The Old New Year
Although it may look strange but Russians continue to have the holidays until January 14 when they celebrate Old New Year. Therefore, Russians continue to hold New Year tree. Old New Year means changing of the year on the Julian calendar but not the Gregorian calendar that is used for all the people nowadays. According to recent polls there are a lot of Russians who celebrate old New Year.
History of an Old Year
In 1582 Pope Gregory has invented the Gregorian calendar but Russians did not accept it until after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918. Even now the Russian Orthodox Church does not accept it and sticks to the old Julian calendar. So, Russians have the different dates for New New Year and Old New Year.
For now, Old New Year is not the officially recognized holiday and people are working on this day also. In the time of Soviet Union and its neglection of religion, this holiday was completely cancelled.
A tradition to celebrate an Old New Year appeared after the revolution in 1917. The Bolsheviks switched to the Gregorian calendar and all the dates moved 13 days ahead. So, January 1 actually became January 14. In addition, Christmas moved from December 25 to January 7.
It was hard to the Russians to accept that Christmas should be celebrated after the New Year but not before it. It was serious that Orthodox Russians could not celebrate the New Years Eve because they still had the Nativity Fast and could not drink alcohol or eat their fried chicken.
So, in order to somehow diversify their lives, Orthodox Russians decided to arrange an unofficial holiday – according to the old calendar. Now the Orthodox Church officially celebrates the Circumcision of the Lord on January 14.
Meaning of the Old New Year for Russians
Although Old New Year got a non- religious tradition for Russians they still consider it the correct festive to celebrate.
For some people this holiday also means an art. For example, Mikhail Roschin composed a play “The Old New Year” in the Moscow Art Theater and then a movie has appeared.
You know even a popular Soviet poet Andrei Voznesensky wrote a poem “The Old New Year” where he tells about the Old Year and its traditions.
When it comes to the old year it feels like a nostalgic holiday and families gather together to eat tasty food at their homes and sing carols. But the other people like to go outside their homes and party with their friends and colleagues. They normally eat the same food like on the New Year.
Although Old New Year has became very popular for Russians there are also some Soviet Republics that celebrate the Old New Year. Among those are the following countries:
- Armenia;
- Belarus;
- Ukraine;
- Moldova;
- Georgia;
- Kazakhstan.
To be added some German-speaking areas of Switzerland also observe Old New Year under the name St. Sylvester’s Day.
It is also a famous poem by Voznesensky about the Old New Year that from January 1 to 13 people visit their friends and congratulate each other with Old New Year.
According to the Old Russian calendar people on this day celebrated Vasily’s Day before the introducing the Old New Year. This is a day of farming when people showed the generosity in food. They cooked wheat porridge with meat or bacon, pancakes and pies. People organized a festive table for themselves and their neighbors. Because of Vasily to be the saint of pigs, people cooked pork dishes. It was considered that more richer table they have more lucky year will be.
The next Old New Year tradition was making dumplings with a surprise filling. Thus, families prepared dough and filling. It was admitted that a bean in the dumpling meant the addition of family, pepper meant a thrill, sugar meant sweet like, a coin meant prosperity, dill meant health. In this way, people tried any kind of filling.
The Old New Year recipes:
Here are some of the main traditional recipes that make you surprise and feel good.
Number 1 dish is Baked chicken with vegetables. This chicken comes out juicy and flavorful due to the fact that its belly is tightly stuffed with red onions stewed in butter.
Baked chicken with vegetables is a classic French recipe, which the French themselves call English due to their mysterious habit of giving dishes unrelated geographical names. Nevertheless, this is one of the most popular and simple recipes using the oven. Special attention should be paid to butter – there should be enough of it, so that the bird does not turn out dry, because the whole charm of the dish should consist of a crispy crust on the outside and the most tender meat on the inside.
Number 2 dish is Pork roll with spinach and egg. Pork neck is soft and juicy meat, and when combined with spinach filling it becomes even more tender. The recipe calls for Parmesan cheese – it can be easily replaced with a cheese with similar properties.
At first glance, the recipe seems very troublesome, but in fact, it will take a little more than an hour to cook. It is best to cook the dish with fresh spinach that has not lost its ringing from freezing.
Number 3 dish is Jellied fish. There is no need to worry about this jellied pike perch – it hardens easily with the help of a precise dose of gelatin.
The prototype of jellied meat was servants’ food: scraps from the master’s table were collected and poured with a gelatinous broth. French chefs spied on this and invented modern jellied meat. For some reason, non-fish versions did not take root in Russian cuisine, but jellied fish became a classic and a must-have attribute of the festive table.
Number 4 dish is Mimosa with shrimp and carrot mayonnaise. One of the most beautiful mimosas in the city – this is how chef Vlad Piskunov prepares it in his restaurant “Matryoshka”. The yolk is air-dried so that it retains its shape, and carrot juice is added to the mayonnaise.
It’s easy to make this sauce at home, and it will add a new sweet and spicy note to the main New Year’s sauce.
Number 5 dish is Vinaigrette with anchovies and arugula. Important tours of vinaigrette, bringing it to a new gastronomic level. Arugula is an excellent substitute for mustard, which many are accustomed to adding to salad.
Number 6 dish is Tapenade. The simplest appetizer is a paste of preserved olives, a daily meal for the inhabitants of the Mediterranean. It goes well with wine, beer and something stronger.
Pates are an important part of French cuisine, and you can make them from anything you like, such as olives. Tapenade, as this pate is called, is rich and aromatic: in addition to olives, you will need capers, anchovies, lemon zest and other products that make the taste of tapenade so diverse.
Number 7 dish is Deviled eggs with tuna. Deviled eggs are a long-standing holiday treat, but add tuna and capers and the eggs instantly become the centerpiece of the table.
Deviled eggs are a seemingly hackneyed genre, but in fact, not hopeless. Fill egg whites with a mixture of tuna and mayonnaise, add a cap of caviar and capers – the salty top will perk up the creamy and slightly creamy taste of the base. Serve this appetizer immediately, this is the case when it is better to cook less, but so that everything is fresh. Life hack – make a preparation of boiled eggs in advance and a separate filling of tuna and mayonnaise. Then a new portion of the appetizer will take you only a couple of minutes.
Number 8 dish is Mulled wine with orange. The usual set of ingredients, to which orange juice has been added – this makes the drink lighter and more joyful.
Number 9 dish is Meringue with cardamom. Meringue has always been prepared for holidays, and it would be good to preserve this tradition – it is too easy to make and too joyful to eat. This recipe adds cardamom, which elevates meringue to the category of Middle Eastern snacks.
The Old New Year’s Superstitions
“What you do the first hour of the New Year will be what you do most of the year”. This refers to the celebration of the Old New Year too. For this reason, on January the 13th and the 14th people normally wear good clothes, eat tasty food and have a good mood. If the first person who enters your home is from a large family, your life will be wealthy.
People also consider the weather on this day because it predicts what is going to be in the future. For instance, if there was a south wind blowing, the year would be hot and good, if the wind was from the west, there would be lots of milk and fish. A clear sky meant good harvest of berries.
What is not recommended to do at the Old New Year?
On this day, you shouldn’t lend or borrow any money. Otherwise, you would spend the whole year lending or borrowing.
Women shouldn’t spend Old New Year only with other women, otherwise their year would be miserable and lonely.
You should not to clean your house on this day because you can throw away your luck with the trash. It would be good to clean your home before the Old New Year.
First of all, this holiday allows you to prolong the emotions of the New Year and therefore it becomes more popular. However, it is calmer, and it does not have all the fuss that is an all-time attribute of preparation for the New Year.
After January 14, Russians usually start taking down the New Year tree, putting the decorations and toys back in their boxes and putting it all away on the farthest dusty shelves. Now this day doesn’t mean as much to people, and they don’t have such a rich table as on New Year’s Eve, but they can still just have a glass and finally say goodbye to the old year!