| Old New Year | |
|---|---|
| Also called |
|
| Observed by | Users of theJulian calendar |
| Significance | The first day of the Julian year |
| Date | 11 January (1583–1700) 12 January (1701–1800) 13 January (1801–1900) 14 January (1901–2100) 15 January (2101–2200) |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | New Year's Day (Gregorian calendar) |
TheOld New Year, theOrthodox New Year, also known asRa's as-Sanah orRas el-Seni in the Middle East, is an informal traditional holiday, celebrated as the start of theNew Year by theJulian calendar. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Old New Year falls on 14 January in theGregorian calendar.
This traditional dating of the New Year is sometimes commonly called "Orthodox" because it harks back to a time when governments in Russia and Eastern Europe used the Julian calendar, which is still used by some jurisdictions of theEastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church's liturgical year actually begins in September.
In the Middle East, within theAlawites andMiddle Eastern Christians, the termRa's as-Sanah orRas el-Seni refers to the Old New Year, which is regularly celebrated by these groups.[1][2][3]
The holiday inNorth Macedonia is known asOld New Year (Macedonian:Стара Нова година,romanized: Stara Nova godina) or asVasilica (Василица), "St. Basil".[n. 1] Late on 13 January, people gather outside their houses, in the center of their neighborhoods where they start a huge bonfire and drink and eat together. Traditional Macedonian music is sung. For those who stay at home, it is the tradition to eat home-madepita with acoin inside. Whoever finds the coin in their part is said to have luck during the year.[4]
Macedonians around the world also celebrate the holiday, especially in Australia, Canada, and the United States whereMacedonian Orthodox Church has adherents.
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Although theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic officially adopted theGregorian calendar in 1918, theRussian Orthodox Church continued to use the Julian calendar. The New Year became a holiday that is celebrated by both calendars.
As in most countries which use the Gregorian calendar,New Year's Day in Russia is apublic holiday celebrated on 1 January. 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 OrthodoxChristmastide customs, such asRozhdestvo.
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: 1 January (New New Year) and 14 January (Old New Year).
Usually not as festive as theNew New Year, for many this is anostalgic family holiday ending the New Year holiday cycle (which includesEastern Orthodox Christmas on 7 January) with traditional large meals, singing and celebratory drinking.[5][unreliable source?]
InScotland the Old New Year has traditionally been held on 12 January. In the first half of the 20th century, large segments of the Scottish Gaelic community still observed the feast[6] and, today, it is still marked inSouth Uist andEriskay as Oidhche Challaig and asOidhche Challainn in Glenfinnan. Also in Scotland, the coastal town ofBurghead in Morayshire celebrates the eve of the Old New Year with "The Burning o' the Clavie"[citation needed]. Old New Year is 12 January in this district as well.
The Old New Year inSerbia and amongSerbs is commonly called theSerbian New Year (Serbian:Српска Нова година /Srpska Nova godina),[7] and sometimes theOrthodox New Year (Православна Нова година /Pravoslavna Nova godina) and rarelyJulian New Year (Јулијанска Нова година /Julijanska Nova godina).
TheSerbian Orthodox Church, with traditional adherence inSerbia (includingKosovo),Bosnia and Herzegovina,Montenegro andCroatia, celebrates its feasts and holidays according to the Julian calendar.[7]
Serbs celebrates Serbian New Year in a similar way as the New Year on 31 December, although the celebrations have usually become more modest in comparison.[8] This time, usually one concert is organized in front of either City Hall or the National Parliament (inBelgrade), whilefireworks are prepared by the Serbian Orthodox Church and fired from theChurch of Saint Sava, where people also gather. Other cities also organize such celebrations. Restaurants, clubs, cafes, and hotels are usually fully booked and organize New Year's celebrations with food and live music.[7]
A traditional folk name for this holiday as part ofTwelve Days of Christmas isLittle Christmas (Мали Божић /Mali Božić). Some families continue with the procedures ofSerbian Christmas traditions.
Even before theCalendar (New Style) Act 1750 legally adopted it as such inEngland and Wales, most communities inWales had long considered 1 January to be "Dydd Calan" (English:New Year’s Day). As such thedisorder that occurred in England was not as prominent in Wales and the traditional New Year, known as "Hen Galan" (English:Old New Year) was allowed to continue as an informal holiday. Today, Hen Galan celebrations include theMari Llwyd, the making of apple charms named "perllan" and the collecting of "calennig", with the most well known Hen Galan celebrations held atCowbridge,Aberystwyth[9] and most notably inCwm Gwaun.
In theCwm Gwaun in Pembrokeshire, the collecting of calennig is a major part of the celebrations. Local children are absented from primary school to travel from house to house singing traditionalWelsh language songs.[10] In return, the householders would originally give the children food to help through the winter months but in recent years the children are given sweets and money. Residents who did not welcome and reward the visitors were thought to get a "llond y tŷ o fwg" (English:a house full of smoke), meaning a year of bad luck.[11] Festivities are also held the night before Hen Galan, with theGrade II-listed Dyffryn Arms (known locally asBessie's) a centre for local celebrations.[12][13]
The tradition of the Old New Year has been kept inPalestine,Jordan,Armenia,Belarus,Uzbekistan,Bosnia and Herzegovina (mainly among Serbs),Georgia,Azerbaijan,Kazakhstan,Montenegro,Ukraine (Malanka) and Switzerland (asalter Silvester).[14]
TheBerbers ofNorth Africa (fromMorocco toLibya) traditionally celebrate theNew Year on the "Berber calendar", which is very close to the Julian calendar. Because of certain calendar errors, the "Berber New Year" is celebrated in some areas on 12, rather than 14, January.[15][better source needed]
The same day is celebrated inTamil-speaking lands asThai Pongal, when the sun ends its southward journey and starts moving northward.
The Old New Year tradition has received mention in Russian art; the playwrightMikhail Roshchin wrote a comedy-drama calledThe Old New Year in 1973,[16] which was staged for many years. He also made it into a screenplay for a 1980television film which featured music bySergey Nikitin and poetry lyrics byBoris Pasternak. The film was released byMosfilm studios.[17]