Old New Year

 Do you know what day is today (Jan 13)? 

Russians celebrate the Old New Year on the night of January 13-14.

How did it happen that Russians celebrate the New Year twice? 

Simply by adopting a different calendar. Of course, it was not really simple, but after the October Revolution (1917), the Bolsheviks switched from the Julian calendar to Gregorian one. Because of this, all the dates moved 13 days ahead.

The year 1919 began on January 1st but in accordance with the new Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar was 2 weeks behind the Gregorian one, as a result of which the celebration of the new year was postponed from January 14th to January 1st.

The Old New year isn't an official holiday.

There are definitely no people who would remember the old calendar. Russians, by definition, like to celebrate holidays. The more reasons to celebrate, the better.

The Old New Year is usually less festive. There may be no more gifts under the tree. 

Many Russians will wait until the 14th before taking down their Christmas tree and putting away the decorations. 

My current family is only half Russian. We keep the tree until the Orthodox Christmas, but not until the Old New Year. No champagne for us tonight, no salads and no delicatessen. 

But I like to remember this tradition. Oranges and “Die Hard-2” help to create the right mood.

Happy Old New Year!