By this time, there have been enough days off for Russians - almost eleven days to celebrate the New Year and Orthodox Christmas. New Year's Eve is the biggest and most cherished holiday of the Russian year. Getty Images / SallyLL. The tradition of celebrating the Old New year began in February 1918, after Tsarist Russia introduced a new chronology to comply with other cultural nations. Moreover, I wish it to bring you a lot of unexpected but very pleasant surprises! Most importantly, may the new year be happy and successful for all of us! New Year’s Fir-Tree . Every year, Russians celebrate the New Year with unprecedented scale, spending days, weeks, even months preparing for it. These traditions have been carried throughout the years, and the Cossacks though dwindling in numbers have continued to hold their traditional Old Russian Style New Year. In the old days, January 14 (January 1 in the Julian calendar) was known as St Basil’s day - the commemoration of Saint Basil the Great of Caesarea – and was crucial for the entire year. Many who came in the 1950’s may recall the grand Cossack balls held in San Francisco at the Russian Center. Since the official Christmas was forbidden during the Soviet years, many traditions moved from Christmas to the New Year, including presents under the Christmas tree and visits from the Russian equivalent of the Western Santa, Дед Мороз (dyed-maROZ). He also made it into a screenplay for a 1980 television film which featured … The Russian Orthodox Church did not adopt it at all, and still adheres to the old Julian calendar. Originally, Russia used to live according to the Julian calendar, but then the Bolsheviks transferred the country to the Gregorian calendar. After the holiday, the entire country takes a break. New Y ear ‘s in Russia: traditions, gifts, symbols.What is the Old N ew Year’s?. The Old New Year isn’t an official holiday. The Russian New Year dinner ends with mandarins, symbol of good luck, and, of course, a … This was the day for performing all possible ancient rituals and fortune-telling. Here, according to the Russian culinary tradition, there are the classic salad Oliv’e (known in the West simply as “Russian salad) or the unusual-looking “selёdka pod shuboj”, a salad of herring, red beet and mayonnaise. January 14 is known as the "Old New Year" because it was the date of New Year's in the Julian calendar. Fir-trees are traditionally kept in homes till January 13-14, when the Russians celebrate the Old New Year. First of all, I want to congratulate you on N ew Y ear ‘s 2020! But, there is an older New Year's Day tradition on January 14th that many in Russia also celebrate. If you have Russian heritage or want to celebrate a global holiday, use these seven ideas on how to share a bit of a Russian Christmas or a Russian New Year. In Russia, though, Old New Year is not an officially-recognized holiday and workers are not given the day off for observance or celebration. The Old New Year tradition has received mention in Russian art; the playwright Mikhail Roshchin wrote a comedy-drama called The Old New Year in 1973, which was staged for many years. The Old-style New Year tradition. While many Russian and Ukrainian women gather with family and friends to feast and drink champagne, while listening to the President's speech, followed by watching fireworks, some may practice these ancient traditions as well. Dear friends! In the end of December homes are also decorated with fir-trees, which can be purchased at fir-tree bazaars or cut in the forest (with a special license required). Russia's New Year celebrations include the lighting of the New Year's tree and a visit from Ded Moro z (or Grandfather Frost), the Russian version of Santa Claus. Russians, therefore, have separate dates for some holidays, including New New Year and Old New Year.