The first time Russia changed its calendar was under Peter the Great, who in 1700 ordered that the New Year be celebrated January 1, and not on the first of September or March, as it had been in the past. It was also under Peter that the custom of decorating Christmas trees was adopted from Lutheran countries. Why did it not occur to Peter, who was unabashed in his rejection of old customs and traditions, to replace the Julian calendar with the Gregorian one?
When Peter made his “Grand Embassy” through Western Europe in 1697, most of the continent had already accepted the Gregorian reform. True, it was the Catholic countries that had taken the lead in this, with some Protestant countries dragging their feet until the end of the 17th century, feeling that it was better to part ways with the sun than to agree with the Pope on anything. But in 1700 the Protestant portion of the Netherlands and the German Lutheran principalities agreed to make the switch. The theory that Peter did not want to follow suit for fear of insulting the Orthodox Church cannot be taken seriously, given other actions by the sovereign, including his creation of the Most Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters, a parody of the church, and his abolition of the Patriarchate.
Perhaps he just did not attribute particular significance to the differences between the Julian and the Gregorian calendars. Given the speed of travel in those days, Russia and Western Europe could use different calendars without causing particular problems. It would be one thing to board a plane and in a few hours find yourself in a country using a different system, but it is another matter when you traveled by carriage across a vast number of European countries, some of which were living by the Julian calendar, while others had already adopted the Gregorian. It would be easy to get confused in such a kaleidoscope, so it was probably simplest of all just to ignore the difference. If a traveler sent a letter from Europe dated in accordance with the local calendar, by the time it reached Russia, its recipient had probably already lived to the date of the correspondence, or perhaps even beyond it, so the problem was barely noticed.
By the 19th century, the situation had changed. Russia was the last remaining European country still ignoring the Gregorian calendar, with the exception of the Balkan lands under Ottoman rule, which used the Islamic calendar, while still celebrating church holidays as they always had. This meant that travelers crossing into the Russian Empire had to immediately leap twelve days ahead and remain out of sync with their home country for the duration of their Russian visit.
Throughout the 19th century, there was talk of changing the calendar, but only talk. As Minister of Education Count Liven wrote in 1830, “due to the ignorance of the populace, the inconveniences associated with the reform far outweigh the anticipated advantages.” So it remained until the dawn of the 20th century, when telegraph and telephone rendered the situation absolutely absurd. Newspaper reports from Europe featured dates that did not correspond to the calendar being used by their readers in Russia.
In all probability, the authorities would have finally recognized the need to replace the calendar, but then came the revolution of 1905, followed by the First World War, and then 1917. They had other, more urgent matters on their hands. Finally, the Bolsheviks came to power, for whom the opinion of the church on this matter was not an issue, and it was announced that January 31, 1918 would be immediately followed by February 14.
The switch was made, and that should have been the end of it, as it had been in other countries. Far from it. The Russian Orthodox Church did not want to accept the reform. An attempt was made to do what other orthodox countries had done and switch to the so-called “New Julian Calendar,” which was closer to the Gregorian, but nothing came of it.
Today, 90 years later, with each year the situation becomes increasingly absurd. First of all, there is endless confusion about dates. The October Revolution, as everyone knows, took place on the seventh of November – a day that was marked with great fanfare every year in the Soviet Union. Pushkin was, generally speaking, born on May 26, and he would be very surprised to hear that the anniversary of his birth is now lavishly celebrated on June 6. And when did the Battle of Borodino take place? Kutuzov led the Russian troops onto Borodino Field August 26, 1812. Napoleon’s forces did not arrive until September 7. It’s a wonder their paths crossed at all.
Another odd incongruity that did not attract much attention during Soviet times has become more glaring in recent years. The New Year, generally speaking, should be celebrated after Christmas. But now Orthodox Christmas, celebrated on January 7, comes six days after the New Year. Not only are Orthodox believers who observe the Nativity Fast forced to forgo most of the feasting that takes place New Year’s Eve, but the logic behind the situation becomes quite torturous.
“Western Christmas” was rarely mentioned during the Soviet period, and when it was, it was usually just to remind the Soviet people how hard life is for the workers of Western countries around holiday time. In the Soviet Union, December 25 was just another work day, and people went to their jobs knowing that they still had almost a week before their holidays began. Orthodox Christmas was celebrated by few, although old style New Year’s Eve for some reason was a great occasion for celebration, even though it often fell during the work week.
In recent years, everything changed. People right and left proclaimed themselves to be true believers, former party activists suddenly recalled that their nanny or grandmother had them baptized as infants, and they all hurried off to church just as they used to hurry off to party meetings. Orthodox Christmas became a national holiday and now holiday tables are laden from December 31 through the 7th. Eventually, the entire span was made into a holiday – over the feeble protests of those who would rather have a week off in May so they can work on their vegetable gardens. Their voices were drowned out by the crowd that likes to vacation in Egypt or Thailand in January.
On the one hand, all these changes took some of the steam out of Old New Year – by the 13th everybody is a bit worn out from all the partying. On the other hand, in Moscow the holidays now essentially begin on December 25. While the rest of the country is still working, waiting for New Year’s Eve (December 31, that is), Moscow restaurants are jam-packed with endless corporate parties, flights to warmer climes are making hourly departures, and green wreaths with red bows that are suspiciously Western and decidedly un-Orthodox decorate the stores.
Meanwhile, opponents of the Gregorian calendar are on the march. Seemingly serious people appear on television screens arguing that “Pope Gregory XIII stole several days out of people’s lives,” and internet sites offer to reveal why “the Julian calendar is more precise than the Gregorian,” proclaiming it Russia’s historic mission to preserve the Julian calendar for world culture and to return it to the wayward West.
Could it really be that Count Liven was right?
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