Old New Year

The Old New Year (Russian: Старый Новый год, Ukrainian: Старий Новий рік, Macedonian: Стара Нова година) or the Orthodox New Year (Serbian: Православна Нова година or Pravoslavna Nova godina) 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.

In Russia

Although the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic 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.^[1]

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 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.^[2]

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.

Other countries

The tradition of the Old New Year has been kept in Armenia, 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^[3] 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 playwright 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.

References

1. ^ http://www.ytfiles.com/2009/12/30/top-ten-traditions-no-winter-holiday-season-in-russia-goes-without/
2. ^ see: Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
3. ^ The Last Pibroch, Jaunty Jock and the Ayrshire Idylls by Neil Munro, stated in the glossary

• Oleg Nikolayev Old New Year: A Holiday or an Expectation of a Holiday" Otechestvenniye Zapiski 2003 N1 (Russian)
• Happy Old New Year! (English)