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Eukara Vox -> Issue 49 - What is New Year's Eve? (green_girl02) (12/18/2009 14:32:42)
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What is New Year's Eve?
by green_girl02
In real life, many of our readers look forward to and celebrate New Year's Eve. They go to parties, watch fireworks, exchange gifts, wish each other good will, and make their New Year's resolutions. However, most people do not know New Year's Eve's history.
There are accounts of New Year's Eve first being celebrated by the ancient Babylonians. Their new year started with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox, which was when spring began. It was called the Akitu festival. To them, it showed a pattern of death and renewal to celebrate the coming planting time. Babylonians, however, knew how to party. In comparison with modern day New Year's Eve celebrations, the Babylonians win. Their celebrations lasted for eleven days and consisted of a traveling pilgrimage-party, singing, dramatic reenactments symbolizing spiritual cleansing, and an overall chaos reigns until the eleventh day.
The Romans then picked up the custom and celebrated New Year's Eve in March because it was the first month of their year. Later, the beginning of the year was changed to January 1 to help the government, but March 1 stayed the mark of the official new year. They originally honored Mars, the god of war, but this was changed by Caesar. Caesar decreed that the god Janus was the god to honor. Janus had always been depicted as having two faces, one facing the past or the old year and one facing the future or the new year. It was with this change that exchanging gifts became a custom. The Romans believed they could affect their luck for the entire next year by making sure they were lucky on the first day of the new year. In their culture, there were many objects considered lucky. These items were given as gifts to help others. Everything from gold coins with Janus's faces on both sides to the sacnavy tree branches to sweets and lamps. Gold and silver were symbols of prosperity. Sweets were symbols of peace. Lamps, with oil of course, symbolized a year filled with light.
In 1582, March was still the month when New Year's Eve was celebrated, but it had become a celebration of Christ's circumcision in Britain and her colonies. Parties were no longer allowed and only prayer and fasting were allowed. It was a time for turning over a new leaf in life. Finally in 1752, Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar and began celebrating New Year's Eve on the day before January 1 like the modern world does today. Funny enough, after many years the fasting stopped and partying began again. Today, New Year's Eve is mostly about eating, hanging out with family and friends, getting to stay up late, and watching fireworks.
This is how New Year's Eve has changed throughout history. Hopefully this will give the readers a deeper sense of the past, which only serves to make the present more brilliant. Enjoy eating, singing, drinking*, and watching fireworks while knowing that there have been many before you who have done the same thing as you, just in slightly different ways! So, be safe and have fun this New Year's Eve! Have a Merry 2010!
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*water, juice, soda, and Martinelli's Sparkling Cider of course! Those are yummy and good for you, especially the Martinelli's!
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