Celebration

Every country has its own traditions and holidays, and it’s so interesting to learn something new about other nations.

I’m Ukrainian and I know for sure that we have one holiday that no other country celebrates.

It’s an Old New Year. I know that sounds weird, but that makes sense.

The thing is that it is celebrated as the start of the New Year by the Julian calendar. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Old New Year falls on January 14 in the Gregorian calendar.

Ukrainians are the nation that likes old and new traditions, we love to have fun and meet with our friends.

So what do we usually do on that day?

We don’t wait until 12 p.m. and don’t cook 13 dishes as we do on the 31st of December.

This day is a magic day for us when miracles happen. A lot of young girls wait for this magic night to read fortune at the betrothed. The most popular method is to write men’s names on the pieces of paper and put them under the pillow and get one in the morning to know the name of your future husband.

As for me, my favorite fortune telling is to take a big dish filled with water, to write wishes that I want to come true next year and put them around on the dish. Then make a paper ship with a lit candle put it in water and wait until it will come close to the one of “wish papers" and burn it. Which one will be burned and come true the next year? And that really works for me every year. Maybe because I really believe in this.

Of course, you have more fun when you do that with your best friend.

So an Old New Year for Ukrainians is the best day for out with an old in with a new.