Traditions of celebrating the old New Year

January in Russia is rich in holidays. On the first day, the whole country celebrates the New Year, on the 7th - the Nativity of Christ. And on the night of January 13-14, another holiday comes - the old New Year. When and why it arose, how it is celebrated in Russia and European countries, what ceremonies are performed and what is usually prepared for a festive dinner - we will tell further.

An additional holiday date arose as a result of the use of different methods of chronology. While most European countries counted days according to the Gregorian calendar, Russia lived according to the Julian calendar. Sometimes, because of this discrepancy in time, incidents happened: a letter sent from the Russian Empire could have been received by the European addressee earlier than the date indicated in it.

Incidentally, this holiday is celebrated not only by Russians. It is also present in the calendar of those countries of Europe and Asia, which in the past switched from one chronological system to another, like Russia. Here is a list of them:

• Switzerland;
• Tunisia;
• Algeria;
• Finland;
• Montenegro;
• Japan;
• Serbia;
• Greece.

Old New Year is considered a mystical holiday. It is not surprising that many rituals are held on his eve, associated with attracting wealth and good luck to the house. Here is some of them.

• To meet the old New Year, it is customary to prepare new clothes, and burn the old ones, to get rid of the failures of the past. It is also advisable to throw the things of children in which they have suffered an illness into the fire.
• On January 14, in the morning, you need to take 3 candles, light them and go around each room with them, moving clockwise. In this case, one should be baptized, and at the end of the ceremony, take an ax and knock it lightly on the threshold, saying: "Life, health, bread."
• If you have a private house and you keep cattle, then to protect it from ailments and misfortunes, you can perform the following ritual... Bake animal-shaped cookies and place the dish with them on the New Year's table. If you wish, you can treat them to animals.
• To protect fruit trees from harmful insects, gardeners shake them on the morning of January 14, saying: "As I shake off (name) white-fluffy snow, so will Saint Basil shake off every reptile worm in the spring."

Also, a special kutya is prepared for the old New Year. The recipe and the order of its preparation were taken from the Slavic traditions of celebrating the New Year.

• It is imperative to start cooking kutya at night (at 2.00). If later it is not eaten, you cannot throw away the dish - you must give all the leftovers to birds or animals.
• By tradition, the dish was prepared from buckwheat or barley groats, but today rice is more often used.... Dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots), various nuts, honey to taste must be added to the porridge. The richer the filling, the better. Each of its components has a sacred meaning: nuts symbolize good health, raisins - long life, honey - good news.
• After installing the pan (pot) with porridge on the stove (stove), the hostess should carefully monitor the cooking process. If the kutia "climbs" out of the saucepan or the pot suddenly cracks, there will be trouble. However, you should not be intimidated. "Bad" porridge together with the container must be thrown into the hole, and then failures will pass you by. Well, if the kutia is a success, eat it without a trace, then luck and wealth will surely come to you in the coming year.

Another Old Slavic tradition is Christmas festivities. But they are not quite the same as at Christmas. According to the church calendar, January 14 is the day of St. Basil or Basil the Generous. That is why carols on the night from 13 to 14 are called "generous": mummers go to their homes and scatter grain there. You need to welcome them, it is strictly forbidden to drive them away. The more caroling people pour grain, the richer and more successful the family living in this house will become.

Here are some interesting examples of fortune telling.

• Fortune-telling in the name of the betrothed. You need to write several male names on scraps of paper, and then put them under the pillow. In the morning, at random, you should pull out a piece of paper and read the name indicated on it - this is how the groom will be called.
• Casting wax. Take a small wax candle (preferably a church candle), break it into small pieces and put in a spoon. Prepare a container of cold water. Hold a spoonful of wax over the candle flame until it melts, then quickly pour the melted mass into the water. Wait about a minute, then you can start interpreting. The resulting shape will become the symbol. It is believed that an angel means receiving help from above, a horseshoe foreshadows the implementation of conceived plans, a car symbolizes the beginning of a new path (or you will receive a car as a gift, who knows). Interpretations of many other symbols can be found on the Internet.
• Divination by the betrothed by the dog's bark. A very unusual way to find out what the spouse will be like. On the night of January 13-14, a girl should go out into the yard with a knife, go up to a snowdrift and start stabbing it, while saying: "Damn, do not be silent, devil, tell me what kind of husband I get, will I have to cry or laugh?"Now you should listen to the dog barking. If you hear a flooded and sonorous barking, then the husband will be good, cheerful and good-natured. If you hear an angry growl, it means that you will get a rude person. A hoarse barking indicates that the betrothed will be much older than the bride, and the puppy - that he will be young. And if you suddenly hear a howl, this is very bad: the marriage will end in divorce or widowhood.
• Divination by strings... The girls take a ball of thread, cut it along the same length and set the thread on fire. The one whose thread burns out the fastest will be the first to marry. If the fire goes out in the middle of the thread or immediately, then you have to be like "girls".
• Divination by the shadow. Take a sheet of newspaper, crumple it, but do not flatten it too much, otherwise it will not work. Place the lump of paper on a flat, heat-resistant dish, place it on the table against the wall, and light the paper. Don't stir the ash. Now take a lighted candle and place it so that the outlines of a burnt newspaper sheet cast a shadow on the wall. By its contour, you can determine what the coming year promises you. This divination is similar to casting wax, and the interpretation of the figures is the same.

Any holiday covered with an aura of mysticism has its own signs and superstitions. Old New Year is no exception in this case.

• If you get sick on January 13-14, then the disease will not let go for a long time.
• You can't say the word "thirteen" out loud.
• It is forbidden to count small money (coins), otherwise you will cry all year.
• On the morning of January 14, notice the tree branches. If they are covered with fluffy frost, then the coming year will be rich in honey.
• Morning snowfall foreshadows a long and snowy winter.
• Ice marks a good harvest.
• It is customary to put up on the old New Year. If you don't bury the ax of war, then you can run into trouble. That is why, already in the morning of January 13, it is advisable to try to forgive ill-wishers, as well as to apologize to all those whom you have offended in word or deed.
• Take a look at the night sky - if there are no clouds on it, and the stars are shining brightly, there will be severe frost soon.
• People born on January 14 will never be deprived of wealth and prosperity.
• It is forbidden for the old New Year to borrow money, as well as to lend it. If you do this, finances will continue to slip through your fingers.
• Forget about quarrels, do not swear and do not use swear words, otherwise you will be angry and swearing all year.
• Buying a new thing promises frequent wardrobe renewal throughout the year.
• On the night of January 13-14, you must make a wish. It will definitely come true.
• Try to spend the holiday on a grand scale, with fun, set a rich table, invite loved ones. It bodes well for fun and excitement throughout the year. If you are in a bad mood, then a year will pass under the banner of sadness and despondency.
• On January 14, it is forbidden to take out the trash - this way you will take happiness out of the house.

The Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Despite this, Russia did not switch to it, continuing to use Julian. And only in 1918 it was adopted in our country for the official chronology. The Orthodox Church still uses the old Julian calendar to this day.

Unlike the New Year, the old New Year is not a “red day of the calendar,” so working people do not receive an additional day off on this day. However, many people like to celebrate it no less than the New Year itself: they make gifts to loved ones, wait for the onset of midnight, getting ready to see off the old year again, and then go outside and launch holiday fireworks.

Not everyone knows that the difference between the two calendar calendars becomes larger with each century. Now it is equal to 13 days, but from March 1, 2100, it will "grow" by one day. Respectively, since 2101, both Christmas and the old New Year will "move" a day later.

For more on celebrating the old New Year, see the next video.