Ancient civilizations and cultures relied on seasonal changes to arrange their lives. The predictability of the seasons and weather were important in agricultural societies for planting and harvesting. Ancient Persians and Egyptians began their New Year on September 21, the autumnal equinox while the Greeks used June 21, the summer solstice for their start date. The Romans originally celebrated New Year’s on March 25, the spring equinox, but later changed to January in 153 BC to synchronize the calendar with the sun.
Julius Caesar proclaimed the first day of the first month would be named Janus to honor the Roman god of all beginnings, agriculture and the keeper of the gates of heaven and earth. Janus was a two-faced god – one anticipating the future and the other reminiscing the past. To honor him, people exchanged gifts and partied in the typical Roman fashion with great feasts and extravagant masquerades. They believed by acting wealthy, they would attract financial abundance in the New Year. Lawsuits and quarrels were suspended and friendships renewed during the celebrations.
We continue the Romans’ traditions with parties, dancing, drinking and noisemaking to greet the New Year, hoping such excesses will attract abundance in the coming year. Silver and gold decorations replace the red and green of the Christmas season to further attract abundance. Whatever happens on the first day of the New Year is believed to predict one’s fortunes through the rest of the year.
To invite good fortune and luck to their homes, many people create a menu of foods selected to bring good luck. In Pennsylvania, the Dutch favor sauerkraut, while in the South, we prefer black-eyed peas flavored with ham hocks served with rice. Sometimes a dime is added to the peas to increase the recipient’s luck in the New Year. Including greens or cabbage on the menu represents the wish for cash or folding money.
Ancient traditions label the pig as a symbol of good luck or abundance because the animal or digs for its food in a forward direction. However, all fowl meat such as turkey, chicken or goose should be avoided on New Year’s Day because they invite bad luck by scratching backward for their food – at least according to legends.
The familiar figures of an old man aged and weary from the challenges and problems of the old year contrast with a happy, carefree baby as popular symbols of the New Year. The old man represents the wisdom and experience of the past while the new baby symbolizes the innocent anticipation of the future. Both characters complete the circle and cycle of time as we end the old year and begin the new.
Traditionally we “watch the old year out and the new year in” with New Year’s Eve parties and church services. Many of us watch and vicariously share the festivity of crowds in Times Square by TV as we countdown the remaining seconds of the year listening to the poignant words of Auld Lang Syne.
As we cross the invisible threshold from memories of the past to hope and anticipation for the future, the past silently merges with the present, reminding us the “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present! ~ Unknown
Happy New Year ~
Enjoy the present!
