Why is celebration of the New Year so universal?

[bridget orman]

Celebration of New Year has a long, historical pedigree. It is deeply embedded in the human psyche, highly influenced by the seasonal cycles.

New Year’s festivity dates back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon, connecting religion and mythology. In ancient Babylon, the new moon following the vernal equinox, when, in late, March an equal amount of sunlight and darkness are present, marked the new year. The vernal equinox represented the rebirth of the natural world. The Babylonians celebrated a religious festival called Akitu, which evolved from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut in the spring) that involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days. During the festival of Akitu, statues of the gods were paraded. Rituals were enacted to symbolise their victory over the forces of chaos. The Babylonians believed the world was symbolically cleansed. The world was recreated by the gods in preparation for the new year and the return of spring.

The early Roman calendar comprised 10 months. Each new year began at the vernal equinox. The Roman New Year originally corresponded with the vernal equinox. Tradition suggests that the calendar was created by Romulus, “the founder of Rome”, in the eighth century B.C. Over the subsequent centuries, the calendar lost its synchronicity with the sun. Julius Caesar decided to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time in 46 BC by introduction of the Julian calendar. The Julian calendar is a solar-based calendar. The calendar closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today. Julius Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honour Janus, the Roman god of change and beginnings. Janus two faces enabled him to look back into the past and forward into the future and hence transition from one year to the next. Romans celebrated January 1st by offering sacrifices to Janus in the hope of good fortune for the New Year and accompanied the sacrifices by, decorating their homes with laurel branches as well as attending bacchanalia.1st January set the stage for the next twelve months. Friends and neighbours made a good start to the year by exchanging well wishes with gifts such as figs and honey.

In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan. In 567AD the Council of Tours abolished January 1st as the beginning of the year, replacing it with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25th or March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation, also called “Lady Day.” At the same time January 1st was given Christian significance by becoming the Feast of the Circumcision, the eighth day of Christ’s life counting from December 25th The Feast of the Circumcision reflected the Jewish tradition of circumcision eight days after birth on which the child is formally given his or her name.

In 1582, after reform of the Gregorian calendar, Pope Gregory XIII re-established 1st January as New Year’s Day. Most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately. Protestant countries adopted the Gregorian calendar over the next 300 years. Britain did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire, and their American colonies, still celebrated the new year in March.

By way of a concluding comment New Year’s Day did not become a public holiday in England and Wales until 1973, when the UK joined the European Common Market. By contrast Christmas Day was a public holiday, except in Scotland, where it was a bank holiday in 1871 Bank Holiday Act. Bank holidays were not regarded as holidays and businesses and local authorities continued with business as usual, and the tradition of local holidays prevailed. The attitude of the church in Scotland contributed to Christmas being effectively suppressed until the 1950s. In 1971 the Christmas Day Act made that day a bank holiday across the whole of the UK.
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