Old New Year when history. Why and how to celebrate the old New Year. Signs and beliefs for the Old New Year

The feast on the Old New Year is organized year after year by many generations, and at the same time they do not even think about the history of the origin of the holiday.

For many believers who observe the Nativity Fast, the Old New Year is a good reason to heartily celebrate the coming of the New Year.

How and when this holiday appeared and why the Old New Year is celebrated in Russia and many other countries.

History and essence

The Old New Year, which is celebrated unofficially, arose as a result of a change in chronology - this tradition is associated with the divergence of two calendars: the Gregorian - “new style” and the Julian - “old style”. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and tell everything in order.

In pagan times, the New Year in Rus' was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, that is, March 22. After the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the Byzantine calendar began to gradually replace the old one, and the New Year began to be celebrated in the fall - on September 1.

Although until the 15th century there was no single date for celebrating the New Year in Rus' - some celebrated it in the fall, and some, out of habit, celebrated it in the spring. The official beginning of the New Year in Rus' was set on September 1 only in 1492.

The New Year was moved to January 1 (old style) by decree of Peter I in December 1699, as a result of which the next year 1700 arrived four months later.

In the 18th century, almost all European states switched to the Gregorian calendar, removing a few extra days from the calendar. And Russia, which by the twentieth century continued to live according to the Julian calendar, lagged behind Europe by as much as 13 days.

The Bolsheviks decided that it was time to “catch up” with the Old World and abolished the calendar discrepancy by decree in 1918. As a result, January 14 - St. Basil's Day turned out to be the Old New Year.

The Russian Orthodox Church continues to celebrate the New Year, Christmas and all other church holidays according to the Julian calendar. Because of this discrepancy in calendars, Russians celebrate two “New Years” - in the old and new styles.

In the 20th - 21st centuries, the discrepancy between the old and new chronology is 13 days, so the New Year according to the old style is celebrated on the night of January 13-14.

But the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is gradually increasing and from March 1, 2100 will be 14 days, so from 2101 everyone will have to celebrate the Old New Year a day later.

By the way, the modern New Year falls during the Nativity Fast, which ends on January 7, so it is natural that the Old New Year for many Orthodox Christians who observe fasting has special meaning, since they can celebrate it from the heart only after the end of fasting.

And yet, despite the fact that this day, unfortunately, is not even a day off, the popularity of the Old New Year is growing every year.

By the way, the natural order of the holidays can be traced based on the Julian calendar - the Nativity Fast preceded the Nativity of Christ, after which six days later people celebrated the New Year.

Where else are they celebrating?

The custom of celebrating the Old New is preserved in the countries of the post-Soviet space. New Year according to the old style is loved in different parts of our planet, and there are countries that also celebrate the arrival of the New Year twice a year.

Residents of the former Yugoslavia celebrate the New Year twice a year, since church ministers there count all significant dates according to the Julian calendar.

“Serbian New Year” or “Little Christmas” is what the Serbs call this holiday. And in Montenegro it is customary to call this holiday “Prava Nova Godina”, which means “Correct New Year”.

The people of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria have a similar custom. They live according to their own Berber calendar, similar to the Julian calendar. But as a result of many deviations and mistakes, they celebrate the second New Year on January 12.

In some cantons of Sweden and Romania, the night of January 14 is considered fabulous. On this night, people gather to celebrate the arrival of the New Year at the festive table in Greece. This Greek holiday is called St. Basil's Day, famous for his kindness. In the west of Great Britain, the Old Style New Year is celebrated in a small Welsh community in Wales and is called “Hen Galan” - a holiday of good neighborliness and “open doors”. According to the traditions of our ancestors, the holiday is celebrated with songs, folk festivals and local home-made beer.

Two New Years are an excellent occasion to once again gather the whole family and friends at one table and have a good time.

Customs and traditions

In Rus', many traditions and customs are associated with the Old New Year - the Orthodox Church commemorates on this day St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.

In the folk calendar, January 14 is called Vasily’s Day, which was of decisive importance for the whole year. On Vasiliev'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".

On this day, the children scattered grains of wheat, oats, and rye around the house, saying: “O God, give birth to every life, according to the grain, and according to the great, and it would be a life for the whole baptized world.” Then the mistress of the house collected grains from the floor and stored them until sowing.

Cooking porridge is another unique ritual. On New Year's Eve, at about two o'clock, the eldest woman brought cereal, usually buckwheat, 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.

After the stove was heated, the rest of the household sat down at the table, and the eldest of the women began stirring the porridge in the pot.

While stirring, she uttered certain ritual words. Then everyone got up from the table, and the hostess put the porridge into the oven with a bow. Then everyone together took the finished porridge out of the oven and examined it carefully.

If the porridge turned out rich and crumbly, and the pot was simply full, they ate the porridge the next morning and expected a happy year and a rich harvest.

The porridge was thrown away if it came out of the pot or the pot cracked - this was a harbinger of a bad year.

On the night of the Old New Year, girls told fortunes about their betrothed - the Christmastide period, the best time of year for all kinds of fortune-telling and predictions. Fortune telling on the night of January 13-14 was popularly considered the most truthful, and it was at this time that you can see your future spouse in a dream.

To do this, girls combed their hair before going to bed, put a comb under their pillow and uttered the magic words: “Mummer, come and comb my head.”

Also interesting is the ritual of going home - at this time people treated themselves to pork dishes. According to an ancient tradition, on the night of Vasily, guests had to be fed pork pies and, in general, any dishes that included pork.

A pig's head was always served on the table. Saint Basil was considered the “pig coop,” that is, the patron saint of pig farmers and pork products, and it was believed that the abundance of pork dishes on the table that night would be the key to abundance and profit.

Another tradition - making dumplings with surprises for the Old New Year - appeared not so long ago. This tradition is observed with pleasure in many regions of Russia, although exactly where and when it originated is unknown.

Dumplings are made in almost every home - with family and friends, they arrange a cheerful feast, eating dumplings and looking forward to who will get what kind of surprise.

Signs

They did not lend money on New Year's Day, so that there would be no shortage of it throughout the year. It was considered a good omen to receive money on this day - this foreshadowed profit in the new year.

On Vasilyev's evening one should wear good new clothes in order to dress well all year round.

In the old days, they believed that the year would pass happily if you spent the old one and met the new one as cheerfully as possible.

A rich harvest of berries was foreshadowed by a clear, starry sky on Vasily's Day, and a fierce blizzard on January 13 indicated a bountiful harvest of nuts. A bountiful harvest in the new year was also indicated by fluffy snow on tree branches in the morning and thick fog on Vasily’s Day.

Icon "St. Basil of Caesarea" (XVII century)

Saint Basil, according to popular belief, 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!”

In the old days they believed that the year would be prosperous if a man was the first to enter the house on January 14, but if a woman entered, there would be trouble.

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, but if it’s the other way around, 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

If they sing carols at Christmas, then on the Old New Year, on Generous Evening, they are generous - they sing ritual songs of the generosity, in which they wish the owners of the house prosperity in the new year and all sorts of blessings:

"Shchedrik-Petrik,

Give me the dumpling!

a spoonful of porridge,

Top sausages.

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, so many ancient Shchedrovkas contain references to spring birds - finches, cuckoos or swallows.

How to give and sow

According to a long-standing custom, New Year's rounds are done after sunset, when evil spirits are walking around. Those who sow and give, like Christmas carolers, go around houses from evening to midnight.

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?

One of the oldest folk mysteries is driving a goat. The roots of this ritual are in the pre-Christian period, when the goat was considered a totem animal. Her image, associated with honoring ancestors, symbolizes wealth and fertility. The key stages of the mystery are the dance of the goat, its conditional death and resurrection. All this personifies the rebirth of nature after the winter withering away.

The custom of “driving Melanka” is that a group of guys in masks with jokes plays out a ritual performance. One of the generous ones dresses up as a woman - this is Melanka. She is accompanied by a woman and her grandfather, a Cossack, a gypsy, a Jew, a doctor, a bear, a crane, etc. The girls also portrayed the bride Melanka and her groom Vasily. In the company of cheerful witnesses, Melanka and Vasily walked around the courtyards and gave generously.

After completing the round, the mummers went to the crossroads to burn the ritual sheaves of straw - “Grandfather” or “Didukha”. At the same time, it was necessary to jump over the fire - in this way those who generously were cleansed of communication with evil spirits.

And at dawn the next day, sowers walk around with grain in their mittens and bags. It is customary to give the most generous gifts to the first guest. First you need to visit your godparents and relatives. Entering the house, the sower sprinkles grain and greets the household members with a Happy New Year. By the way, scattered grain cannot be thrown away - it is collected and stored until sowing.

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It would seem that the contradictory and meaningless combination “old New Year” has become so familiar that it surprises no one and rarely makes one think. However, in moments of philosophical mood, questions begin to arise in your head: what is the Old New Year, why is the New Year celebrated twice in a number of countries, and where did this unusual folk holiday come from?

How the New Year appeared on the calendar

Celebrating the New Year on January 1 in the Russian Empire began only in 1700. Before this, there was no organization - the New Year was celebrated throughout the country on different dates. Some continued to do this in March on the day of the vernal equinox, and others on September 1, the date adopted in the state in the 15th century.

The initiator of the introduction of a single day at the beginning of the year was the founder of many innovations - Peter the Great. By decree of the sovereign, it was ordered to establish January 1 as the first day of the year and to celebrate this day festively, congratulating all loved ones and just people we met. The king commanded people to decorate Christmas trees, give each other gifts, have fun and rejoice. The decree also stated that during the New Year holidays people should not abuse strong drinks and not commit massacres.

Of course, such a strict framework initially caused indignation among the people, but after a whole week was declared non-working, residents of large and small cities calmed down and quickly fell in love with the new holiday. At night, in honor of the beginning of the new year, bonfires were lit, fireworks were displayed, songs were sung, and musical instruments were played.

By the way, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree was borrowed from the pagans. Ancient people decorated coniferous trees on the longest night of the year. They hung gifts and ribbons on spruce branches, trying to appease the spirits and beg them for a good harvest, prosperity and health. The cheerful tradition of dressing up in carnival costumes also has these same roots - pagans changed their image in order to hide from the evil forces descending on the earth on New Year's Eve.

Why did New Year's Day change?

The shift in the date of the beginning of the year in Russia occurred due to the transition from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar after the revolution. The difference between the two calendars is 13 days - exactly the same amount of time that passes from the day of the official New Year celebration to New Year's Eve according to the old style.

Perhaps the transition to a new calendar would forever change the start date of the year, and no one would remember that it was once celebrated on a different day. However, the Russian Orthodox Church opposed the transition to the new chronology adopted by the Bolsheviks in 1918, and continued to live according to the Julian style. For this reason, all church holidays and important dates have been shifted.

Traditions in modern times

The Old New Year becomes more and more popular every decade. Of course, this holiday is not on the calendar, and it is unlikely that it will ever appear on it, but people gather on the night of January 13-14 at a set table, give each other gifts, make toasts and congratulations. In many houses, decorated Christmas trees and festive decorations are not removed until the Old New Year. On television that night, repeats of New Year's programs and traditional films are broadcast.

Christians who adhere to the Nativity Fast cannot afford festive dishes on New Year's Eve in the modern style. For them, the Old New Year is the only chance to set a delicious table with delicious snacks and meat dishes.

According to church customs, a special porridge is cooked on this night. All family members take part in the preparation, and in the morning it is eaten for breakfast at the common table. This custom, as well as visiting guests on New Year’s Eve, came from the ancient Russian calendar, when Vasily’s Day was celebrated on this date.

It is interesting that the New Year's date according to the Julian calendar in a century that is not a multiple of four is postponed by one day. Based on this, from 2101 New Year's Eve according to the old style will have to shift to January 14. Whether such a shift will occur among the people, and when people will celebrate the second New Year, time will tell.

Which countries celebrate the Old New Year?

Some are sure that the tradition of celebrating the New Year in the old style exists only in Russia and the Slavic countries that were part of the Soviet state. This is actually a misconception. The Old New Year is celebrated magnificently not only in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, it is adored in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Switzerland, Georgia and Armenia. Some residents of the Baltic countries, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan do not forget to celebrate the beginning of the new year according to the Julian calendar.

The Berber calendar, followed by residents of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and some other countries, celebrates the beginning of the new year on January 14th. It is known that their calendar is in many ways similar to the Julian calendar, but is slightly shifted due to errors accumulated over many years.

The Old New Year is a holiday that is incomprehensible to foreigners. And not every modern Russian is able to explain how this celebration actually differs from the traditional one, celebrated on the first day of January. Despite the fact that the difference between the holidays is only in the discrepancy in dates, we continue to celebrate the Old New Year, which gives many pleasant emotions. Now it is perceived as a continuation of the usual, when everyone can afford to continue celebrating their favorite holiday on the night of January 14th.

history of the holiday

Previously, the New Year in Rus' was celebrated on March 22, which had a direct connection with agriculture. When Christianity was adopted, the Byzantine calendar began to gradually replace the old one, and the holiday moved to the first day of September. Peter I decided to eliminate the confusion by moving the celebration to January 1 according to the old style. In this form it existed until the Bolsheviks came to power, who decided to change the chronology system. In 1918, the Soviet government decided to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. The Old Style New Year moved to January 14, which led to the emergence of a new holiday.

One of the reasons why the celebration was not quickly forgotten is due to the stubbornness of the Russian Orthodox Church, which continues to celebrate all such events according to the Julian calendar. However, this insistence is in fact not very justified precisely because even clergy should keep up with the times.

Now the clergy say that they do not intend to change their traditions, and calendar differences should not be given much importance. They refer to statements by astronomers who claim that the current calendar is also not ideal, and people will repeatedly make changes to the chronology system.

Olya Pedyura
"Old New Year. History and traditions."

Abstract: "old New Year. History and traditions. "

Performed: Pedyura O.V.

Target: Introduce children to history and traditions of our country.

Progress of the lesson

Let's go to generosity today,

Call us to the table, hostess!

This New Year's Eve

Children are waiting for their gifts.

On the night of January 13-14, Russians celebrate Old New Year - holiday, incomprehensible to many foreigners. Nobody can really say what The Old New Year is different from the traditional one, the usual New Year? Guys, let's try to figure out what it is old New Year.

In Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro and certain areas of Switzerland they celebrate old New Year. This unusual holiday appeared due to a change in chronology.

History of the Old New Year

Different peoples had several calendars. One of them was called Julian, and the other - Gregorian. And every nation believed that its calendar was the best. Therefore for a long time New the year in our countries did not coincide with New year in Western Europe. There was such confusion!

In 1918, the new government ordered to get rid of this confusion. The Gregorian calendar was introduced. All holidays now had to be celebrated two weeks earlier. But the Church refused this. And so it appeared old New Year - New Year according to the old calendar.

Traditions for the Old New Year

This day in old times was called Vasilyev's Day, and was of decisive importance for the whole year. On Vasiliev's Day, they celebrated the holiday of agriculture, which was associated with the future harvest, and performed the ritual of sowing. The children did the sowing of the grains. Early in the morning they scattered some grain on the floor of the hut, and the mistress of the house had to pick up the grain with the ancient sentence. It was believed that the faster the housewife picked up the grain, the richer the harvest would be. The grain was stored until sowing and added to the rest of the seeds.

And there was also a kind of ritual - boiling porridge, and telling fortunes from this porridge; the groats were usually buckwheat. If 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 saucepan and was not crumbly, this did not bode well for the owners of the house, and the porridge was thrown away.

Young girls also wondered about their betrothed (groom, about their future.

There was also a very interesting ritual, going from house to house to enjoy dishes. This evening we went to visit. Walking around the houses, they wished for happiness and prosperity of the economy. They asked that the year be generous to the family, and they were generous. Boys and girls walked separately. Shchedrovki sang cheerfully. The adults also joked and gave sweets to those who were generous.

Shchedrik-Petryk,

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!

I sow, I winnow, I sow,

WITH Happy New Year!

On New Year, for new happiness

Be born wheat,

Peas, lentils!

On the field - in heaps,

There are pies on the table!

WITH New Year,

WITH new happiness, master, hostess!

CO HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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