Old New Year
Encyclopedia
The Old New Year or the Orthodox New Year is an informal traditional Slavic Orthodox
holiday, celebrated as the start of the New Year
by the Julian calendar
. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Old New Year falls on January 14, being 13 days adrift from New Year in the Gregorian calendar.
officially adopted the Gregorian calendar
in 1918, the Russian Orthodox Church
continued to use the Julian calendar. The New Year became a holiday which is celebrated by both calendars.
As in most countries which use the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day
in Russia
is a public holiday
celebrated on January 1. On that day, joyous entertainment, fireworks, elaborate and often large meals and other festivities are common. The holiday is interesting as it combines secular traditions of bringing in the New Year with the Christian Orthodox Christmastide customs, such as koleda
.
The New Year by the Julian calendar is still informally observed, and the tradition of celebrating the coming of the New Year twice is widely enjoyed: January 1 (New New Year) and January 14 (Old New Year).
Usually not as festive as the New New Year, for many this is a nostalgic
family holiday ending the New Year holiday cycle with traditional large meals, singing and celebratory drinking.
Serbian Orthodox Church
continue to celebrate their feasts and holidays according to the Julian calendar. It is located primarily in Serbia (including Kosovo
), Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Montenegro
and Republic of Macedonia
.
A large part of the population celebrates Serbian New Year in a similar way as the New Year on January 1. This time, usually one concert is organized in front of either City Hall or the National Parliament (in Belgrade
), while fireworks
are prepared by the Serbian Orthodox Church and fired from the Church Cathedral of Saint Sava, where people also gather. Other cities also organize such celebrations. Restaurants, clubs, cafe's and hotels are usually full-booked and organize New Year's celebrations with food and live music.
A traditional folk name for this holiday as part of Twelve Days of Christmas
is Little Christmas
(Мали Божић/Mali Božić). Some families continue with the procedures of Serbian Christmas traditions
.
, Ukraine
(Malanka
), Moldova
, Georgia
, Belarus
, Kazakhstan
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Montenegro
and the Republic of Macedonia
. In the first half of the 20th century, segments of the Scottish Gaelic community still observed the feast and today, groups such as Edinburgh's Am Bothan see this as a convenient date for Gaelic events.
Mikhail Roshchin wrote a comedy drama called The Old New Year in 1973, which was on stage in the theaters for many years. He also made it a screenplay for the TV-film which was played by famous actors and featured music by Sergey Nikitin, with the poetry lyrics by Boris Pasternak
; the film was released by Mosfilm
studios in 1980.
Slavic Orthodox
Slavic Orthodox Church or Slavonic Orthodox Church is an umbrella term for East Orthodox churches that use Church Slavonic in liturgy, the latter being of Byzantine Rite...
holiday, celebrated as the start of the New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
by the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Old New Year falls on January 14, being 13 days adrift from New Year in the Gregorian calendar.
In Russia
Although the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist RepublicRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
officially adopted the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
in 1918, the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
continued to use the Julian calendar. The New Year became a holiday which is celebrated by both calendars.
As in most countries which use the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is a public holiday
Public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year....
celebrated on January 1. On that day, joyous entertainment, fireworks, elaborate and often large meals and other festivities are common. The holiday is interesting as it combines secular traditions of bringing in the New Year with the Christian Orthodox Christmastide customs, such as koleda
Koleda
Kolyada or koleda is an ancient Slavic winter ritual celebrating the Old New Year. It was later incorporated into Christmas. The word is still used in modern Belarusian , Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian and Croatian, Slovak...
.
The New Year by the Julian calendar is still informally observed, and the tradition of celebrating the coming of the New Year twice is widely enjoyed: January 1 (New New Year) and January 14 (Old New Year).
Usually not as festive as the New New Year, for many this is a nostalgic
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
family holiday ending the New Year holiday cycle with traditional large meals, singing and celebratory drinking.
In Serbia
The most common is called Serbian New Year (Српска Нова година/Srpska Nova godina), and sometimes the Orthodox New Year (Православна Нова година/Pravoslavna Nova godina) and Julian New Year (Јулијанска Нова година/Julijanska Nova godina).Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
continue to celebrate their feasts and holidays according to the Julian calendar. It is located primarily in Serbia (including Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
), Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
.
A large part of the population celebrates Serbian New Year in a similar way as the New Year on January 1. This time, usually one concert is organized in front of either City Hall or the National Parliament (in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
), while fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
are prepared by the Serbian Orthodox Church and fired from the Church Cathedral of Saint Sava, where people also gather. Other cities also organize such celebrations. Restaurants, clubs, cafe's and hotels are usually full-booked and organize New Year's celebrations with food and live music.
A traditional folk name for this holiday as part of Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day . This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth Night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which...
is Little Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
(Мали Божић/Mali Božić). Some families continue with the procedures of Serbian Christmas traditions
Serbian Christmas traditions
The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the traditional Julian Calendar. From 1900 until 2100, the Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian and therefore Serbian Christmas Day falls on 7 January of the Gregorian calendar...
.
Other countries
The tradition of the Old New Year has been kept in ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(Malanka
Malanka
Malanka is a Ukrainian folk holiday celebrated on January 13, which is New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar .Malanka commemorates the feast day of Saint Melania the Younger...
), Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. In the first half of the 20th century, segments of the Scottish Gaelic community still observed the feast and today, groups such as Edinburgh's Am Bothan see this as a convenient date for Gaelic events.
In art
The Old New Year tradition has received mention in Russian art; the playwrightPlaywright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Mikhail Roshchin wrote a comedy drama called The Old New Year in 1973, which was on stage in the theaters for many years. He also made it a screenplay for the TV-film which was played by famous actors and featured music by Sergey Nikitin, with the poetry lyrics by Boris Pasternak
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
; the film was released by Mosfilm
Mosfilm
Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
studios in 1980.