A calendar is a number system for large periods of time, based on the periodicity of the visible movements of celestial bodies. The most common is the solar calendar, which is based on the solar (tropical) year - the period of time between two successive passages of the center of the Sun through the vernal equinox. It is approximately 365.2422 days.
The history of the development of the solar calendar is the establishment of an alternation of calendar years of different lengths (365 and 366 days).
In the Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar, three years in a row contained 365 days, and the fourth (leap year) - 366 days. All years whose serial numbers were divisible by four were leap years.
In the Julian calendar, the average length of a year in an interval of four years was 365.25 days, which is 11 minutes 14 seconds longer than the tropical year. Over time, the onset of seasonal phenomena occurred on increasingly earlier dates. Particularly strong discontent was caused by the constant shift in the date of Easter, associated with the spring equinox. In 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea decreed a single date for Easter for the entire Christian church.
In subsequent centuries, many proposals were made to improve the calendar. The proposals of the Neapolitan astronomer and physician Aloysius Lilius (Luigi Lilio Giraldi) and the Bavarian Jesuit Christopher Clavius were approved by Pope Gregory XIII. On February 24, 1582, he issued a bull (message) introducing two important additions to the Julian calendar: 10 days were removed from the 1582 calendar - October 4 was immediately followed by October 15. This measure made it possible to preserve March 21 as the date of the vernal equinox. In addition, three out of every four century years were to be considered ordinary years, and only those divisible by 400 were to be considered leap years.
1582 was the first year of the Gregorian calendar, called the "new style".
The difference between the old and new styles is 11 days for the 18th century, 12 days for the 19th century, 13 days for the 20th and 21st centuries, 14 days for the 22nd century.
Russia switched to the Gregorian calendar in accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR dated January 26, 1918 "On the introduction of the Western European calendar." Since by the time the document was adopted the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars was 13 days, it was decided to count the day after January 31, 1918, not as the first, but as February 14.
The decree prescribed that until July 1, 1918, after the number in the new (Gregorian) style, the number in the old (Julian) style should be indicated in brackets. Subsequently, this practice was preserved, but they began to place the date in brackets according to the new style.
February 14, 1918 became the first day in the history of Russia that officially passed according to the “new style”. By the middle of the 20th century, almost all countries of the world used the Gregorian calendar.
The Russian Orthodox Church, preserving traditions, continues to follow the Julian calendar, while in the 20th century some local Orthodox churches switched to the so-called. New Julian calendar. Currently, besides the Russian, only three Orthodox churches - Georgian, Serbian and Jerusalem - continue to fully adhere to the Julian calendar.
Although the Gregorian calendar is quite consistent with natural phenomena, it is also not completely accurate. The length of its year is 0.003 days (26 seconds) longer than the tropical year. An error of one day accumulates over approximately 3300 years.
The Gregorian calendar also, as a result of which the length of the day on the planet grows by 1.8 milliseconds every century.
The modern structure of the calendar does not fully meet the needs of social life. There are four main problems with the Gregorian calendar:
— Theoretically, the civil (calendar) year should have the same length as the astronomical (tropical) year. However, this is impossible, since the tropical year does not contain an integer number of days. Because of the need to add an extra day to the year from time to time, there are two types of years - ordinary and leap years. Since the year can begin on any day of the week, this gives seven types of ordinary years and seven types of leap years - a total of 14 types of years. To fully reproduce them you need to wait 28 years.
— The length of the months varies: they can contain from 28 to 31 days, and this unevenness leads to certain difficulties in economic calculations and statistics.
- Neither ordinary nor leap year s do not contain an integer number of weeks. Semi-years, quarters and months also do not contain a whole and equal number of weeks.
— From week to week, from month to month and from year to year, the correspondence of dates and days of the week changes, so it is difficult to establish the moments of various events.
The issue of improving the calendar has been raised repeatedly and for quite some time. In the 20th century it was raised to the international level. In 1923, the International Committee for Calendar Reform was created in Geneva at the League of Nations. During its existence, this committee reviewed and published several hundred projects received from different countries. In 1954 and 1956, projects for a new calendar were discussed at sessions of the Economic and Social Council UN, but the final decision was postponed.
A new calendar can be introduced only after it has been approved by all countries under a generally binding international agreement, which has not yet been reached.
In Russia in 2007 State Duma A bill was introduced proposing to return the country to the Julian calendar from January 1, 2008. It proposed to establish a transition period from December 31, 2007, when, for 13 days, chronology would be carried out simultaneously according to the Julian and Gregorian calendars. In April 2008, the bill.
In the summer of 2017, the State Duma again discussed Russia’s transition to the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar. It is currently under review.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
As in other Christian countries, from the end of the 10th century in Rus', the Julian calendar was used, based on observations of the visible movement of the Sun across the sky. It was introduced in Ancient Rome by Gaius Julius Caesar in 46 BC. e.
The calendar was developed by the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes based on the calendar of Ancient Egypt. When Rus' adopted Christianity in the 10th century, the Julian calendar came with it. However, the average length of a year in the Julian calendar is 365 days and 6 hours (that is, there are 365 days in a year, with an additional day added every fourth year). While the duration of the astronomical solar year is 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds. That is, the Julian year was 11 minutes 14 seconds longer than the astronomical year and, therefore, lagged behind the real change of years.
By 1582, the difference between the Julian calendar and the real change of years was already 10 days.
This led to a reform of the calendar, which was carried out in 1582 by a special commission created by Pope Gregory XIII. The difference was eliminated when, after October 4, 1582, it was ordered to count not October 5, but immediately October 15. After the name of the pope, the new, reformed calendar began to be called the Gregorian calendar.
In this calendar, unlike the Julian calendar, the final year of the century, if it is not divisible by 400, is not a leap year. Thus, the Gregorian calendar has 3 fewer leap years in each four-hundredth anniversary than the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar retained the names of the months of the Julian calendar, the additional day in the leap year is February 29, and the beginning of the year is January 1.
The transition of countries around the world to the Gregorian calendar was long. First, the reform took place in Catholic countries (Spain, Italian states, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a little later in France, etc.), then in Protestant countries (in Prussia in 1610, in all German states by 1700, in Denmark in 1700, in Great Britain in 1752, in Sweden in 1753). And only in the 19th-20th centuries the Gregorian calendar was adopted in some Asian (in Japan in 1873, China in 1911, Turkey in 1925) and Orthodox (in Bulgaria in 1916, in Serbia in 1919, in Greece in 1924 year) states.
In the RSFSR, the transition to the Gregorian calendar was carried out according to the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR “On the introduction of the Western European calendar in the Russian Republic” dated February 6, 1918 (January 26, old style).
The calendar problem in Russia has been discussed several times. In 1899, a Commission on the issue of calendar reform in Russia worked under the Astronomical Society, which included Dmitry Mendeleev and historian Vasily Bolotov. The commission proposed modernizing the Julian calendar.
“Taking into account: 1) that in 1830 the petition of the Imperial Academy of Sciences for the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Russia was rejected by Emperor Nicholas I and 2) that the Orthodox states and the entire Orthodox population of the East and West rejected the attempts of representatives of Catholicism to introduce the Gregorian calendar in Russia, the Commission unanimously decided to reject all proposals for the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Russia and, without being embarrassed by the choice of reform, to settle on one that would combine the idea of truth and possible accuracy, both scientific and historical, in relation to Christian chronology in Russia,” reads Resolution of the Commission on the reform of the calendar in Russia from 1900.
Such a long use of the Julian calendar in Russia was due to the position Orthodox Church, which had a negative attitude towards the Gregorian calendar.
After the church was separated from the state in the RSFSR, linking the civil calendar to the church calendar lost its relevance.
The difference in calendars created inconvenience in relations with Europe, which was the reason for the adoption of the decree “in order to establish in Russia the same calculation of time with almost all cultural peoples.”
The question of reform was raised in the fall of 1917. One of the projects under consideration proposed a gradual transition from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, dropping a day each year. But, since the difference between the calendars by that time was 13 days, the transition would take 13 years. Therefore, Lenin supported the option of an immediate transition to a new style. The church refused to switch to the new style.
“The first day after January 31 of this year should be considered not February 1, but February 14, the second day should be considered the 15th, etc.,” read the first paragraph of the decree. The remaining points indicated how new deadlines for fulfilling any obligations should be calculated and on what dates citizens would be able to receive their salaries.
The change of dates has created confusion with the celebration of Christmas. Before the transition to the Gregorian calendar in Russia, Christmas was celebrated on December 25, but now it has moved to January 7. As a result of these changes, in 1918 there was no Christmas at all in Russia. The last Christmas was celebrated in 1917, which fell on December 25th. And next time Orthodox holiday was celebrated already on January 7, 1919.
Various nations, religious cults, and astronomers tried to make counting the inexorably current time both the most accurate and simplest for any person. The starting point was the movement of the Sun, Moon, Earth, and the location of the stars. There are dozens of calendars developed and still used today. For the Christian world, there were only two significant calendars used for centuries - the Julian and the Gregorian. The latter is still the basis of chronology, considered the most accurate, not subject to the accumulation of errors. The transition to the Gregorian calendar in Russia occurred in 1918. This article will tell you what this was connected with.
From Caesar to the present day
It was after this multifaceted personality that the Julian calendar was named. The date of its appearance is considered to be January 1, 1945. BC e. based on the emperor's decree. It's funny that the starting point has little to do with astronomy - it is the day the consuls of Rome took office. This calendar, however, was not born out of nowhere:
- The basis for it was the calendar ancient egypt, which has existed for centuries, in which there were exactly 365 days, changing seasons.
- The second source for compiling the Julian calendar was the existing Roman one, which was divided into months.
The result is a fairly balanced, thoughtful way of visualizing the passage of time. It harmoniously combined ease of use, clear periods with the astronomical correlation between the Sun, Moon and stars, known for a long time and influencing the movement of the Earth.
Grateful humanity owes the appearance of the Gregorian calendar, completely tied to the solar or tropical year, to Pope Gregory XIII, who ordered all Catholic countries to switch to a new time on October 4, 1582. It must be said that even in Europe this process was neither shaky nor slow. So, Prussia switched to it in 1610, Denmark, Norway, Iceland - in 1700, Great Britain with all its overseas colonies - only in 1752.
When did Russia switch to the Gregorian calendar?
Thirsty for everything new after having destroyed everything, the fiery Bolsheviks gladly gave the command to switch to a new progressive calendar. The transition to it in Russia took place on January 31 (February 14), 1918. The Soviet government had quite revolutionary reasons for this event:
- Almost all European countries had long ago switched to this method of chronology, and only the reactionary tsarist government suppressed the initiative of peasants and workers who were very inclined to astronomy and other exact sciences.
- The Russian Orthodox Church was against such violent intervention, which violates the sequence of biblical events. But how can the “sellers of dope for the people” be smarter than the proletariat, armed with the most advanced ideas?
Moreover, the differences between the two calendars cannot be called fundamentally different. By and large, the Gregorian calendar is a modified version of the Julian calendar. The changes are mainly aimed at eliminating, reducing the accumulation of temporary errors. But as a result of dates that happened long ago historical events, birth famous personalities have a double, confusing calculation.
For example, the October Revolution in Russia happened on October 25, 1917 - according to the Julian calendar or the so-called old style, which is historical fact or November 7 of the same year in a new way - Gregorian. It feels like the Bolsheviks carried out the October Rebellion twice - the second time as an encore.
The Russian Orthodox Church, which the Bolsheviks were unable to force to recognize either through the execution of clergy or the organized robbery of artistic values new calendar, did not deviate from the biblical canons, calculating the passage of time and the onset of church holidays according to the Julian calendar.
Therefore, the transition to the Gregorian calendar in Russia is not so much a scientific, organizational event as a political one, which at one time affected the destinies of many people, and its echoes are still heard today. However, against the background fun game in “move the time forward / back an hour”, which has not yet finally ended, judging by the initiatives of the most active deputies, this is simply a historical event.
On what day of September should we celebrate the New Year if we live in the 21st century? When, in our time, Archpriest Avvakum and Boyarina Morozova were born, when St. reposed in the Lord. Kiril Beloezersky? How to recalculate the dates of Russian and Western European history if Russia lived according to the Julian calendar until 1918? This article provides answers to these and other questions.
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Julian calendar, developed by a group of Alexandrian astronomers led by Sosigenes, was introduced Julius Caesar from January 1, 45 BC. e. The year according to the Julian calendar began on January 1, since it was on this day from 153 BC. e. The consuls elected by the people's assembly took office.
Julian calendar, developed by a group of Alexandrian astronomers led by SosigenesIn Kievan Rus, the Julian calendar appeared during Vladimir Svyatoslavovich with the beginning of the introduction of Christianity. Thus, the Tale of Bygone Years uses the Julian calendar with Roman names of months and the Byzantine era. The calendar was calculated from the Creation of the world, taking 5508 BC as a basis. e. - Byzantine version of this date. It was decided to start the new year from March 1, in accordance with the ancient Slavic calendar.
The Julian calendar, which replaced the old Roman calendar, was known in Kievan Rus under the names of the “Peacemaking Circle”, “Church Circle”, Indiction and “Great Indiction”.
"Peaceful Circle"
The holiday of the Church New Year, when the year begins on September 1, was established by the holy fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, who decided to begin the calculation from this day church year. In Rus', during Ivan III in 1492, the September style became predominant, replacing the March style, and the beginning of the year was moved to September 1. The scribes of some chronicles took into account the transition to new styles of chronology and made amendments to the chronicles. This explains the fact that the chronology in different chronicles may differ by one or two years. IN modern Russia The Julian calendar is usually called old style.
Currently, the Julian calendar is used by some local Orthodox churches: Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian, Georgian. In 2014, the Polish Orthodox Church returned to the Julian calendar. The Julian calendar is adhered to by some monasteries and parishes in other European countries, as well as in the USA, monasteries and other institutions of Athos, Greek Old Calendarists and other Old Calendarists who did not accept the transition to the New Julian calendar in the Greek Church and other churches in the 1920s.
In a number of countries where the Julian calendar was used before the beginning of the 20th century, such as in Greece, the dates of historical events that occurred before the transition to the new style continue to be nominally celebrated on the same dates on which they occurred according to the Julian calendar. Thus, all Orthodox churches that have adopted the new calendar, except for the Church of Finland, continue to calculate the day of Easter celebration and holidays, the dates of which depend on the date of Easter, according to the Julian calendar.
In the 16th century, astronomical calculations were made in the West, as a result of which it was stated that the Julian calendar is true, although it has some errors - for example, an extra day accumulates every 128 years.
At the time of the introduction of the Julian calendar, the vernal equinox fell on March 21, both according to the accepted calendar system and in fact. But by the 16th century, the difference between the solar and Julian calendars was already about ten days. As a result, the day of the vernal equinox no longer fell on the 21st, but on the 11th of March.
Because of this, for example, Christmas, which initially almost coincided with the winter solstice, is gradually shifting towards spring. The difference is most noticeable in spring and autumn near the equinoxes, when the rate of change in the length of the day and the position of the sun is maximum. Astronomers took these errors into account, and on October 4, 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced a universally binding calendar for all of Western Europe. The preparation of the reform at the direction of Gregory XIII was carried out by astronomers Christopher Clavius And Aloysius Lilius. The results of their work were recorded in a papal bull, signed by the pontiff at Villa Mondragon and named after the first line Inter gravissimas (“Among the most important”). So the Julian calendar was replaced by Gregorian.
The next day after the fourth of October in 1582 was no longer the fifth, but the fifteenth of October. However, the following year, 1583, the Council of Eastern Patriarchs in Constantinople condemned not only the Gregorian Paschal, but also the entire Gregorian month, anathematizing all followers of these Latin innovations. In the Patriarchal and Synodal Sigilion, approved by the three Eastern Patriarchs - Jeremiah of Constantinople, Sylvester of Alexandria And Sophronius of Jerusalem, it was noted:
Whoever does not follow the customs of the Church and the way the Seven Holy Ecumenical Councils ordered us to follow the Holy Paschal and the month and month of goodness, but wants to follow the Gregorian Paschal and the month's book, he, like the godless astronomers, opposes all the definitions of the Holy Councils and wants to change them or weaken - let him be anathema - excommunicated from the Church of Christ and the assembly of the faithful.
This decision was later confirmed by the Councils of Constantinople in 1587 and 1593. At the meetings of the Commission of the Russian Astronomical Society in 1899 on the issue of calendar reform, Professor V. V. Bolotov stated:
The Gregorian reform has not only no justification, but even no excuse... The Council of Nicaea did not decide anything of the sort. I find the very abolition of the Julian style in Russia at all undesirable. I remain a strong admirer of the Julian calendar. Its extreme simplicity constitutes its scientific advantage over all other corrected calendars. I think that Russia’s cultural mission on this issue is to keep the Julian calendar in life for a few more centuries and thereby make it easier for Western peoples to return from the Gregorian reform, which no one needs, to the unspoiled old style.
Protestant countries abandoned the Julian calendar gradually, throughout the 17th–18th centuries, the last being Great Britain and Sweden. Often the transition to the Gregorian calendar was accompanied by serious unrest, riots and even murders. Now the Gregorian calendar is officially adopted in all countries except Thailand and Ethiopia. In Russia, the Gregorian calendar was introduced by a decree of January 26, 1918 of the Council of People's Commissars, according to which in 1918 January 31 was followed by February 14.
The difference between the dates of the Julian and Gregorian calendar is constantly increasing due to different rules definitions of leap years: in the Julian calendar, all years that are divisible by 4 are considered leap years, while in the Gregorian, years that are divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400 are not leap years.
Earlier dates are indicated according to the proleptic calendar, which is used to indicate dates earlier than the date the calendar appeared. In countries where the Julian calendar was adopted, dates before 46 BC. e. are indicated according to the proleptic Julian calendar, and where there was none, according to the proleptic Gregorian calendar.
In the 18th century, the Julian calendar lagged behind the Gregorian calendar by 11 days, in the 19th century - by 12 days, in the 20th century - by 13. In the 21st century, the difference remains 13 days. In the 22nd century, the Julian and Gregorian calendars will diverge by 14 days.
The Orthodox Church of Russia uses the Julian calendar and celebrates the Nativity of Christ and others church holidays according to the Julian calendar, following the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils, and Catholics - according to the Gregorian calendar. However, the Gregorian calendar violates the order of many biblical events and leads to canonical violations: for example, the Apostolic Rules do not allow the celebration of Holy Easter before the Jewish Passover. Due to the fact that the Julian and Gregorian calendars increase the difference in dates over time, Orthodox churches that use the Julian calendar will celebrate Christmas from 2101 not on January 7, as it happens now, but on January 8, and from 9901 the celebration will take place on March 8th. In the liturgical calendar, the date will still correspond to December 25th.
Here is a table for calculating the difference between the dates of the Julian and Gregorian calendars:
| Difference, days | Period (Julian calendar) | Period (Gregorian calendar) |
| 10 | 5 October 1582 - 29 February 1700 | 15 October 1582 – 11 March 1700 |
| 11 | March 1, 1700 – February 29, 1800 | March 12, 1700 – March 12, 1800 |
| 12 | March 1, 1800 – February 29, 1900 | March 13, 1800 – March 13, 1900 |
| 13 | March 1, 1900 - February 29, 2100 | March 14, 1900 - March 14, 2100 |
| 14 | March 1, 2100 - February 29, 2200 | March 15, 2100 - March 15, 2200 |
| 15 | March 1, 2200 - February 29, 2300 | March 16, 2200 - March 16, 2300 |
In accordance with the generally accepted rule, dates falling between 1582 and the moment the Gregorian calendar was adopted in the country are indicated in both the old and new styles. In this case, the new style is indicated in brackets.
For example, Christmas is celebrated in Russia on December 25 (January 7), where December 25 is the date according to the Julian calendar (old style), and January 7 is the date according to the Gregorian calendar (new style).
Let's consider detailed example. The martyr and confessor Archpriest Avvakum Petrov was executed on April 14, 1682. According to the table, we find the time period that is suitable for this year - this is the very first line. The difference in days between the Julian and Gregorian calendars in this period of time was 10 days. The date of April 14 is indicated here according to the old style, and to calculate the date according to the new style for the 17th century, we add 10 days, it turns out that April 24 is according to the new style for 1682. But in order to calculate the date of the new style for our 21st century, it is necessary to add not 10, but 13 days to the date according to the old style - thus, it will be the date of April 27.
Christmas is the most fabulous, most magical holiday. A holiday that promises a miracle. The most long-awaited holiday of the year. Christmas is more important than New Year. This is how it is in the West, and this is how it was in Russia before the revolution. It is Christmas that is that warm family holiday with the obligatory Christmas tree and the expectation of gifts from Santa Claus or Father Frost.
So why do Christians have two Christmases today? Why do Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, and Catholics and Protestants on December 25?
And the point here is not at all about religious differences, but just about the calendar. Initially, Europe used the Julian calendar. This calendar appeared before our era and was generally accepted until the 16th century. The Julian calendar was named after Julius Caesar, who introduced this calendar in 45 BC. to replace the outdated Roman calendar. The Julian calendar was developed by a group of Alexandrian astronomers led by Sosigenes. Sosigenes is an Alexandrian scientist, a scientist from the very same Alexandria, which was located on Egyptian lands. He was invited to Rome by Caesar to develop a calendar. He is also known for his philosophical treatises, for example, a commentary on Aristotle's treatise De Caelo. But his philosophical works have not survived to this day.
The Julian calendar was developed based on ancient Egyptian knowledge of astronomy. In the Julian calendar, the year begins on January 1, since it was on this day that newly elected consuls took office in Ancient Rome. The year consisted of 365 days and was divided into 12 months. Once every four years there was a leap year, to which one day was added - February 29. But the calendar was not accurate enough. Every 128 years, one extra day accumulated. And Christmas, which in the Middle Ages was celebrated in Western Europe almost days winter solstice, began to gradually move away closer and closer to spring. The day of the vernal equinox, by which the date of Easter was determined, also shifted.
And then the Popes came to the understanding that the calendar was not accurate and needed to be improved. Gregory XIII became the pope who carried out the calendar reform. It was in honor of him that the new calendar was named Gregorian. Before Gregory XIII, attempts to change the calendar were made by Popes Paul III and Pius IV, but their attempts were not successful. The new Gregorian calendar was introduced on October 4, 1582. The development of the calendar on behalf of the pope was carried out by astronomers Christopher Clavius and Aloysius Lilius. After the introduction of the new calendar in 1582, the date 4 October Thursday was immediately followed by a new date - 15 October Friday. This is exactly how far behind the Gregorian calendar the Julian calendar was by that time.
The Gregorian calendar consists of 365 days per year; a leap year has 366 days. But at the same time, the calculation of leap years has become more advanced. So a leap year is a year whose number is a multiple of 4. Years divisible by 100 are leap years provided they are divided by 400. Thus, 2000 was a leap year, 1600 was a leap year, and 1800 or 1900, for example, were not leap years. An error in one day now accumulates over 10,000 years, in the Julian - over 128 years.
With each century, the difference in days between the Gregorian and Julian calendars increases by exactly one day.
By 1582, the initially united Christian church had already split into two parts - Orthodox and Catholic. In 1583, Pope Gregory XIII, the head of the Catholic Church, sent an embassy to the head of the Orthodox Church, Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople, with a proposal to also switch to the Gregorian calendar, but he refused.
So it turned out that Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25 according to the new Gregorian calendar, and the Orthodox - the Russian, Jerusalem, Serbian, Georgian Orthodox churches and Mount Athos - according to the old Julian calendar and also on December 25, but which, however, in the modern Gregorian calendar falls on January 7.
The Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Cyprus, Bulgarian, Romanian, Greek and some other Orthodox churches adopted the New Julian calendar, which is similar to the Gregorian calendar, and just like Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25.
By the way, in the Russian Orthodox Church there were also attempts to switch to the New Julian calendar, similar to the Gregorian one. On October 15, 1923, it was introduced into the Russian Orthodox Church by Patriarch Tikhon. This innovation was accepted by Moscow parishes, but it caused disagreements within the Church itself and on November 8, 1923, by decree of Patriarch Tikhon, “it was temporarily postponed.”
IN Russian Empire Even in the 19th and early 20th centuries, chronology, unlike in Europe, was carried out according to the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was introduced only after the revolution in 1918 by decree of the Council of People's Commissars. Then such names as “ old style"- Julian calendar and "new style" - Gregorian calendar. Christmas began to be celebrated after the New Year. And besides the New Year itself, the Old Year also appeared New Year, basically the same New Year, but according to the old Julian calendar.
This is the calendar story. Merry Christmas, and perhaps Christmas, New Year, or New Years. Happy holidays to you!