OT - It's Another New Year...

[Guest guest]

Happy New Year!

Many blessings

Shan

It's Another New Year...

....but for what reason?

" 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 was not always January 1.

ANCIENT NEW YEARS

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 cresent) 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 rebirth, 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 was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the 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 n

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.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new

year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as

Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own

religious observances concurrently 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 denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years.

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 Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of

the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the

ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the

Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the

following

year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the

festival.

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 rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate 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.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR

Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have

throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the

year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few

minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties

often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It

was

once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either

good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that

visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

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.

These legumes 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

The song, " Auld Lang Syne, "   is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost

every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least

partially written by 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

lyrics can be found here: http://www.wilstar.com/xmas/auldlangsyne.htm