The Old New Year

Is the New Year your favourite holiday? If your answer is yes then you probably might be interested in the Russian tradition to celebrate it twice a year!  - on December 31^st and January 13^th! The so called Old New Year is a great way to gather the family round the holiday table again and wish a Happy New Year to each other for the second time.

The main reason for this fact lies in the 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. So, the New Year became a holiday which is celebrated by both calendars.

The holiday is interesting as it combines secular traditions of bringing in the New Year with the Christian Orthodox Christmastide customs, such as koleda.

Kolyada or koleda (Cyrillic: коляда, коледа, колада, коледе) is an ancient Slavic winter ritual celebrating the Old New Year. It was later incorporated into Christmas. Some claim it was named after Kolyada, the Slavic god of winter or Koliada, the goddess who brings up a new sun every day.

Nowadays koleda is the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun on Christmas and New Year Eve. It specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house greeting people, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return. The action is calleyadovanie. The boys are called 'koledari' or rarely 'kolezhdani' who sing kolyadka (songs).

Here are some traditional Russian songs:

Пришла коляда - отворяй ворота!

(Kolyada has come – open the gates!)

***

Господин, господа,
Господинова жена,
Двери отворите
И нас одарите!
Пирогом, калачом
Или чем-нибудь еще!

(Mister, misters, mister`s wife, open the doors and give us some presents! Some cake or kalatch or something else!)

***

Коляда, коляда,
Накануне Рождества!
Тетенька добренька,
Пирожка-то сдобненька
Не режь, не ломай,
Поскорее подавай,
Двоим, троим,
Давно стоим,
Да не выстоим!
Печка-то топиться,
Пирожка-то хочется!

(Kolyada, kolyada on the Christmas Eve! The kind woman don`t break or cut that cake. Give it to two or three of us! We have been waiting for long and we are not able to longer! The stove Is being heated! We want the cake so much!)

***

Ты, хозяин, не томи,
Поскорее подари!
А как нынешний мороз
Не велит долго стоять,
Велит скоро подавать:
Либо из печи пироги,
Либо денег пятачок,
Либо щей горшок!
Подай тебе Бог
Полный двор животов!
И в конюшню коней,
В хлевушку телят,
В избушку ребят
И в подпечку котят!

(Oh, the host don`t make us wait, give us something quickly! Since today`s frost doesn`t allow to stand outside for a long time telling to give either some cakes or a five-copeck coin or a pot of schee! God, let the host have lots of horses in the stable, lots of calves in the cowshed, lots of children in the house and the kittens under the bench!)

***

Открывай сундучок – доставай пятачок!

(Open the chest – take a coin out!)

***

Usually not as festive as the New New Year, for many this is a nostalgic family holiday ending the New Year holiday cycle (which includes Russian Christmas on January 7) with traditional large meals, singing and celebratory drinking.