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The keeping track of time has been in the history of man as far as we have any records on hand. The Persians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and many many more
cultures have records of this process. Obviously not all are the same. Religions have contributed to the multitudes of calendars. The Jewish calendar is five
thousands seven hundred and sixty four years. The Muslim calendar is one thousand four hundred and twenty four years old. You already know the Christian
calendar (just in case, it is 2003 until tomorrow when it will be 2004!) The youngest of the religious calendars is the Baha'i calendar which is one hundred
and sixty years old. The celebration of the New Year is held on different dates. The Baha'i New Year is called the Naw-Ruz which is celebrated on March 21st every year. The other calendars have different new year dates as well. The Times of Malta's article refers to the celebration of the New Year and how it was not always done on the January 1st. This date was moved back and forth until finally it was moved back to January 1 with the advent of the Gregorian Calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
The following is the entire article that was referred to above. Please keep in mind that this article is copyrighted by the publishers of the New York Times of Malta, all rights are reserved. |
It all started in Babylon
 Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, and Snow Maiden (left) greet people in central Moscow on their arrival in the Russian capital. Most Russians traditionaly celebrate the coming of the New Year as the biggest family holiday of the year. |
Did you know that the New Year was not always celebrated on January 1? Some cultures still celebrate the New Year on other days.
New Year was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago. In the years around 2,000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon at the beginning of spring and lasted 11 days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration and modern festivities pale in comparison.
The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March but their calendar soon lost its synchronisation with the sun.
In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 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 re-established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronise the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.
In 567 AD the Council of Tours abolished January 1 in favour of March as the start of a new year, varying the actual day to coincide with the Vernal Equinox.
The first day of the new year was moved back to January 1 with the advent of the Gregorian Calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
The Bahai people have their own calendar consisting of 19 months of 19 days each with a couple of extra days between the 18th and 19th months. They have, however, adopted the Iranian custom of beginning the New Year in the spring equinox. The day begins at sunset rather than midnight and the New Year celebrations are held during the evening of March 20.
The north-western Indian state of Gujarat celebrates its New Year festival of Diwali in the months of October or November. One of the most ancient Hindu festivals, Diwali symbolises the triumph of good over evil. It is only in Gujarat that it is considered as the New Year festival. In fact, the second day of the festival is actually the new year's Day of Gujarati.
On the night of the Diwali festival everything is decorated with lights and lamps. Bottles of coloured water may also be placed in front of the lamps and there are also firework displays. The children receive sweets, ice cream and toys in the shapes of houses, boats, people and animals.
The celebration of the Buddhist New Year is also an occasion of great joy. People squirt water on whomever they meet in the streets, regardless of whether it is a friend or a stranger. Homage is paid to the various statues of the Buddha, which are ceremonially bathed.
Members of the Hmong culture celebrate their New Year festival with everyone in the community. The New Year is the only time of the year these people get a day off farming and they celebrate it at the end of the harvesting of the rice. Preferably, their New Year festival coincides with that of other nearby villages so that the unmarried men of the village can meet prospective wives in other communities.
The Jewish New Year Festival is called Rosh Hashanah. The date varies each year, as they have their own calendar which is lunisolar in nature. The New Year is on the first two days of the seventh month, so that the farmers could visit Jerusalem before the winter rains came.
At dinner on New Year's Eve festival candles are lit and the table is decorated with seasonal fare, especially grapes. Other foods that are served are Challah (bread), honey cake and fish.
A special service is held on New Year, which ends with the blowing of the shofar. People who are too ill to attend the service try to find someone to blow the shofar for them. After 10 days there is repentance culminating on Yom Kippur with a 24-hour fast which ends at sunset with a final note on the shofar, signifying the closing of the Book of Life.
©Copyright 2003, Times of Malta (Malta). All rights reserved.
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