The old New Year

 The Old New Year or the Orthodox New Year is an informal traditional 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 in the Gregorian calendar.

 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.

The tradition of the Old New Year has been kept in  Armenia, Palestine, Jordan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia,  Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Moldova, Ukraine, Wales  and Switzerland.

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).