The Old New Year is an amazing and beloved holiday in Russia, which gives another opportunity to enter the New Year with a clean slate, make wishes and visit loved ones if you didn’t have time to do this on the main New Year’s Eve. This is a time of magic and wonderful traditions that unite families.
History of the Old New Year celebration
Two New Years are celebrated in Russia due to the calendar reform of 1918. She officially moved the beginning of the year to our usual January 1st according to the new style, but church holidays and many folk customs remained tied to the old calculation. This is how the additional “Old New Year” appeared, which Russians celebrate at midnight from January 13 to 14.
Traditions for the Old New Year: how to celebrate the holiday in 2026
The main ritual remains a rich festive table. For the Old New Year, be sure to prepare meat dishes, pies with various fillings, pancakes, kutya, dumplings and salads. Baked pork and “generous porridge” were considered a symbol of prosperity. Guests on this day were sure to be treated to their fill so that they could prosper all year long and not experience need.
Fortune telling and fun games
The Old New Year is a favorite for fortune telling about personal life, luck and finances. The girls threw the shoe over the threshold, told fortunes on wax or paper, wrote the names of their betrothed on pieces of paper and waited for mystical dreams. In the evening there were fun games, sitting by the fireplace, solving riddles and sharing funny stories.
On the morning of January 14, children and young people “sowed” grain to their neighbors’ houses, congratulating them on the holiday. The sowers were given sweets, coins and treats.
Completion of Christmas rituals
That night and the next day, it was customary to forgive insults, make peace if you quarreled, get rid of trash and bad energy – everything bad “went away” along with the old year, so that a new life could begin from a clean, harmonious space.
The old one is greeted among those closest to him, without much fuss. According to the Orthodox calendar, January 14 is the day of St. Basil the Great – Vasiliev's Day. Many housewives bake “Vasilievsky” pies and bring treats to relatives and neighbors to strengthen friendship and wish well-being.
