The history of the New Year holiday comes from ancient times - from the times of pagan Rus' in the 9th century. Among the ancient Russian peoples, the New Year began with the beginning of the awakening of nature, and they celebrated it presumably on the day of the vernal equinox, March 22.

Along with the adoption of Christianity in Rus' in 988, a new calendar appeared, and the beginning of the year was adopted on March 1. But subsequently, in the 14th century, the Orthodox Church moved the beginning of the year to September 1 to commemorate peace from all everyday worries associated with agricultural work. This custom was adopted from Byzantium. From September 1, they began to count not only the church year, but also the civil year.

New Year's customs among the Slavs took root quite quickly. Many old rituals, mummers' tricks, sleigh rides, round dances and fortune-telling that used to accompany Christmastide (the period after Christmas to Epiphany, from January 7 to 19) fit well into the fun of the New Year!

On the day of the New Year holiday, a ceremony “On the beginning of a new summer” was held in the Moscow Kremlin. A platform was set up on the Kremlin's cathedral square, which was covered with Persian carpets. Lecterns for icons were installed on the platform. Opposite the lectern, two places were placed for the patriarch and the king. The king came out in festive clothes. The Patriarch asked about the Tsar’s health and blessed him. The clergy and boyars took places according to rank. After the service, all those present congratulated each other, and after the king the whole square congratulated.

In 1699, Peter I issued a decree according to which January 1 was considered the beginning of the year. The Tsar made sure that the New Year holiday in Tsarist Russia was no worse and no poorer than in other countries. Christmas trees were decorated with fruits, vegetables, sweets and nuts, and they began to decorate them much later.

The first New Year with a changed date began with a parade on Red Square in Moscow. And in the evening the sky was decorated with colorful fireworks, people danced, sang, had fun and gave each other New Year's gifts . It was on January 1, 1700 that New Year's festivities received their popular recognition. The celebration of the New Year began to have a secular character.

The main element of the celebration was. A pig was used as a sacrificial animal, which symbolically meant wealth, fertility and prosperity in human life. The New Year's pig was considered the property of the peasant world and individual families. Everyone in the peasant community could come and eat his tender meat, but each of those who came had to bring some money for the owner. The next day, the funds collected were transferred to the parish church.

There was also a family ritual of eating a pig. On the evening of January 1, all the household gathered at one table, lit a candle in front of the icon and prayed to the church writer and theologian Basil the Great. After the prayer, the owner separated the head of the pig, broke the roast and gave it in pieces to family members. After eating the meat, the housewife took the bones to the pigs. This ritual had a magical meaning: it was supposed to bring about a good harvest and prosperity in the family.

Not a single New Year in Rus' was complete without the ritual of caroling. Crowds of boys, having gathered on January 1 before mass, went from house to house and congratulated their owners on the holiday. Entering the hut, the boy bowed to the owner and sprinkled the room with millet or oats, saying “for happiness, for health, for a new summer.” Then the sprinkled grain was collected with special love and stored until spring sowing. Guests, especially children, were treated with special cordiality, since it was believed that they brought wealth to the house and happiness to the family. As a token of gratitude, they were given money or pies.

The tradition of celebrating the New Year in Rus' originated in the 9th century and has not yet lost its relevance. New Year's customs have changed over time, but we can observe most of them in our time. People still have fun on New Year's Day, congratulate each other and give gifts!

Primitive people did not count the years and did not think about what year it was in their yard: just a warm summer gave way to a rainy autumn, followed by a snowy winter, and after long cold weather the streams rang. Some peoples counted how many springs they encountered, others counted how many harsh winters they were able to survive.

In Ancient Armenia, for example, as in Ancient India, the New Year began on March 21, the day of the vernal equinox. The country woke up from its winter sleep along with the new Sun. The days grew longer and people began new lives. On the first day of spring, they made wishes and secured them by tying a ribbon to a tree branch or hanging their decoration on it.

And the tradition of celebrating the New Year on the day of the spring equinox came from Ancient Mesopotamia. Here, every year, following the 21st day of the month Nissan (on the day of the spring equinox), water began to rise in the Tigris River, and two weeks later - in the Euphrates. That is why all agricultural work began this month. The inhabitants of Mesopotamia celebrated this day with colorful processions, carnivals, masquerades, songs and dances.

In Ancient Greece, the New Year began on the summer solstice - June 22. The celebration opened with a procession in honor of the god of wine, Dionysus. Dionysus' retinue consisted of satyrs - the children of earthly women and Pan - the goat-like god of herds, forests and fields. The satyrs sang hymns in honor of Dionysus. Later, during the times of Pericles and Socrates, satyrs were replaced by priests. Every time on New Year's Eve they gathered in the vicinity of Athens, dressed themselves in goat skins and sang the praises of Dionysus in bleating voices.

In Ancient Egypt, the New Year was celebrated in July during the Nile flood. On the night of July 19-20, priests in ceremonial robes, accompanied by coordinated singing, headed to a predetermined place, raised their faces to the black southern sky, trying to be the first to notice when the brightest star, Sirius, rose above the horizon. Her appearance in the sky meant the coming of the New Year.

In Ancient Rome, the New Year was also celebrated in early March until Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar (February 28, 46 BC). After this, the first day of the New Year began to be considered the first day of January. January received its name in honor of the Roman god - the two-faced Janus. One Janus face was turned back to the previous year, the other forward to the new. On New Year's Day, the Romans decorated their houses and gave each other gifts and coins with the image of this god. The celebrations continued for several days. In Ancient Rome, the first gifts were laurel branches - symbols of happiness and good luck. They also gave each other fruits covered with gold, dates and wine berries, then copper coins and even valuable gifts.

IN Rus' AT THIS TIME...

Chronicles of New Year's confusion

Our ancestors, the Eastern Slavs, celebrated the arrival of the New Year in the same way as other peoples, in the spring. The year was divided into two halves: summer and winter. It began with the first month of spring - March, because it was from this time that nature awakens from sleep to life. Even the names of the months among the ancient Slavs are closely related to natural phenomena:

Modern Russian nameAncient Slavic nameMeaning

January - Sziechenie - Timber cutting time

February - Severe - Severe frosts

March - Berezozol - Birch begins to bloom, collecting birch sap

April - Pollen - Flowering gardens

May - Grass - The grass turns green

June - Cherven - The cherries turn red

July - Lipets - Linden blossoms

August - Serpen - Harvest time

September - Heather - Heather blossoms

October - Leaf fall - Falling leaves

November - Gruden - From the word “gruda” (frozen ruts on the road)

December - Jelly - The onset of cold weather

Many ancient names of months later passed into Slavic languages ​​and are still used in Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Polish.

BAPTISM OF Rus'

Or how the New Year was moved to September

In 988, Rus' adopted Christianity, and along with the new religion the Byzantine calendar came to us. It was a Julian calendar with Roman names for the months; a seven-day week and a year of 365.25 days. The Byzantine calendar also came into use, where the creation of the world was dated 5508 BC.

According to the new calendar for Rus', the year was supposed to begin in September. As you know, it is very difficult to fight traditions. Even after being baptized, the Russian people stubbornly continued to celebrate the New Year in the old fashioned way on March 1 - with the beginning of spring. Echoes of the customs of that distant holiday are still preserved in some Maslenitsa rituals.

Time passed, and around the 12th century. the people became completely accustomed to the new environment and began to celebrate their traditional New Year first in March, and a few months later in September.

Russian people celebrated the September New Year with pleasure, solemnly and in order. Many sought to come to Moscow for the holiday, where magnificent celebrations were held. From all the cities and villages, carts and carts of peasants reached Belokamennaya, the wagons of nobles hurried, and the wheels of important boyars rattled along the log pavements. Everyone wanted to visit the Kremlin and see the capital city.

We celebrated the New Year the same way we do today, at night. On the last evening of the old year, dear guests and respectful relatives always came to the house of the head of the family or the eldest in the family. Guests were warmly greeted, seated at laid tables, treated to honey, raspberry mash or overseas wine - depending on the wealth of the owners. We waited for midnight for a leisurely conversation. Exactly at twelve, the shot of the messenger cannon thundered in the silence, announcing the onset of the New Year, and immediately the large bell on Ivan the Great struck. Everyone hugged, kissed each other three times, wished each other a Happy New Year and wished them well and peace.

And the feast began! Some walked all night until dawn, and some, mindful of tomorrow's affairs, drank a glass, and on the side. Those who came to celebrate the New Year in Moscow in the morning certainly went to the Kremlin, to Cathedral Square. An action took place there that shocked the imagination of our ancestors. In the cathedrals, myriads of candles were burning, clerks were singing in bass voices, the gold of rich iconostases was shining, and colorful and festively dressed people were crowding around. Streltsy, dressed in ceremonial caftans and armed with berdysh, stood holding banners in their hands.

For just over two hundred years, Russians used this system of counting years.

SO COMMANDED THE GREAT PETER

At the end of the first third of 7208 from the creation of the world, the Russians again changed the calendar and again postponed the celebration of the beginning of the New Year. On December 19, according to the Julian calendar, Peter signed a personal decree “On the writing henceforth of Genvar from the 1st day of 1700 in all papers of the year from the Nativity of Christ, and not from the Creation of the world.”

Peter explained the reform as follows: “We ordered the Great Sovereign to do this so that in many Christian surrounding nations, who hold the Orthodox Christian Eastern faith in agreement with us, years are written as the date from the Nativity of Christ.”

Christmas trees and New Year's fireworks appeared in our homes and on the streets also thanks to this decree of Peter: “on large thoroughfares, and noble people and at houses of special (eminent) spiritual and worldly rank, in front of the gates, make some decoration from trees and pine spruce branches and junipers. And for poor people (that is, the poor), they should at least place a tree or branch over their gates or over their mansions. And so that the future January will be ready by the 1st of 1700 of this year. And this decoration will stand until the 7th of the same year. Yes, on the first day of January, as a sign of joy, congratulate each other on the New Year and the centenary, and do this when the fire fun begins on Big Red Square, and there will be shooting, and at the noble houses of the boyars and okolniki, and the Duma noble people, ward, military and merchant ranks, famous people, each in his own yard from small cannons, whoever has one, or from a small gun, fire three times and fire several rockets, as many as anyone has. And on large streets, where it is decent, from the 1st to the 7th of January at night, light fires from wood, or from brushwood, or from straw. And where the small courtyards, gathered in five or six courtyards, also put a fire, or, whoever wants, on pillars, one or two or three, tar and thin barrels, filled with straw or brushwood, light it, and in front of the burgomaster's town hall, shooting and such decorations are at their discretion.”

The Tsar himself was the first to launch a rocket, which, writhing in the air like a fiery snake, announced to the people the coming of the New Year, and after it, according to the Tsar’s decree, fun began throughout the whole of Belokamennaya....

So, by order of Peter the Great, on January 1, 7208 became 1700. This first “real” New Year in the capital was noisy and fun, as the Emperor commanded. But as soon as the festivities ended and the people came to their senses after the New Year's noise, a murmur arose in Moscow about the change in the calendar. Quite many - not only from the common people, but also from the Moscow nobility of that time - were surprised: “How could the Emperor change the solar current?” Believing that God created the light in September, many remained with their old habits: the New Year holiday was celebrated twice again - first on September 1, as was the custom of old, and then on December 31, as the reformer Tsar ordered.

CONFUSION IN CALENDARS

The introduction of the new calendar certainly caused some confusion among the people. However, there was no confusion in dates; civil holidays were not opposed to church holidays. Everything was logical and understandable: the New Year was celebrated after Christmas, that is, after the end of the Nativity Fast, without disturbing its flow.

An important event of this period was Christmastide. On the night of December 24-25, Christmas Eve was celebrated, which drew a line under the past year, ended the Nativity fast and opened two weeks of New Year's festivities. Throughout Russia, the custom of New Year's visits to houses by young people or children was widespread. In the villages, mummers with songs and jokes walked in crowds under the windows to ask for pies. Similar rounds were carried out three times during Christmas time: on Christmas Eve, on New Year’s Eve and on the eve of Epiphany. This is where the real fun was! Each family eagerly awaited the carolers, prepared food for them and listened to the carols with genuine pleasure. We developed these traditions of celebrating Christmas a long time ago, back in the 10th century, and the celebration of the New Year, according to Peter’s decree, organically intertwined this tradition.

But it still happened historically that our “old style,” as it is now called, lagged behind the calendar according to which the “Gregorian” world lived. The fact is that the calendar introduced by Caesar was one day behind the solar calendar in 128 years, that is, about three days in 400 years. According to the Julian calendar, every fourth year (the number of which is divisible by 4) was a leap year, containing 366 days, and not 365, as usual.

In Europe, the error was corrected in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII reformed the Julian calendar: to take into account the lag from the solar calendar, in the Gregorian calendar, “hundredth years” (those ending in 00) were not leap years, unless their number divided by 400:

Leap years: 1200–1600–2000–2400–2800,

Non-leap years: 1300–1400–1500–1700–1800–1900–2100–2200–2300–2500–2600–2700.

Each leap year ending in 00 increases the difference between the new and old styles by one day. Therefore, in the 18th century, when Peter introduced his decree, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars was 11 days.

So another 200 years passed and Russia, until 1918, lived “according to the old style.”

BOLSHEVIKS: WAR ON TREES

Immediately after the October Revolution, already on November 16, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin, considered the issue of switching to a new reckoning of time. On January 24, 1918, the decree “On the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic” was adopted.

Immediately, contradictions arose with Orthodox holidays, because, having changed the dates of civil holidays, the government did not touch church holidays, and Christians continued to live according to the Julian calendar - it turned out that Christmas was celebrated not before, but after the New Year. But this did not bother the Bolsheviks at all. On the contrary: they benefited from the destruction of the foundations of Christian culture. As for the holidays themselves, the new government was going to introduce its own, new, socialist ones.

In the first post-revolutionary years, the tradition was still preserved intact. The children continued to enjoy both the “old-fashioned” Santa Claus and the decorated Christmas trees. But still, gradually and steadily, the new government moved away from the old traditions. It was decided to transform the holiday of the Nativity of Christ into a “Komsomol Christmas”, where there was no longer a place for a Christmas tree. And soon, after 1923, the expulsion of Christmas from Russia began altogether. One of the circulars of the anti-Christmas campaign stated that “the everyday environment of the Christmas holiday has a harmful effect on the health and education of children: Christmas stories with devilry; smoke and gas from the Christmas tree; drunken screams of guests..." A merciless war was declared on Yolka. At the same time, for some reason they called it “priestly,” although before the revolution it was the church that fought against the Christmas tree as an echo of pagan rituals.

The campaign to discredit the New Year holidays was also picked up by children's magazines: the magazine “Chizh” called on children to join this fight: “Now we all must fight against the Christmas tree!”; The magazine “Young Naturalist” published articles: “The Harm of the Christmas Tree”, “The Nativity of Christ - a Priest’s Tale”.

The fight against the “religious dope” was in full swing:

It'll be Christmas soon -

Ugly bourgeois holiday,

Connected from time immemorial

It's an ugly custom with him:

A capitalist will come to the forest,

Inert, true to prejudice,

He will cut down the tree with an axe,

Letting go of a cruel joke...

Soon the production of New Year's cards was stopped, and the merry Christmas and New Year holidays and festivities became a thing of the past. The New Year holiday, along with the Christmas tree, following the classic rules of conspiracy, went underground. The population of Soviet Russia was only asked to work hard, and if they celebrated, then only on new dates:

Holidays such as New Year or Christmas had no place in this system.

AN UNUSUAL RETURN

People are celebrating Christmas and New Year again

The ban on New Year's holidays did not last long, only six years. Already at the end of 1934, Stalin personally gave instructions to return the New Year holiday to the people. Christmas, however, was not so lucky. It remains banned.

In December 1934, the country's main newspaper, Pravda, published an article by Pavel Postyshev, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, “Let's organize a good Christmas tree for the children for the New Year!” It is clear that such ideas could not appear in print without Stalin’s approval. The article said: “In pre-revolutionary times, the bourgeoisie and bourgeois officials always threw a Christmas tree for their children for the New Year. The children of the workers looked through the window with envy at the sparkling Christmas tree and the children of the rich having fun around it. Why do many of our orphanages, nurseries, children's clubs, palaces of pioneers deprive the children of the working people of the Soviet country of this wonderful pleasure? Some, no less than “leftist” killers, denounced this children’s entertainment as a bourgeois undertaking. This wrongful condemnation of the Christmas tree should come to an end.”

Although there were only three days left to prepare the holiday, Pravda’s recommendations were carried out with lightning speed, and on time there were Christmas trees everywhere! The very next day, the newspaper wrote how to “organize the procurement of Christmas trees, the purchase of toys and decorations,” and on December 30, almost all markets in Moscow were selling Christmas trees, while artels and cooperators offered “special Christmas tree sets, curly gingerbread cookies and marzipan figures.”

And in order to organize the New Year’s celebration in an ideologically correct manner, in the same December 1934, a “Manual for Party and Komsomol Cells” was published, which gave detailed instructions on organizing the holiday. For example, the spruce was supposed to be crowned with a five-pointed red star. Christmas decorations also had to meet the requirements of the political moment: instead of balls, it was proposed to make figures of tractors and combines from colored paper. There, the text and notes of the song that has since become our main New Year's song were given. In the "Manual" the appearance of Santa Claus was also changed. Pre-revolutionary Frost wore gloves, certainly three-fingered and white - this symbolized the holiness of everything that he gives from his hands. Now he was supposed to wear warm red mittens, which, if they symbolized anything, were only the color of the national flag. The rich embroidery with silver threads and the swan down trim disappeared from the scarlet fur coat.

The very next year, detachments of Santa Clauses were formed to deliver New Year's gifts to the most remote corners of the country. On the eve of 1938, propaganda trains, propaganda cars and snowmobiles left for populated areas, airplanes took off, skiers and even special couriers on reindeer sleds set off. The holiday should not have left anyone behind.

It is no coincidence that the New Year holidays were revived so quickly - they were too suitable in our harsh climate, reminding us in the midst of a cold winter that we should never forget: life is beautiful, endless, new meetings, achievements, and spring await us ahead.

WHAT IS THE RESULT?

How to understand all Russian holidays

As a result of all the reforms and innovations in chronology, we indiscriminately celebrate everything at the end of the year. It all starts with Catholic Christmas. At the same time, with or without reason, we remember that there are reasons to have fun, such as Christmastide, Christmas Eve, carols... Finally, our “real” New Year is coming. A magnificent, unique, magical holiday... After this, barely catching our breath from what we have eaten and drunk, we enter “our dear” Christmas, without thinking that it is preceded by the strictest fasting. In all these dates we weave the symbolism of the eastern calendars, which have nothing to do with these holidays, since, for example, the Chinese celebrate their New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice. It's Spring Festival in China! We, appropriately and inappropriately, remember Epiphany and Christmas frosts in the January slush, while imagining ourselves as guardians of the holy traditions of distant ancestors. Our longest New Year's celebrations in the world end with the old New Year, although sometimes not everyone has any idea where it came from.

It turned out funny, didn't it? But, most importantly, it’s great, fun, and very Russian!

Among all the peoples of the earth, one of the most ancient holidays was the New Year holiday. In the earliest societies, many thousands of years ago, this tradition arose. It is associated with the emergence in a person of a feeling of the need for periodic renewal of the world.

New birth

In Ancient Rus', the year began in March - on the day of the appearance of the new moon during the spring equinox. Perhaps this countdown of the beginning of the year was adopted following the example of the Old Testament church, which timed the beginning of its church year to coincide with the month of Nisan, approximately corresponding to our March. In the 13th century, March 1 began to be considered the beginning of the year, but at the same time there was another New Year’s date - September 1, which came to us along with religion from Byzantium.

The last time the autumn New Year was celebrated was in 1699. Judging by the documents of local historians, it was spent “fun and in a feast.” According to a legend, which is often refuted, on December 15, 1699, to the beat of drums, the royal clerk announced to the people the will of Tsar Peter: that as a sign of a good beginning and the beginning of a new century, after thanksgiving to God and prayer singing in the church, it was ordered “through the large thoroughfares, and for noble people to make some decorations in front of the gates from trees and branches of pine, spruce and juniper. The decree recommended, if possible, that everyone in their yards should “fire three times and fire several rockets” using small cannons or small rifles. From January 1 to January 7, “light fires at night from wood, or from brushwood, or from straw.” On December 31 at 12 o'clock at night, Peter I went out onto Red Square with a torch in his hands and launched the first rocket into the sky. It must be said that the new New Year’s customs took root among the Russian people quite quickly, because earlier at that time there was another holiday - Christmastide.

Youth holiday

Photo: Museum of Printing and Publishing

The whole life of Russian people passed in accordance with their folk calendar, the basis of which were Christian holidays. There is no New Year's holiday in the Orthodox calendar, and our ancestors in ancient times, and even in the 19th century, celebrated it at different times and celebrated the New Year as part of the Yuletide and Christmas holidays, which have always been the most favorite holidays among the Slavs. Christmastide is a period of time dedicated to the winter solstice, which opened the people's solar year. Christmastide lasted twelve days from the Nativity of Christ until the Epiphany of the Lord, and included Vasily’s Day.

Christmastide was celebrated throughout Russia and was considered a youth holiday. They were full of various kinds of rituals, magical actions, prohibitions, and fortune telling. With their help, they tried to ensure well-being for the whole year and protect themselves from evil spirits. The most striking ritual action was caroling, which is a theatrical performance accompanied by the singing of songs - wishes and praises to the owners. They usually caroled on the night of Christmas, on St. Basil's Day, and on Epiphany Eve. On Christmas Eve, bonfires were lit on the village streets near every house and Christmas meals were held. At this time, brides' shows took place, that is, a display of girls of marriageable age on the eve of the month of matchmaking and weddings following Christmastide.

These days, mummers—people dressed in different costumes—were everywhere. This ancient tradition is still preserved in some villages. The mummers dressed up in animal costumes: bear, wolf, fox. They dressed up as representatives of an environment alien to the peasants: as a gentleman and a lady, as a paramedic, a gypsy, a Tatar, etc. They wore strange, wild costumes. There was always a mask, a mask, a mug. It was made from birch bark, leather, and paper. The mummers scared people and showed small scenes with dances and songs. There were also some pretty rude jokes.

And in almost every hut they told fortunes. In the Russian tradition, fortune telling has always been timed to coincide with turning points in the folk calendar. The desire to know the future is explained by the fact that the New Year, as it were, opens all sorts of barriers and prohibitions. And its first days determine the fate of people. They told fortunes in the evening or at night, trying to make it before the first rooster crow. Many objects were used in fortune telling - bread, rings, scarves, wreaths, dishes, and so on. The girls told fortunes about their “betrothed,” their future spouse, about wealth, about marriage... However, fortune telling was considered a sinful activity, after which purification with holy water, confession and communion were required.

Wrong symbol

But the New Year was not always a holiday approved by the authorities in our country. The Christmas tree, a familiar attribute of these celebrations for us, was banned in the USSR in the 20s and early 30s. The new government perceived it, first of all, as a symbol of Christmas. And only since 1935, New Year's traditions were restored.

Preparations for the holiday for Soviet people began several months before December 31. Getting scarce sausage, mayonnaise and green peas in stores is not an easy task. Therefore, it was necessary to purchase in advance. By the way, January 1 remained a working day for a long time. And every child dreamed of going to New Year's Eve, first in the Columned House of Soviets, and then in the Kremlin. To do this, parents had to make incredible efforts to get a ticket, and then sew costumes for their snowflakes and bunnies. And every year the trade union committee provided the kids with sweet gifts with sweets, apples and walnuts. After the war, when the country slowly began to get back on its feet, New Year trees were decorated with homemade paper snowflakes and lanterns. The production of real toys began only towards the end of the 1960s.

Did you know that Knowledge Day was previously considered a completely different holiday? In the 15th century in Rus', it was on this day that they celebrated... New Year! Why did the custom develop to celebrate the New Year on September 1? The history of the holiday on September 1 is confusing and very interesting.

The date of the holiday was postponed more than once - even earlier, according to pagan canons, the beginning of the year was celebrated on March 1. However, in 988, Christianity was adopted in Rus', and with it came the Byzantine calendar. According to new religious trends, the New Year was supposed to be celebrated in the fall, on September 1, but long-standing traditions were not so easy to cancel. Therefore, the Russian people continued to celebrate the year with the awakening of nature in the spring. Why was New Year celebrated on September 1? It’s logical - the harvest has been harvested, all the work has been completed, and so the new year begins.

Why used to celebrate the New Year on March 1 and September 1? All because of the same Russian devotion to tradition. In 1492, Tsar Ivan III issued a decree according to which the New Year was officially moved to autumn. However, despite the official celebrations, people continued to celebrate twice. It is noteworthy that many of the spring celebration traditions have remained to this day, but the rituals were timed to coincide with the spring Maslenitsa.
Even later, Peter I, who was so eager to bring Rus' to European standards, established the celebration of the New Year on January 1, as was customary in Western European countries. It was then that the chronology from the Nativity of Christ was adopted.

It is noteworthy that not everyone who asks the question “why was the New Year celebrated on September 1” knows that even now the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the so-called “New Year” according to the old style - September 1.
By the way, the usual paraphernalia in the form of a Christmas tree, gifts and toys had nothing to do with the New Year initially. But after the revolution, they tried in every possible way to crowd out religious holidays from the consciousness of Russians, so all the traditions inherent in Christmas were transferred to the New Year.
Although it was only under the Soviet Union that the Day of Knowledge began to be officially celebrated on September 1, the history of the holiday of students began precisely under Peter I.

Since until the end of the 17th century the church celebrated the beginning of the year on September 1, and most schools were located at churches, education began on this date.

And after the New Year was moved to January 1 in 1699, a misunderstanding occurred - according to the new holiday dates, 1699 lasted only 4 months from September to January. But school went on as usual, and it’s impossible to force students to pore over books for more than a year without a break! In addition, the autumn holidays would bring much less benefit and pleasure to children. Therefore, the tradition of celebrating the beginning of the school year in September was left unchanged.

By the way, despite the fact that the holiday is considered international, in many countries Knowledge Day is celebrated at a completely different time. For example, Japan rings out the first bell in April, and school ends in March. In the USA there is no clear date at all - each district determines it itself. Therefore, in different parts of the country, schoolchildren go to school at different times. On average, this date ranges from July to September.

Australia starts school in February, while in Germany schoolchildren start school in mid-October.
By the way, in Russia, the issue of a flexible schedule for students has often been raised - for example, in the north of the country, students have long been sent on vacation during the polar night.

How the New Year was celebrated in the old days

How was New Year celebrated in the old days?

Some peoples keep track of time according to the lunar-solar calendar, and the beginning of the year falls somewhere in autumn, sometimes in winter.
But basically, the celebration of the New Year among ancient peoples coincided with the beginning of the revival of nature and, as a rule, was timed to March.
March was considered the first month by the ancient Romans because field work began at that time. The year consisted of ten months, then the number of months was increased by two. In 46 BC. e. Roman Emperor Julius Caesar moved the start of the year to January 1. The Julian calendar, named after him, spread throughout Europe.
The Romans made sacrifices to Janus on this day and began major events with him, considering the first day of the year an auspicious day.
As you already know, the New Year was not always celebrated on January 1st.
In France, at first (until 755) they counted from December 25, then from March 1, in the 12th century - from Easter, and from 1564, by decree of King Charles IX, from January 1.
In Germany the same thing happened in the middle of the 16th century, and in England from the 18th century.

But what was the situation in Rus'?
In Ancient Rus' in pagan times, the New Year was associated with the deity Kolyada and was celebrated on the day of the winter solstice - December 22. During the longest night, people asked the Sun to return to the sky. The Slavs burned large bonfires, the fire of which symbolized sunlight. Our ancestors seemed to call on the sun to shine brighter and brighter. The round New Year's pie - loaf - was also shaped like the sun. Its very name is associated with fertility, it comes from the word “cow”. In ancient times, making a loaf of bread turned into a pagan sacrament - it was baked by selected priests. They performed sacred rituals and used ritual objects.
On the eve of the holiday, Slavic girls cleaned the house. While sweeping out the trash, they watched to see if they would come across a grain of bread - this promised them a groom.
Children dressed up as goats, cows and other animals walked around the courtyards and sang carols. In ancient times, these were magic spells for well-being in homes. The owners generously gave gifts to the children, because it was impossible to refuse them. The children depicted the new year, and the one who did not give gifts to the carolers could live the next year in need and suffering.
In Rus' it was believed that how you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it. Therefore, on this day they tried not to do hard and dirty work, put on the most beautiful clothes, and set a rich table. In Kievan Rus there were two more new years - March 1 and September 1 - on the day of the arrival of spring and the day of the harvest.
Later and until the 15th century in Rus', the New Year was celebrated on March 1 according to the Julian calendar or on Easter Day. But that's not all - since the 15th century, the date of celebration was moved to September 1 and then it was called differently - the first day of the year. In 1492, Grand Duke John III finally approved the decree of the Moscow Council to consider the first of September as the beginning of both the church and civil year, when it was ordered to pay tribute, duties, various quitrents, etc. And in order to give greater solemnity to this day, the tsar himself appeared in the Kremlin the day before, where everyone, be it a commoner or a noble boyar, could approach him and seek directly from him truth and mercy (by the way, something similar happened in Byzantium during times of Constantine the Great).
The last time the New Year in Rus' was celebrated with royal pomp was on September 1, 1698.
Giving everyone an apple, the king, calling everyone brother, congratulated them on the New Year, on new happiness.
And only in 1700, by decree of Peter I, the New Year in Russia began to be celebrated as in Europe - from January 31 to January 1 according to the Julian calendar. Each health cup of Tsar Peter the Great was accompanied by a shot from 25 guns.