- History of the holiday or how it all began
- Do other countries celebrate Old New Year?
- Traditions and customs of celebration in Russia
- Modern Old New Year
- Signs for January 13 and 14
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New Year is a favorite holiday of many people, but in Russia there is an opportunity to repeat it in exactly 14 days. The traditions of celebrating the Old New Year began to take shape at the beginning of the last century when the calendar changed. Not all of them, alas, have survived to this day, although they can significantly diversify the usual holidays.
In this article you will learn:
- where did the tradition of celebrating the Old New Year come from;
- in which countries there is a custom to celebrate it;
- main customs and rituals held in Russia;
- how to make a holiday memorable ;
- what signs you should pay attention to.
History of the holiday or how it all began
If Russia in 1918 had not decided to switch to the Gregorian calendar of time calculation, the Old New Year would not have appeared. While it falls on the night of January 14th. But over time, the date will be postponed.
Church celebrations were held on the same days as before. As a result, a lot of things got mixed up, I had to constantly remind what customs should be performed on a specific date.
From January 13 to 14, they began to celebrate the New Year holiday, motivateddate transfer. But at the same time, two important church dates overlapped: the day of memory of Melania and the veneration of St. Basil the Great. In Orthodox families, they began to call this night the meeting of Melanka with Vasily.
Do other countries celebrate Old New Year?
In addition to the countries that were previously part of the USSR, the Old New Year is celebrated by residents:
- Algeria;
- Tunisia;
- Greece;
- Romania;
- Serbia;
- Montenegro;
- Switzerland;
- Morocco.
Different countries have their own peculiarities about how the celebration should take place.
In Greece, on the Old New Year, it is forbidden to raise your voice and quarrel. It’s bad if the dishes break, so everyone tries to be careful with it. If invited to a celebration, you need to take a stone with you. It symbolizes the we alth that the owners wish to acquire in the coming year.
In Romania, there must be pies on the table. But with an interesting filling in the form of coins, hot peppers, garlic or rings.
In Switzerland, this holiday is dedicated to the veneration of St. Sylvester. Residents dress up in funny costumes reminiscent of botanical gardens or houses, calling themselves Sylvester Clauses.
In Montenegro, they definitely cook parenitsa - a national dish of corn dough.
Russian customs have much in common with Ukrainian or Belarusian ones, and therefore are considered common.
Traditions and customs of celebration in Russia
Despite the fact that on January 1 the table was full,The old New Year for the stomach became an even greater test. The indispensable attributes of this holiday in Russia were:
- roasting a 2-3 week old piglet;
- generous kutya emphasizing the end of the post;
- dumplings with surprises;
- pancakes and pies, with which they also thanked those who came to carol.
Making dumplings was accepted by the whole family. As in Romania, various surprises were hidden in them. This symbolized fortune-telling about what awaits in the coming year.
Carols, schedrovki and sowing were very bright decoration of the holiday. And they went caroling only until midnight, until the unclean forces roamed. On January 13, young girls and guys hid behind masks, and one of the guys was dressed up in women's clothes as a symbol of Melanka.
What other traditions were characteristic of this time? Kutya for the New Year's feast began to cook in the morning. If there were unpleasant signs, it had to be thrown directly into the hole with the pot.
An interesting tradition of this night was the burning of "Didukhi" (grandfather). To do this:
- a sheaf of straw was prepared in advance;
- on the Old New Year, after the end of the carols, we went to the crossroads;
- set fire to the sheaf;
- when the main flame decreased, they began to jump over the fire, saying goodbye to evil spirits.
All this was accompanied by songs, dances, funny ditties and other games.
There is another beautiful tradition associated with the life of peasants. In the morning, with wishes of happiness, he alth and we alth, they went to the homes of relatives andfriends to "sow" grain. It is not known where the custom came from, but it has its own rules:
- only males are sown, because it was believed that girls cannot bring happiness;
- first visited godparents' homes;
- beans were carefully harvested and stored until spring to be mixed with spring crops.
Special porridge was also cooked. The groats for her were poured by the oldest woman in the family. Water from the well was supposed to be brought by the oldest man in the house. Groats from the barn were taken out at two in the morning. It was impossible to touch her, so as not to change her future. Until the oven was heated, the ingredients were ignored. Then, when the porridge was cooked, all family members sat around. The woman stirred it, saying special words. Then they put the porridge in the oven and waited for the result:
- if the porridge came out of the pot, it promised trouble for the whole house, so no one ate it;
- when bursting the pot, they did the same, because it was a disease;
- a lot of foam on top foreshadowed empty chores;
- rich tasty porridge meant harvest and happiness to all households.
The whole family sat down at the table late at night, and this dinner was not to be missed.
At this time, Christmas time continued, so Old New Year's divination was also used. It was customary to guess at the betrothed, on threads for a quick wedding, the fulfillment of a wish, the appearance of a child, etc. Traditions could differ depending on the place of residence, as well as on the veneration of saints. Some villages hadtheir saints, who received additional attention during the New Year.
Modern Old New Year
Now it is customary to celebrate in the same way as on New Year's Eve. It is believed that on the Old New Year you need to catch up on what could not be done on January 1. For example:
- make a wish, after writing it on a napkin, which is burned and thrown into champagne;
- watch concerts and letters you haven't seen yet;
- send congratulations on the Old New Year to family and friends with repeated wishes for good and he alth;
- put gifts that were previously forgotten under the Christmas tree, after which it can be removed.
In the southern regions, the custom has been preserved to cook a pig or pork dishes so that the New Year becomes rich in good news. Carols are held in some villages, but their true meaning is often lost.
Signs for January 13 and 14
We were attentive to the signs, among which the following stood out:
- first on January 14, a girl entered the house - to trouble;
- Melanka was warm, then the summer will be good;
- frost on the trees meant a good year;
- it was forbidden to count petty money on Vasily, so as not to shed tears. They also didn’t give or borrow; if there was a snowstorm or a snowstorm at night, it was believed that the year would be restless;
- hearing an unusual ringing in the morning was the news of a possible replenishment.
Be sure to cajole livestock so that the New Year for them is calm andprolific.
If at least some elements and traditions of the celebration are returned to modern reality, we can improve the New Year's mood even more and make the celebration unforgettable.