New Year is considered one of the main holidays for the Russian people. This celebration has its own distinctive feature. New Year can be celebrated twice. The first date is from January 31 to January 1, and the second is from January 13 to 14.
Old New Year is called otherwise the New Year according to the old style. The time to celebrate the new year is due to the difference in calendars. System chronology has its own history.
In 46 BC, all the countries forming the Great Roman Empire began to live according to the new calendar approved by Gaius Julius Caesar. It was called "Julian". In modern times, Russia lives according to this calendar.
The year consisted of 362.25 days, and its beginning coincided with the inauguration of the consuls - on January 1. The first Ecumenical Council, convened in 325, approved the Julian calendar. Henceforth, the life of the Christian Church proceeded in accordance with the Julian calendar.
After 1600 years, Gregory XIII reformed the calendar. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582. He took into account the errors of the old. According to the new calendar, the year was equal to 362, 2425 days, that is, it turned out to be shorter. The recalculation revealed a difference of 13 days. The Russian Orthodox Church now lives according to this calendar.
Thus, another holiday fit into the calendar grid - New Year according to the old style - Old New Year, which has become incredibly popular in Russia, especially among believers, as it gives them the opportunity to fully enjoy the New Year's holiday after fasting.
It turns out that the Old New Year is the New Year according to the Gregorian calendar. It should be noted that in Russia there was a time when the New Year was celebrated on September 1, then under Peter I they switched to January 1 in the Julian style, then the transition to the Gregorian calendar, which the Orthodox Russian Church still adheres to, took place.
After the 1917 revolution, it was again decided to return to the Julian calendar and celebrate the New Year on January 1. At the same time, for the Orthodox, the celebration of the New Year remains until January 14. And so it happened that the state New Year in modern time is January 1, and the old church one is on the 14th of the same month.
