31 December 2005
Happy New Year!
...but for what reason?
article in swedish
"Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America, for example, was not always January 1.
The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).
The beginning of Spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of re-birth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.
The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison. The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.
In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.
However, in AD 567 the Council of Tours abolished January first in favor of March as the start of a new year, varying the actual day to coincide with the Vernal Equinox. New Year celebrations lasted for several days. The first day of the new year was moved back to January 1 with the advent of the Gregorian Calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS:
Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the church began blending its own religious observances with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some Catholic rites, and as the Feast of Mary by others.
January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.
NEW YEAR TRADITIONS:
Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment!
The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.
Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of re-birth forced the Church to re-evaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.
Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.
Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. Both sides of my family, American and French, always have these on that day, with lots of hot oven baked corn bread topped with lots of butter. Very low-calorie!
These legumes/vegetables (Black eyed peas), are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity.
Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.
AULD LANG SYNE
Ce n'est qu'un au revoir! = (It is just until we meet again!) en français
Kauan sitten , in Finnish
Godnattvalsen , in Swedish!
The song, "Auld Lang Syne,"
playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking, as well as in languages of many other countries in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days".
The song poses a double set of ethical questions which I’d summarize as follows: “Is it right that old friendships, and history, should be pushed forever out of the mind and forgotten?” Burns' answer is in the chorus. He says, in effect, that only by remembering the roots of who we are and where we come from can we build a culture of conviviality.
I wish you happy new coming days!
Christian-Charles de Plicque
Article available in French and Swedish
Angel House International Missions Ministries r.f.
Karleby Finland
December 2005
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