Why celebrate the New Year in January?

In ancient times all the holidays were associated with natural phenomena. That's the awakening of all life from a longcold winter pagans considered a holiday. Even then they had a New Year holiday. The awakening of nature always took place in March, so the New Year was celebrated just this month.

The ancient Romans always followed the custom of their ancestors, so New Year celebrated on March 1. It was this month that they started agricultural work in the field. This tradition lasted quite a long time, until the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar started the reform of the calendar.

In the year 46 BC. e. Caesar began to reform the calendar, which was based on the movement of the Earth aroundThe sun. As a result of this reform, the Julian calendar appeared. According to this calendar, the New Year's holiday was postponed to January 1. But that's not all. In the Julian calendar, there were 12 months instead of 10, as it was in the pagan. Odd months totaled 31 days, and even - 30. It should be noted that by December was added one day by decree of Caesar. And that the calendar did not have to be adjusted every year, one day was deducted from February. Later, a friend of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony proposed to name the seventh month after the emperor - July. Emperor Augustus also introduced his changes into the calendar. He decided to name the eighth month of the year by his name. So the month August appeared. Since August is named after the emperor, it should also be 31 days. And one more day was deducted from February. Thus, in a leap year in February there are 29 days, and in the usual year - 28 days.

Although the beginning of the New Year was postponed to January 1, various European countries continued to celebrate the New Year in March up to the XV-XVI century.

In Ancient Russia the New Year has always been celebrated in the spring. But the new order of counting of the years was approved by the greatprince of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich. He endured the celebration of the New Year for the autumn. This also had its own logic. Autumn is the time of harvesting, summing up the results of last year. So it turns out that the New Year in the fall fell on September 1. The main reason for transferring the date of the New Year can be considered biblical texts. It was on their basis that a new date of the holiday was approved.

Celebrating the New Year in the fall became popular among the population. But do not forget that the pagan New Year inMarch the people also continued to celebrate. More than 200 years, the people in Russia celebrated the New Year two times - the church in autumn and the "civil" in the spring. But why celebrate the New Year in winter, and not in autumn or spring?

In 1669 Peter I introduced a decree that the New Year is celebrated both in Europe - on January 1. In order of order, all residents were forcedcelebrate the New Year in winter. January 31, 1669 Peter I opened the celebration. And on the morning of January 1, a festive procession was held, which was accompanied by a salute of cannons. That's how since 1700 we began to celebrate the New Year in the winter, as in Europe.

Do not forget that Peter I also introduced another tradition - decorating a Christmas tree. Of course, in Russia the tree or the pine is alwaysThey were considered trees that symbolized death. From time immemorial, pine branches were always placed on the grave of the deceased and scattered along the road along which the funeral procession should pass. Therefore, the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree for the New Year could not take hold of us for a long time. Only a century later, everyone began to use the tree and pine tree as a symbol of the New Year.

Do not forget that In the 16th century there was also another reform of the calendar, which was reflected in our New Yearholidays. The fact is that the year of the Julian calendar does not quite coincide with the solar calendar. The difference between the two calendars was 11 minutes 14 seconds per year. So it turned out that for several centuries we "fell behind" for 14 days from the solar calendar. And then on February 24, 1583, the Pope introduced the "Eternal Calendar of Gregory." This Gregorian calendar was immediately introduced in all Catholic countries of Europe. In the Soviet Union, the transition to the Gregorian calendar took place in 1919. So we fell behind the Gregorian calendar for 14 days, on January 1 it came 14 days earlier. And on January 14, people celebrated the New Year in the old Julian calendar. This tradition has been preserved by us under the name of the Old New Year.

With the advent of Soviet power, the New Year holiday was banned. So, In the 20s of the last century the festiveThe tree was declared a religious remnant of the past. And only in 1936, under the pretext of caring for children, a special decree was issued on the resolution of the New Year holiday. But here is one of the components of the holiday, the church prayer, was completely excluded.

As you can see, The tradition of celebrating the New Year is very old and has changed several times already, until it reached us in the form in which weWe know it now. During the New Year's feast, you can tell all your friends why they celebrate the New Year in winter and how many changes this tradition has had to endure.