ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Old New Year

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day? It's a time when people celebrate the end of one year and the start of a new one. Well, some people around the world celebrate New Year's a little bit later - this is called the "Old New Year".

See, a long time ago, people used a different calendar than the one we use now. This calendar, called the Julian calendar, was created by the ancient Roman leader Julius Caesar. It had a slightly different way of counting the days and months than our current calendar.

Now, most of the world uses a calendar called the Gregorian calendar, which was created a few hundred years ago. But some religious groups, like the Russian Orthodox Church, still use the Julian calendar for their religious festivals.

So, the "Old New Year" is celebrated on January 14th according to the Julian calendar, which is like celebrating New Year's Day 13 days later than everyone else. It's kind of like having a second chance to start fresh and set new goals for the year ahead.

In some places, people have special traditions for the Old New Year, like eating special foods or having a big party with fireworks. So, even though it might seem a little bit strange to celebrate a new year 13 days late, it's still a fun way for some people to ring in the new year.