Corrections in red.  Stylistics in blue.

"Old" New Year

"Happy Old New Year". Have you ever heard this phrase before? This phrase is very strange, but not for peoples, who were born or lived in Russia, Ukraine or other republics of the former USSR. Let me try to explain this strange phrase to you. There are 2 styles of calendars: the Gregorian and the Julian. At the present time, the main difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars is a time gap of 13 days. At the present time, all nations/peoples use the Gregorian calendar, but it was not always this way. In our country we have been using the Gregorian calendar since 1918, and before that we used the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was adopted pursuant to a law enacted by the communist government. That is the first reason, which explains, why the Orthodox Church did not agree to the change style of calendar. The second reason is the fact, that the Gregorian calendar was created in the 16th century by the Catholic Church. So the Orthodox Church has continued to use the Julian calendar. Therefore, we celebrate Christmas on January, 7th. But the Orthodox Church did not only refuse to agree to the change style of calendar only; at first it also taught the congregation that it had to continue to use old style of calendar. So there were a lot of peoples, who celebrated New Year's twice: on January, 1st and on January, 13th. [14th??]  This tradition has been maintained until the present time. So on January, 13th [14th??] we wish to each other "Happy New Year” (“Happy Old New Year”) for the last time, and start to remove our fir trees.

P.S. I'd like to see your comments about what do you think about this tradition.

Since New Year's is -- for most people -- a time of happiness, why not double the joy by celebrating twice?