A boy

Celebration of Old New Year (Malanka) in Kiev, on Thursday, January 13, 2011. The Old New Year or the Orthodox New Year is an informal traditional Slavic Orthodox holiday, celebrated as the start of the New Year by the Julian calendar. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Old New Year falls on January 13/14. Usually not as festive as the New New Year, for many Ukrainians this is a nostalgic family holiday ending the New Year holiday cycle with traditional large meals and parties. Malanka is a Ukrainian folk holiday celebrated on January 13th, which is New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar. Malanka commemorates the feast day of St. Melania. On this night in Ukraine, carolers traditionally went from house to house playing pranks or acting out a small play, with a bachelor dressed in women's clothing leading the troop. Malanka caps off the festivities of the Christmas holidays, and is often the last opportunity for partying before the solemn period of Lent which precedes Easter. Photo by UNIAN