On the night of January 13th to January 14th, Russia celebrated the Old New Year. For many foreigners, this is an absolutely incomprehensible tradition. How is that possible, since Russians already celebrated the New Year on the night of December 31st to January 1st, along with the rest of the world? And how can the New Year be "old"?
Let’s explain briefly and in order.
In olden times, Russia used a different calendar, which was different from the modern one. It was called the Julian calendar, and the biggest difference was that it was 13 days behind the modern calendar. So, when the calendar in other countries showed January 14th, in Russia it was still January 1st. Therefore, the New Year was celebrated 13 days later in Russia than in other countries.
In 1918, a decision was made to switch to the Gregorian calendar, which was already in use in other countries, and that’s when we started celebrating the New Year on the same day as everyone else.
However, the tradition of celebrating the New Year according to the old calendar, on the night of January 13th to 14th, has remained among the people. Although it is not an official holiday, many still celebrate it with their families. This is how it turned out that in Russia, one can celebrate the New Year twice a year!
We congratulate all our followers on the past Old New Year! We wish you all the best, happiness, lots of smiles, and a positive mood for this year. And we look forward to seeing you in Russia this year!
