Happy New Year!

Did you know that more than 200 million people in the world celebrate New Year on January 14^th? Julian New Year/ Serbian New Year/ Old New Year or Orthodox New Year is a traditional holiday that is celebrated in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Serbia, Republic of Srpska, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Montenegro, Georgia, Romania and some other countries. Although all of these countries accepted the Georgian Calendar and officially celebrate New Year on January 1^st, most of the Orthodox Churches in these counties did not and still use the Juliana Calendar.

Why January 14^th?

January 1^st according to the Julian calendar falls on January 14^th. Celebrations are usually organized by city officials and take place in front of the National Parliament and/or City Hall. Although Julian New Year is informally observed, celebration includes music concerts, food, drinking and singing.

If you want to find out more about the counties who celebrate two New Years make sure to check one of these books at the Toronto Public Library: