New Years Day
Most of the western world has just celebrated New Years Day – but why now? Why did we choose January 1st as the beginning of the year?
It is believed that the Roman emperor Julius Caesar proposed the idea of having January 1 as the first day of the year in 46 BCE. The month of January, the first month of the Julian calendar, was named after the Roman God Janus, who is personified having two faces, one facing forward and the other facing backwards. This, to Caesar, symbolized transition from one year to the other.
Later, with the rise of Christianity, the New Year was associated with the incarnation of Jesus Christ. When William the Conqueror (“William of Normandy”) took over the reins of power in England, he ordered January 1 to be established as the New Year, to coordinate it with his coronation and with circumcision of Jesus (which would have been on the eighth day of his life). However, this was abandoned when the English joined the rest of the Christian world to celebrate New Year on March 25. It was not until 1582 that Pope Gregory XIII did away with the Julian calendar for good and established the modern day Gregorian calendar in which January 1 was re-established as the beginning of a New Year. This is the calendar used by most countries today. Eight of the twelve biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches which have adopted the Revised Julian calendar which also celebrates 1 January as the New Year but in those which have not, the 14th January is celebrated as a civic holiday, and the Julian date as the “Old New Year”, a religious holiday.
However, 1st January is not universally accepted. In Israel, which dubs 1st January as ‘Sylvester’, following a German tradition, and in Muslim countries, 1st January passes without ceremony or celebrations. The Islamic New Year occurs on 1 Muharram. Since the Muslim calendar is based on 12 lunar months amounting to about 354 days, the Muslim New Year occurs about eleven days earlier each year in relation to the Gregorian calendar, and sometimes two Muslim New Years can fall in one Gregorian year, as they did in 2008.
The Chinese and the Vietnamese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, about four to eight weeks before spring. The exact date can fall any time between 21 January and 21 February (inclusive) of the Gregorian Calendar. The Jewish New Year for Trees falls in the middle of the first complete lunar month after the equinox – this year, January 26th. The Tibetan New Year is Losar and can fall as late as March.
New Year’s Day in the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar is on 14 March. The Zoroastrian and Iranian New Year, called Nowruz, is the day containing the exact moment of the Northward equinox, which usually occurs on 20 or 21 March, marking the start of the spring season. In the Bahá’í calendar, the new year occurs on the vernal equinox on 21 March. The Iranian tradition was also passed on to several Central Asian countries, where it is usually celebrated on 22 March.
The Balinese New Year, based on the Saka (Balinese-Javanese) Calendar, is called Nyepi, and it falls on Bali’s Lunar New Year, towards the end of March. It is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation: observed from 6 am until 6 am the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. Although Nyepi is a primarily Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents of Bali observe the day of silence as well, out of respect for their fellow citizens. Even tourists are not exempt; no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and Bali airport remains closed for the entire day. This is particularly bad news for the people who wanted to plan an overseas vacation during this time of year. With the airport closed indefinitely, they still might be able to pull this idea off, granted that they find a private jet with companies like Jettly in plenty of time before they wish to take their vacation. Not only will you be able to travel to and from your intended destination, but you will be doing it in style! This is definitely an idea worth considering, especially if you know that you won’t be able to visit the airport for the whole day. The only exceptions granted are for emergency vehicles.
The observance of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, celebrated in Autumn, not Spring, is not dissimilar (in Orthodox communities), although it is interesting to note that it runs over two days, from sunset until sunset, rather than beginning in the morning. It commemorates the culmination of the seven days of Creation, and marks God’s yearly renewal of His world. The day, which begins a period of 10 days known as ‘Days of Awe’, has elements of festivity and introspection. God is traditionally believed to be assessing His creation and determining the fate of all men and creatures for the coming year.
Making ‘new year’s resolutions’ is an integral part of both the Balinese and the Jewish New Year observance. These take the form of promises to the Deity to try to live in closer alignment to the Divine will. Other new year’s resolutions my take the form of trying something new such as taking up a new sport like tennis for beginners, or giving something up like raising your voice at others, for example.
The New Year is also an excellent time for businesses to review their current operations and identify areas for change. For example, did you know that up to 80 percent of businesses might be paying too much for their utilities? Gas, electricity, and water are an overhead that a lot of businesses must cover in order to survive, but there are ways to reduce these costs. To compare business energy quotes from a variety of energy suppliers, go to the Utility Bidder website.
Even without the religious motivation, taking stock of what one has achieved in the past year and resolving to do better in the coming one offers a source of meaning to the change of date on the calendar. Even though the 1st January has passed and we are already in the year ‘2016′, it is not too late to reflect on how we could achieve more than we did in 2015.
