for another 100 years, then the Orthodox will celebrate Christmas on January 8, and Celebrate the Old New Year on the night of 14 to 15," Chaplin said.

According to him, one should not attach of great importance calendar differences. “The Gregorian calendar is also not entirely accurate, so the Russian Orthodox Church continues to use the Julian calendar,” Chaplin explained.

"If agreement can be found in calendar disputes, then only after the development of a new, absolutely accurate calendar", concluded the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate.

For many believers, the Old New Year has special meaning, since they can celebrate it from the heart only after the end of the Nativity Fast, during the Yuletide festivities.

Scientists' opinions about the Old New Year

The Old New Year is an unscientific date, astronomers say. However, the current calendar is not ideal, according to specialists from the Astronomical and Geodetic Society of Russia. According to them, the strict mechanics of planetary movement forces people to make changes to the calendar. The Julian calendar, which was in force in our country until 1918, is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, according to which Europe lives. The fact is that the Earth does not rotate around its axis in exactly 24 hours. Additional seconds to this time, gradually accumulating, add up to days. By the beginning of the twentieth century, they turned into 13 days, which made up the difference between the old Julian and new Gregorian systems. The new style more accurately corresponds to the laws of astronomy.

According to Edward Kononovich, associate professor of the Department of Astrophysics at Moscow State University, the main thing is that the calendar accurately reflects the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. Today there are many enthusiasts offering their own version of timekeeping. Their proposals are mainly related to changing the traditional week: some propose making a week of five days or doing without weeks at all, and introducing ten days. However, from a scientific point of view, there are probably no ideal proposals - experts have come to this conclusion different countries, studying applications for changes in chronology received even by the UN. Scientists consider it inappropriate to carry out any calendar reforms now.

Celebrating the Old New Year

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 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.

Traditions for the Old New Year

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 was different different regions countries: 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. IN 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 trouble 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 Vasilyev’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 to see who will get what kind of surprise. This comic fortune telling Children especially like it. They even bring dumplings with them to work to cheer up their friends and colleagues; and on local food enterprises Such dumplings are often released just before the Old New Year.

There are many beautiful winter holidays in our country. We celebrate New Year twice. We fill the glasses with champagne again on the night of January 14, sit down at the festive table and take our time to clean up.

Historical phenomenon

New Year in Russia is one of the most interesting holidays from a historical point of view. Until the 15th century (1495), the new year began in March and was associated with the awakening of the earth from hibernation. In 1495, everything changed: the date of the new year moved to September 1.

Later, Peter the Great, who decided to keep up with Europe, ordered to celebrate the New Year on January 1. In December 1699 he issued an Edict requiring the meeting of 1700 to take place on 1 January rather than in September. The text of the Decree contained strict instructions: decorate houses with spruce, juniper or pine branches, fire rifles and muskets into the air at midnight, light bonfires in the streets throughout the holiday week and arrange fireworks on Red Square.

Alexei Tolstoy in the historical novel " Peter I"described the state of the common people and boyars, whose usual way of life was collapsing. It seemed to many that the trumpet of the Last Judgment would soon sound. Gradually everyone got used to the decorated fir trees and the hectic holiday, which began to be celebrated annually on January 1 according to the Julian calendar, i.e. according to the "old style". This calendar was introduced by the emperor Ancient Rome Julius Caesar, taking the solar year as a basis, not the astronomical one. In Russia Julian calendar came from Byzantium.

This was the case until the October Revolution of 1917. Most other countries have long lived according to Gregorian calendar . It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII on October 4, 1582 (XVI century) so that there were no discrepancies with astronomical data. The difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars today is thirteen days.

In 1918, the Bolshevik government decided to switch to a single calendar throughout the world. V.I. Lenin issued a corresponding Decree on the transition to the Gregorian calendar. This eliminated confusion and difficulties in international relations: diplomacy, mail, train schedules, etc. The Russian Orthodox Church preserved the traditional calendar and continued to live according to the old calendar. She dated the holidays according to the old style, emphasizing her uniqueness.

Today in some reference books the dates of birth and death of people various events pre-revolutionary Russia are given according to two calendars, i.e. according to the new and old style. This happened with the New Year, which begins on January 1 (14). For the Old New Year Orthodox people you don’t have to deny yourself food and fun. According to the Julian calendar, it occurs after (January 7), i.e. after graduation from strict. According to the Gregorian calendar, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.

Local Orthodox churches of some foreign countries(Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, Georgian) also use the Julian calendar in our time. Some monasteries and parishes live according to the Julian calendar in those countries where church service the Gregorian calendar was adopted (for example, Athos in Greece). In addition, the Julian calendar is adopted in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and in the Russian Greek Catholic Church.

Vasiliev evening

On the night of January 13-14 it is celebrated Vasiliev evening , and January 14 - Vasiliev's day (Kolyada). You can read about this fun holiday, generous with food and drink, in the article.

Everyone likes the holiday: girls tell fortunes about their betrothed, and gardeners shake apple trees in their orchards for a good harvest.

This year we will again congratulate our family and friends not only on the New Year, but also on the Old New Year! Wish them happiness, love, health and joy! Giving gifts, sitting late at night festive table and at midnight raise a glass of champagne. It’s so good that there is a reason for this!

P.S.

With each century, the Gregorian and Julian calendars diverge more and more in time. The difference is accumulating, and by 2100 it will be not 13, but a full 14 days.

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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. Royal 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, main goal The whole project was “the establishment in Russia of 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 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. 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 countries 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.

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.” Fortune telling traditions are pagan, Orthodox Church they were not only not welcomed, but 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 last 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 – the 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 long, cold winter and lack of light provokes us into seasonal blues. And the holidays - the best remedy to fight it. Festive 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 new year holidays, follows from the previous one. “The fact is that the New Year holidays are best 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 experience an increasingly noticeable lack of human understanding with each passing decade. And therefore we increasingly need warm, unhurried communication. The best thing is at the 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