By Lubna Abdel-Aziz So you think you just celebrated the start of a New Year? The one universal feast that unites all 6 billion plus of this planet's population is fake & phony. Still it does not stop us from celebrating the first day of the calendar year. That date, January 1, is relatively new, and became recognized as New Year's Day only in the 16th century, when the Gregorian calendar was embraced. What then is the real date of the New Year? Long before there was such a thing as a calendar year, humankind followed Nature's lead, and celebrated the New Year at the time, between the sowing of the seeds and the harvesting of crops. This coincided with the vernal equinox, when spring begins, which makes a good deal of sense. Man, however, always battling Mother Nature, celebrates the seeking of new hope and rebirth right smack in the dead of winter. Why? The tale of how a seed- sowing occasion, shifted from the start of spring to the start of winter is strange and convoluted, spanning a period of two millennia. January is indeed a perverse time for beginning a new year. The sun stands at no fiduciary place in the sky, as it does for the spring and autumn equinoxes and the winter and summer solstices, the four events that commence the seasons. Instead, we have chosen January 1. Considered a holy day, the ancient Romans celebrated the beginning of spring, observed then around March 25, as the first day of the year. Romans gave one another gifts and offered the Emperor good wishes by presenting him with branches and bay and palm leaves. In time those were replaced with more expensive gifts. Emperors and high- ranking officials of Rome tampered with the length of months and years, to extend their terms of office. Calendar dates soon became desynchronized with astronomical benchmarks, that by the year 153 B.C. the Roman Senate declared January 1, as the start of the New Year, in order to set straight several public occasions. The tampering with the calendar continued for another 100 years. Julius Caesar had to let the year drag on for 455 days with his new Julian calendar. With the Roman conversion to Christianity in the 4th Century, New Year's Day celebrations continued, which infuriated the church. As the church gained converts and power, it replaced the pagan celebrations with Christian observances. January 1 was established as the feast of Christ's circumcision. Catholics and Lutherans among others, observe it to this day by attending church services. During the Middle Ages observance of the New Year differed from country to country. The British celebrated March 25, the French on Easter Sunday, the Italians on Christmas day. Only in the Iberian Peninsula was January 1 observed as New Year's Day. All ancient civilizations celebrated a new year, but on different dates. The Chinese, Jews, Romans, Persians, Hindus etc coveted their own unique days and manner of celebration. The Hindus observed many days, depending on each religious groups. Other civilizations such as the Chinese based their new year on the waxing and waning of the moon. The ancient Egyptians celebrated around the time when the Nile river overflowed its banks, what would now be mid-June. The earliest recorded New Year's festival was staged in the city of Babylon, late in March. The carousing lasted for 11 days. The main ceremony was called "Kuppuru", similar to the Hebrews "Yom Kippur", their Day of Atonement festival. Modern festivities pale by comparison to some of the early celebrations. A time of rejoicing, as it is now, food, wine and hard liquor were consumed, and music song and dance were enjoyed. New Year's Eve was the noisiest of nights, then and now. Early farmers banished evil spirits who would destroy their crops, by great wailing, of horns and beating of drums. Have you never wondered why we blow those paper whistles and indulge in other noise makers on this special night! The Chinese dispatched the Yang, (the forces of light) to overcome the Yin (forces of darkness) by crashing cymbals and exploding firecrackers. Modern Americans followed the example of their predecessors, the Iroquois Indians, who were described by Sir James Frazer in his book "The Golden Bough" as," men and women variously disguised, went from wigwam to wigwam, smashing and throwing down whatever they came across." The people were supposed to be out of their minds and therefore not responsible for what they did--- which is precisely our excuse now. History books record such a riotous night of festivities in the year 1773, in New York City, the legislature was forced to outlaw firecrackers and the firing of personal shotguns on all future New Years Eve. Such laws are still in effect. New Yorkers content themselves with the dropping of a crystal ball at midnight in Time square, attended last week by over one million revelers. How cold was it? Suffice it to assume that it would have been exceedingly more enjoyable, at springtime, the true date of the rebirth of a new year. Ringing out the old, and ringing in the new, leaves many lonely sad & depressed. For most of us however it is a time of celebration and anticipation. In the Orient, homes are decorated and friends exchange gifts. In the Western world some Christians go to church, others hold parties & open houses. Friends come to call and refreshments are served. The English followed the custom of cleaning their chimneys, which supposedly brings good luck- Today we have replaced it with "cleaning the slate" which means making resolutions to correct our faults and bad habits. If only we could stick to them, how much better would each New Year be! Since we are bent on changing what is natural, to what is more convenient let us resolve to make this a better year, disregarding the bitter cold that deflates most of our good intensions. If individually we resolve to be more compassionate now or at any time of the year, collectively how great each New Year would be. Ring out old shapes of foul disease. Ring out the narrowing lust of gold. Ring out the thousand wars of old Ring in the thousand years of peace. -- Alfred Lord Tennyson (1800 -- 1892)
