Why are Russian holidays different?
It all goes back to the Great Schism. In 1054, the Western Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church had some disagreements and split from each other. One of the outcomes was when the Western Church switched to the Gregorian calendar for a more accurate date for celebration of Easter; the Orthodox Churches kept the traditional Julian calendar. Today, every country accepts the Gregorian calendar. However, the Orthodox Churches still use the Julian calendar for religious celebrations such as Christmas and Easter. That means the Russian Orthodox Church feast day of Christmas is January 7, not December 25. So December 25 is a regular work day for the vast majority of Russians. However, in Russia winter vacation begins on December 31 and ends on January 10. Old Year is another winter holiday in Russia. It marks the old traditional Russian New Year under the old Imperial Julian calendar. In January, 1918 it was tossed aside and the modern Gregorian calendar was adopted. It is an
