Old New Year is traditionally celebrated on the night of January 13-14. The 2024 calendar suggests that these dates will fall on Saturday and Sunday. So, you can have a noisy fun party, and then get some sleep. The celebration is loved not only in the expanses of the former CIS. It is also celebrated in other countries: in the former Yugoslavia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Montenegro and in some cantons of Sweden, in the north-eastern part of the country, and in the Welsh communities of Great Britain.
History of the holiday
Now all countries use the Gregorian calendar, developed in the 16th century. Europe quickly switched to a new chronology.Russia, however, refrained from changing and continued to use the Julian calendar, despite the fact that the difference in numbers of 13 days created many inconveniences when interacting with "foreign" states.
The transition to a new style - to the Julian calendar, occurred only after the October Revolution, and it turned out that the old New Year switched to 13-14. It began to be celebrated as an additional secular holiday, and during it people got the opportunity to once again have fun near the Christmas tree. Moreover, there was even a tradition to take it apart the next day - 15.01.
The Orthodox Church has not switched to the Gregorian calendar and uses the Julian one. Believers who adhere to Orthodoxy cannot afford to relax on the traditional New Year's Eve from December 31 to January 1. This celebration falls during the Advent, so you can not eat fast food, laugh out loud and dance.But when the Old New Year comes in 2024, true believers will be able to celebrate as they want by inviting friends and acquaintances. After all, the post ends on 6.01.
In Rus', even before the October Revolution, it was customary to gather at the table on January 14 to celebrate the day of agriculture, Vasilyev, or Generous Evening. It was believed that if you did not feed your family and neighbors on this date, you could forget about luck for a whole year.
In the canonical church, the New Year, the Orthodox church year, according to the Julian calendar, is celebrated on September 14th. This is the least known Christian holiday, celebrated only by the clergy.
Traditions and signs of the Old New Year
All the traditional events that we are so used to until 2024 will probably continue during the holiday. In the same way, people will walk under the Christmas trees that have not yet been removed, standing in the squares, watching a repeat of the New Year's programs from January 1. ancient traditions are intertwined with modern ones.Therefore, as with the celebration of St. Basil's Day in Rus', when the Old New Year will be in 2024, you will need to prepare a rich table for the evening of January 13.
Sometime on this holiday:
- The whole family sat down for dinner. Invited neighbors, and then went to them. The obligatory dishes were evaluated: kutya, porridge with bacon, cold, dumplings with various fillings, pancakes.
- Young people walked the streets of villages and small towns, singing the Christmas "generous" . It was believed that if the ceremony was not performed, the weather would be bad in the summer and the harvest would not wait.
- Since the morning of January 14, a company of young guys was going home, chanting "sowers" , showering the threshold with grain. For this, the young men were given treats and small coins, and they wished happiness and good. If the company did not visit the house, you will have to forget about prosperity.
- And in the morning on the holiday, a ceremony “for the future harvest” was performed, “didukh” was burned - a sheaf of straw tied with bright ribbons. It was installed in the Red Corner, near the icons, on Christmas Eve on January 6.
Later, the tradition of "sowing" and "shedrivka" was replaced by the ritual of caroling, which has been preserved in the Southern regions to this day. Children are now engaged in caroling on the holiday - they sing songs, and they are presented with sweets.
If you believe in omens, you can't celebrate the Old New Year in a purely female company - it must be mixed. When only girls or women gathered to celebrate the holiday, at midnight you need to go outside and treat the first man you meet with pies, otherwise you will attract misfortune.
It is necessary to mark January 13 in the calendar so as not to violate traditions and prepare in advance for the holiday. After all, during it you can’t:
- do dirty work, clean up - you'll be messy for a year;
- to throw away garbage - “to take out he alth”;
- to ask for a loan and borrow;
- cooking dishes of "underwater animals" , crayfish and lobsters - to problems;
- toasting with "not" .
In the Old New Year it was customary to guess. According to an old belief, the heavens opened at this time, and each person can find out his fate. So why not revive this ancient tradition in 2024 to look into the future, especially since the priests are condescending to “communion with the unclean” on Holy Week.
Weather signs of the holiday:
- The old year fell on the growing moon - to a stormy flood.
- Snowfall in the morning - late spring, in the evening - hot summer.
- Thaw - to a cold rainy summer, many stars - to the harvest of berries, blizzard - nuts.
- Rain in the morning - it will freeze on Easter.
From January 13th to 14th, the last magical night when you can make wishes. Let modern people believe more in feng shui and the eastern calendar, and prepare to receive the Wooden Green Dragon in 2024, but for one day it is better to return to the roots.And for this, celebrate the holiday, the Old New Year, according to good traditions, with carols, wishing relatives and friends a lot of good luck and kindness. Then all the plans will come true.
