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The tradition of the New Year’s Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and some Romans looked for forgiveness from their foes and also counterchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. The New Year has not always started out on January 1, and it doesn’t start out on that date everyplace today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar produced a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than former calendars had. The Romans named the original month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans begun a tradition of substituting gifts on New Year’s Eve by giving one another sections from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more mutual New Year’s gifts. In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year’s Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1. The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. Some cultures have lunar calendars, however. A year in a lunar calendar is less than 365 days because the months are based on the phases of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Their new year begins at the time of the introductory full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius- sometime among January 19 and February 21. Although the date for New Year’s Day is not the same in each culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs to make sure good luck in the coming year. Ancient New Years The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was basi observed in ancient Babylon when it comes to 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, though they themselves had no written calendar. Late March in truth is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is strictly arbitrary. The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had it is own queer mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year’s Eve festivities pale in comparison. The Romans continued to observe the New Year on March 25, but their calendar was continually tampered with by respective emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again traditionalisti January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the former year drag on for 445 days. Global Good Luck Traditions With New Year’s upon us, here’s a look at some of the good luck rituals from around the world. They are believed to fetch good fortune and successfulness in the coming year. AUSTRIA – The suckling pig is the symbol for good luck for the new year. It’s served on a table beautified with tiny edible pigs. Dessert often times comprises of green peppermint ice cream in the shape of a four-leaf clover. ENGLAND – The British place their fortunes for the coming year in the hands of their introductory guest. They believe the introductory visitor of each year ought to be male and bearing gifts. Traditional gifts are coal for the fire, a loaf for the table and a drink for the master. For good luck, the guest ought to enter through the front door and leave through the back. Guests who are empty-handed or not wanted are not permitted to enter first. WALES – At the primary toll of midnight, the back door is opened and then shut to release the old year and lock out all of it is bad luck. Then at the twelfth stroke of the clock, the front door is opened and the New Year is welcomed with all of it is luck. HAITI – In Haiti, New Year’s Day is a sign of the year to come. Haitians wear new costume and interchange gifts in the hope that it will bode well for the new year. SICILY – An old Sicilian tradition says good luck will come to those who eat lasagna on New Year’s Day, but woe if you dine on macaroni, for any other noodle will fetch bad luck. SPAIN – In Spain, when the clock strikes midnight, the Spanish eat 12 grapes, one with each toll, to fetch good luck for the 12 months ahead. PERU – The Peruvian New Year’s habit is a spun on the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes at the turn of the year. But in Peru, a 13th grape must be eaten to make sure good luck. GREECE – A special New Year’s bread is baked with a coin buried in the dough. The firstborn slice is for the Christ child, the second for the father of the household and the third slice is for the house. If the third slice holds the coin, spring will come early that year.
JAPAN – The Japanese decorate their homes in tribute to lucky gods. One tradition, kadomatsu, comprises of a pine branch symbolizing longevity, a bamboo stalk symbolizing prosperity, and a plum blossom showing nobility. CHINA – For the Chinese New Year, each front door is adorned with a fresh coat of red paint, red being a symbol of good luck and happiness. Although the whole family prepares a feast for the New Year, all knives are put away for 24 hours to keep any person from cutting themselves, which is thought to cut the family’s good luck for the next year. UNITED STATES – The kiss shared at the stroke of midnight in the United States is derived from cloaked balls that have been mutual all around history. As tradition has it, the masks symbolize evil spirits from the old year and the kiss is the purification into the new year. NORWAY – Norwegians make rice pudding at New Year’s and hide one whole almond within. Guaranteed wealth goes to the person whose serving holds the lucky almond. Chinese New Year Except for a very few number of humans who may keep track of when the Chinese New Year ought to be, the majority of the Chinese today have to rely on a typical Chinese calendar to tell it. Therefore, you can not talk of the Chinese New Year without mentioning the Chinese calendar at first. A Chinese calendar comprises of both the Gregorian and lunar-solar systems, with the latter dividing a year into twelve month, each of which is in turn evenly separated into thirty- nine and a half days. The well-coordinated dual system calendar reflects the Chinese ingenuity. There is also a system that marks the years in a twelve-year cycle, naming each of them after an animal such as Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar. People born in a peculiar year are believed to share some of the personalities of that peculiar animal.
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