Old New Year. Old New Year - the history and traditions of the holiday Old New Year is celebrated
Old New Year 2021 comes on the night of January 13-14. The holiday is celebrated in large companies of friends, with a rich feast, songs and dances. Young people go to parties in clubs and restaurants.
The popular name of the holiday "Vasil's Day" is associated with the name of St. Basil the Great. The Orthodox Church honors his memory on January 14.
The content of the article
history of the holiday
The Old New Year is common in the CIS countries. Its occurrence is associated with a change in the chronology. In 1918, the Soviet government decided to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. The discrepancy between the calendars was 13 days. New Year according to the old style began to fall on the night of January 13-14, which was the reason for the emergence of a new holiday.
Traditions and rituals of the holiday
On the eve of the Old New Year, the housewives clean the houses and prepare treats for the festive table.
The celebration begins on January 13, at. The owners of the house and invited guests gather at a magnificent table. The festive menu includes pies with mushroom or meat filling, pancakes, dumplings, cabbage rolls, homemade pork sausages, meat aspic, cutlets, salads, croutons. Putting fish or poultry meat on the table on this day is considered bad omen: happiness can fly away or float away. For dessert, the housewives serve gingerbread, cookies, cakes and rolls with cream fillings. Among alcoholic beverages wines and champagnes are popular. In some regions, the menu includes generous kutya (sochivo) - porridge made from whole grains of wheat or rice with honey, poppy seeds, crushed walnuts, raisins and dried apricots.
At the festive table, the hostesses arrange comic fortune-telling for their guests. They hide small objects in dumplings that can predict the future. A coin symbolizes wealth, a thread - travel, a button - new clothes, a pea of black pepper - adventures, beans - an addition to the family.
At midnight, people light sparklers, fireworks and make a wish.
In some regions, after sunset and before midnight, it is customary to be generous (caroling). Schedrovalniks go around the houses, sing ritual songs with wishes of happiness to the owners. For this they are presented with sweets and money.
In the villages, it is a common tradition among young boys to steal gates or gates in girls' yards. To get them back, the owners must pay a ransom in the form of money or alcohol.
In some houses, on the eve of the Old New Year, the owners set up a sheaf of ears of the last year's crop - didukh. After the feast, the sheaf is burned. They believe that such a ritual cleanses the house of evil spirits and troubles.
On the morning of January 14, young guys go home to sow. They bring grains of barley, wheat, oats in their pockets or sleeves and sprinkle them on the floor. The process is accompanied by the singing of ritual songs that glorify the owner of the house, contain the wishes of his family for health, success and prosperity. For this, they are generously presented with sweets and money. The grain that remains after sowing is not swept up, but is collected with palms and mixed with seeds for a new sowing.
divination
On the night of January 13-14, higher powers descend on the earth. During this period, it is customary to guess at the events of the future, the fulfillment of desires, the betrothed-mummers, the date of the future wedding. Fortune tellers make magical rituals in which they turn to good or evil forces. For their implementation, they use attributes: holy water, candles, mirrors, needles, paper. Everything that will be predicted on this night should be fulfilled in the near future.
Signs and beliefs for the Old New Year
- If it snows or is foggy on the Old New Year, then the year will be fruitful.
- On the eve of the Old New Year, it is necessary to ask for forgiveness for insults from all relatives and friends and forgive your own.
- If a man enters the house first on the morning of the Old New Year, then this is considered a good omen, and if a woman, then be a misfortune.
- If there are large banknotes in the house for a holiday, then the coming a year will pass in wealth.
- On the eve of the Old New Year, it is necessary to put on new clean clothes so that good luck and prosperity accompany the year.
The Old New Year is a holiday that allows you to once again feel the spirit of the New Year. It retained the ancient traditions of generosity, sowing, fortune-telling, and preparing sochi. After this holiday, people clean the Christmas trees and New Year's decorations in their houses and return to working days.
Published on 01/13/18 00:08Old New Year 2018: what date is celebrated, customs and traditions, congratulations in verse, and much more, read in the TopNews material.
Old New Year: what date is celebrated?
On the night of January 13-14, the Old New Year 2018 begins. As a rule, in Russia this holiday is celebrated in large companies of friends and close people with a rich feast and wild fun.
The people called the holiday Basil's Day in part of St. Basil the Great, whose memory the Church honors the next day - January 14th.
Old New Year 2018: the history of the holiday
The Old New Year is celebrated mainly in the CIS countries. The holiday appeared after the change of chronology in 1918, when intcbatch new government decided to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. The difference between the calendars was 13 days, and the New Year according to the old style falls exactly on the night of January 13-14 according to the new style. This was the reason for the celebration.
Old New Year: traditions and rituals
On the eve of the Old New Year, the housewives clean the houses and prepare treats for the festive dinner. Celebrating the Old New Year begins on the evening of January 13th. Everyone gathers at a rich table, on which there are pies, pancakes, dumplings, cabbage rolls, sausages, aspic, cutlets, salads and other dishes. For dessert, gingerbread, cookies, cakes and rolls with cream fillings are served, while wines and champagne are popular among alcoholic drinks.
At midnight, people light sparklers, fireworks and make a wish.
In a number of regions, after sunset and until midnight, it is customary to carol. Schedrovalniks go around the houses and sing ritual songs with wishes of happiness to the owners. For this they are presented with sweets and money.
Divination for the Old New Year
It is believed that on the night of January 13-14, higher forces descend to Earth, so fortune-telling during this period is especially accurate. On this night, it is customary to guess the future, the fulfillment of a wish, the betrothed, the date of the wedding. People perform magical rituals in which they seek help from higher powers. It is believed that all the predictions of this night will come true in the near future.
Old New Year: signs and beliefs
- It is believed that if it snows or is foggy on the Old New Year, then the year will be fruitful.
- On the eve of the Old New Year, you should ask forgiveness for offenses from all relatives and friends and forgive your own.
- According to legend, if a man enters the house first on the morning of the Old New Year, then this is considered a good omen, and if a woman, then it will be a misfortune.
- If there are large banknotes in the house for the holiday, then the coming year will pass in wealth.
- On the eve of the Old New Year, it is necessary to put on new clean clothes so that good luck and prosperity accompany the year.
Congratulations on the Old New Year short and in verse
Here is the Old New Year -
Holiday, but vice versa!
And still we say:
Happy New Year with a new happiness!
We wish you many blessings:
Live richly, do not get sick,
And goodness, and peace in the world,
And more smiles, wider.
And in the hearts - love and happiness,
Despite all the bad weather.
Let miracles happen
So that life is a fairy tale.
Celebrates all the people
Holiday - Old New Year!
I wish you joy, fun,
And a groovy mood
So that all dreams come true
Reach heights in your career
Health, money, a lot of strength,
To give happiness every moment!
May the Old New Year
Will bring you happiness
A little peace.
Will indicate Right way,
Fulfill all dreams
Add beauty,
Shed in heart love,
Health will drip into the blood.
And every moment and hour
Tries for you!
Olivier, feast, toast,
Mummers go to visit.
Deja vu? Or maybe not?
Holiday January 14 - Old New Year. History of the Old New Year. Celebrations and traditions for the Old New Year 13.01.2018 14:33
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 is the Old New Year different from the traditional New Year familiar to everyone? Of course, from the outside it would seem that the matter is only in the divergence of dates. However, we all treat the Old New Year as a completely independent holiday that can prolong the charm of the New Year. And maybe for the first time to feel it, because the situation is different, but on this day the holiday is more calm, there is no fuss, so characteristic of the holiday of January 1.
There are two reasons for the emergence of a unique New Year - a change in the start date 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 - on 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 there was still discord, and in some places the New Year continued to be celebrated in the spring. Only at the end of the 15th century in Rus' officially determined the beginning of the New Year - 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 chronology and the European one.
Thus, two New Year celebrations were formed - according to the new and the old style.
Church about the Old New Year
The custom to celebrate 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 so far differs from the generally accepted Gregorian calendar by 13 days. But already 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.
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said that the Russian Orthodox Church does not intend to make adjustments to its calendar yet.
“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 Meet the Old New Year on the night of 14 to 15," Chaplin said.
According to him, one should not give 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," the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate concluded.
For many believers, the Old New Year is of particular importance, since they can celebrate it wholeheartedly only after the end of the Nativity Fast, during Christmas festivities.
Opinions of scientists about the Old New Year
Old New Year is an unscientific date, astronomers say. However, the current calendar is not ideal, experts of the Astronomical and Geodetic Society of Russia believe. According to them, the strict mechanics of the movement of the planets forces people to make changes to the reckoning. 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. Seconds additional 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 the new Gregorian systems. The new style more closely complies with 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 who offer their own version of the countdown. Their proposals are mainly related to a change in the traditional week: some propose to make a week of five days or do without weeks altogether, and introduce ten days. However, from the point of view of science, there are perhaps no ideal proposals - experts came to this conclusion different countries, studying applications for changing the chronology, even coming to the UN. Scientists consider it inappropriate to carry out any calendar reforms now.
Celebration of 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 Public Opinion Research Center, 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
This day in the old days was called Vasily's Day, and was of decisive importance for the whole year. On Vasily's Day, they celebrated the holiday of agriculture, which was associated with the future harvest, and performed the rite of sowing - hence the name of the holiday "Autumn" or "Avsen". This rite 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 hostess then collected it and kept it until sowing time. Ukrainian rituals were distinguished by fun, dances and songs.
And there was also a kind of ritual - cooking porridge. IN new year's eve, at 2 o'clock, the eldest of the women brought cereals from the barn, and the eldest man brought water from a well or river. It was impossible to touch cereals and water until the stove was heated - they just 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 uttering certain ritual words - the groats were usually buckwheat.
Then everyone got up from the table, and the hostess put the porridge in the oven - with a bow. Ready porridge was taken out of the oven and carefully examined. If the pot was just full, and the porridge was rich and crumbly, then you could wait happy year and a rich harvest - they ate such porridge in the morning. If the porridge got 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. Such was the program - either for troubles or for prosperity, and it is not surprising that it was often realized - after all, they seriously believed in it.
An interesting rite of going from house to house to treat yourself to pork dishes. On the night of Vasily, the guests certainly had to be fed with pork pies, boiled or baked pork legs, and in general any dishes that include pork. A pig's head was also placed on the table. The fact is that Vasily was considered a “pigsty” - the patron saint of pig breeders 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 ceremony with porridge, especially for diligent and hardworking owners. Surprisingly sonorous and foldable saying: "A pig and a pig for Vasilyev's evening" also contributed to the mood of the owners for economic prosperity and abundance.
But the tradition of sculpting dumplings with surprises for the Old New Year appeared not so long ago - no one remembers exactly where and when, but it is observed with pleasure in many regions of Russia. In some cities, they are made in almost every house - with family and friends, and then they arrange a fun feast and eat these dumplings, looking forward to who and what kind of surprise will come across. This comic fortune-telling especially liked by children. They even bring dumplings with them to work to cheer up friends and colleagues; and local food enterprises often produce such dumplings - just before the Old New Year.
January is rich in holidays: having celebrated the New Year, we prepare for Christmas, remember Christmas time, and there it is not far to the Old New Year. Make wishes and take your time to take off the Christmas decorations.
Where did the second New Year come from
The reason for the appearance of the Old New Year in a series of holidays was the discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Thanks to the difference in chronology, we can celebrate the New Year twice - and this tradition is only gaining momentum. The Old New Year is celebrated on the night of January 13-14.
You can often come across the opinion that the “additional” New Year is celebrated only in Russia. However, it is not. The Old New Year is celebrated in many CIS countries, tables are set in Greece and Switzerland, in Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. So you can also congratulate your friends abroad: if the Old New Year holiday is not familiar to them at all, perhaps it is you who will find yourself at the origins of the spread of this tradition.
How to celebrate Old New Year
The celebration of the Old New Year differs little from the traditions associated with the usual New Year: in the evening you can congratulate your loved ones, open champagne at midnight, remember your most secret dreams so that they will certainly come true, and then make a list of plans for the year. Fortune telling on the Old New Year will also be true, so if holiday chores prevented you from lifting the veil of secrecy over the future December 31, you can do it later; especially for this, we have selected 5 of the most original New Year's divination.
Don't rush to put away your Christmas decorations: from January 1 until the Chinese New Year, they bring good luck to your home. The exception is perhaps crumbling spruce branches: their energy becomes unfavorable, so it is better to replace them or get by with New Year's garlands.
Folk traditions of the Old New Year
In the old days, January 14th was Vasilyev's Day. The name is associated with St. Basil; he was considered an assistant to swineherds, so they tried to put pork dishes on the festive table without fail. And today they will be a great addition to the holiday. Well, if for some reason you or your family do not eat pork, you can replace it - for example, bake homemade cookies in the form of funny piglets.
On Vasily's Day they caroled, treated everyone who looked into the house: generosity on the Old New Year brings prosperity. Dreams from January 13 to 14 were considered prophetic, so be sure to pay attention to what you dreamed about. Another sign says: the one who is the first to wash himself on January 14 will become strong in health, and all year long he will succeed in any business. True, it was customary to take water from a natural source, so it would not work to get it from the tap: you still have to be puzzled by a trip to a spring or a reservoir with clean water.
Another Belarusian tradition will help many in the Old New Year: it was believed that on January 14 you need to start some important business for good luck. Then during the year your undertaking will bring joy, its outcome will be successful, and nothing will prevent the plan from being fulfilled. Well, since in the New Year, even if it is Old, any miracles are possible, do not deny yourself a flight of fancy.
We wish you a successful Old New Year. On this day, you can do everything that you did not have time in the old year.
On the night of January 13-14, many of us will again fill our glasses with champagne and make a toast that seems a little strange: “ ”. How and why do we continue to do this and why is this holiday interesting?
history of the holiday
This is not at all someone's whim or invention - but exactly the same New Year, only according to a different calendar. The Julian calendar was in use in the Roman Empire in the first century BC - it reached Rus' only by the 15th century and was good for everyone, even taking into account the extra days running every 128 years: they didn’t really bother anyone and formally didn’t make any difference.
Another calendar, the Gregorian, just took into account this difference, by the 20th century it was already 14 days - and the revolutionary Vladimir Lenin transferred the whole country to new time rails in 1918, so this year the holiday celebrates its centenary.
Vasiliev Day, or Generous Evening
Before the translation of the conventional clock hands on this day, another holiday was always celebrated on January 14 - Vasiliev Day, or Generous Evening. It was customary to show generosity and treat guests with especially plentiful food. According to tradition, it was a solemn porridge - kutya, but it was not seasoned with vegetable oil, as on Christmas, when fasting was still ongoing, but with meat, lard, or sprinkled with plenty of sugar and fruit.
Pork was generally considered a particularly significant dish on the Generous Evening - a saint named Basil was especially favored by the swineherds, so he needed to be better gratified so that the cattle would not get sick during the year and regularly bring forth offspring. It was believed that luck would be exceptionally favorable to business in general, not only in pig breeding, if the table was set with pomp.
Signs of the Old New Year
It was customary to dress solemnly and smartly in new and beautiful clothes - luck, as you know, is a capricious lady - she also meets clothes. As you meet the New Year, so you will spend it, this fully applied to the meeting of the Old New Year.
It was considered a good sign to see a young man from a strong and friendly large family right after midnight on the threshold - this meant that he would bring prosperity and wealth to the house. For this reason, they did not try to let women out of the house at all on Vasily's Day, but the young men walked with pleasure among the guests, singing cheerful songs of congratulations and, of course, not refusing a plentiful and satisfying treat.
Prohibitions of the Old New Year
A company of only women on this day was considered unlucky - therefore, if the gender balance was disturbed in the family, some of the girls simply went to visit them to do divination and fortune-telling, there are also many interesting details. Or, specially for the celebration, special “custom guests” were invited - men who spent two or three hours with the owners, wishing the house prosperity and blessings.
It was impossible to do cleaning and generally take anything out of the house that day - it was believed that you could inadvertently sweep away the luck that had just settled in the room.
Borrowing and lending was also considered completely inappropriate, financial issues were tried to be resolved either before the holiday itself, or no longer stuttering about money for another day or two.
It was highly discouraged to put dishes from aquatic animals or fish, birds on the festive table - so that luck could not swim away or fly away. Animals that walk sideways or backwards - obviously, we are talking about crayfish and crabs - were also considered undesirable so that past problems and difficulties did not take it into their heads to return back.
When pronouncing a toast, it was in no case possible to pronounce the particle “not” - so that all the same luck would not leave the hospitable house, but stay longer. Perhaps, even if such beliefs can cause an involuntary smile, it is worth taking these old methods into service - thinking before making a toast is not harmful to anyone, but who will sort it out, this luck? Will it suddenly work?
Where else is it customary to celebrate the Old New Year?
For some reason, it is commonly believed that this date is exclusively for “strange Russians who have few reasons to have fun”, but this is not at all the case, the Old New Year is usually celebrated in many countries, and these are not only the countries of the former Soviet Union, which would be understandable .
In Serbia, for example, thousands and thousands of people on this day conduct rituals very similar to ours, after visiting the church - the Serbian Orthodox Church, like the Russian one, continues to live according to the Julian calendar, and in Macedonia they take out the tables on the street and celebrate with the whole world.
Montenegrins call this day “Rights of Nova Godina”, which translates as “Proper New Year”, and on this day they cook vasilitsa - insanely delicious round pies made from corn dough with kaimak - cream curdled into soft tart cheese. In Macedonia, they celebrate almost identically.
In Morocco, Japan and some German-speaking cantons of Switzerland, this day is also considered a holiday - although this cannot be strictly called the celebration of the Old New Year, but the fact remains - people also sit at a rich table. The Swiss celebrate the day of St. Sylvester, who, according to legend, rid the world of a terrible monster back in the 4th century, the Japanese have a spring festival called “rissun”, and the Moroccans, like some Muslims, rejoice at the new year according to their own Berber calendar.
In Greece, this is St. Basil's Day - children leave their shoes by the fireplaces or hearths for gifts and often find them filled with sweets or toys.
Divination for the Old New Year
It is believed that the results of divination on this day will be especially accurate, since the day is permeated with the special energies of the holiday and miracle. It was often customary to sculpt dumplings into which certain small symbolic objects were folded, the same could be done with a pie.
A button - for a new thing, a coin - for a gift or a win, a fruit bone - for a rich harvest, a key - for a new house or moving, a ring - for a quick marriage, a small pink or blue button - for the birth of a daughter or son. Actually, as you can see, they tried to reduce all the signs to the positive - and no one bothers us to carry out this cute ceremony, which promises everyone something pleasant and bright in the new year.
On this day, the girls planted bulbs in an open saucer, marking them - whose arrows shoot faster, she will be the happiest. Sprouted onions were then taken home and stored until the onset of real spring - it was believed that any disease would go away, one had only to chew on some juicy greens. Well, against the background of the traditional pre-spring beriberi, a fairly common custom.
Place rolled papers under the pillow male names- also a very common way to find out the name of the betrothed-mummer in the morning immediately after waking up.