IT'S
ANOTHER NEW YEAR
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‘Good
resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they
have no account’
Oscar
Wilde
|
"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. In the
years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New
Moon marked by the 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.
The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days and each
day had its own particular mode of celebration.
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. But changes
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.
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. 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 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 ham. Black-eyed peas
and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. 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 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."
Click HERE
to have the lyrics and the music. Don't forget to have your loudspeakers
on !!!
(adapted
from http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm)