The history of New Year’s resolutions
THE TRADITION OF New Year’s Resolutions dates back to 153 BC Janus, a mythical king of ancient Rome, was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could remember past events and look into the future. Janus became the ancient symbol of resolutions and many Romans sought forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the start of each year.
The New Year hasn’t always started on January 1, and it doesn’t start on that date everywhere today. It starts on that date only for crops that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 BC. C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would reflect the seasons more accurately than previous calendars.
The Romans named the first 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. Therefore, he could look back and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and at the new.
The Romans began the tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year’s Eve by giving each other branches of sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became the most common 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 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar and the New Year’s celebration returned to January 1.
The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. However, some cultures have lunar calendars. A year on a lunar calendar has fewer than 365 days because the months are based on the phases of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Your new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius, sometime between January 19 and February 21.
Although the New Year’s date is not the same in all cultures, it is always a time of celebration and customs to ensure good luck in the coming year.
old new year
The New Year’s celebration is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago. In the years around 2000 B.C. C., the Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar.
The end of March is actually a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year when spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical or agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.
The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it’s 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 various emperors continually altered their calendar so that the calendar soon fell out of sync with the sun.
To correct the calendar, the Roman Senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 as the beginning of the New Year. But the manipulation continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC. C., established what is known as the Julian Calendar. He reestablished January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year go on for 445 days.
Global good luck traditions
As the New Year approaches, here’s a look at some good luck rituals from around the world. They are believed to bring good fortune and prosperity in the coming year.
AUSTRIA – The piglet is the symbol of good luck for the new year. It is served on a table decorated with tiny edible pigs. Dessert often consists of four-leaf clover-shaped spearmint ice cream.
ENGLAND – The British put their fortune for next year in the hands of their first guest. They believe that the first visitor of each year should be a man and bring gifts. Traditional gifts are coal for the fire, bread for the table, and a drink for the teacher. For good luck, the guest must enter through the front door and exit through the back. Empty-handed or unwanted guests are not allowed to enter first.
WALES – At the first stroke of midnight, the back door is opened and then closed to release the old year and block out all its bad luck. Then, at the twelfth stroke of the clock, the front door is opened and the New Year is received with all its luck.
HAITI – In Haiti, New Year’s Day is a sign of the coming year. Haitians wear new clothes and exchange gifts in the hope that it augurs well for the new year.
SICILY – An old Sicilian tradition says that good luck will come to those who eat lasagna on New Year’s Day, but woe if you eat macaroni for dinner, because any other noodles will bring bad luck!
SPAIN – In Spain, when the clock strikes midnight, the Spanish eat 12 grapes, one with each toll, to bring good luck for the next 12 months.
PERU – The Peruvian New Year custom is a twist on the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes at the turn of the year. But in Peru, a number 13 grape must be eaten to ensure good luck.
GREECE – A special New Year’s bread is baked with a coin buried in the dough. The first slice is for baby Jesus, the second for the father of the family, and the third slice is for the house. If the third slice contains the coin, spring will come early that year.
JAPAN – The Japanese decorate their houses in honor of the lucky gods. One tradition, kadomatsu, consists of a pine branch symbolizing longevity, a bamboo stalk symbolizing prosperity, and a plum blossom showing nobility.
CHINA – For 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 party for the New Year, all knives are put away for 24 hours to prevent anyone from cutting themselves, which is believed to cut off the family’s good luck for the coming year.
UNITED STATES – The kiss shared at the stroke of midnight in the United States derives from the masked balls that have been common throughout history. As tradition says, the masks symbolize the evil spirits of the old year and the kiss is the purification of the new year.
NORWAY – Norwegians prepare rice pudding at New Year’s and hide a whole almond inside. The guaranteed wealth goes to the person whose portion contains the lucky almond.
Chinese New Year
Except for a very small number of people who can keep track of when Chinese New Year should be, most Chinese today have to rely on a typical Chinese calendar to count it. Therefore, one cannot talk about the Chinese New Year without first mentioning the Chinese calendar.
A Chinese calendar consists of the Gregorian and lunar-solar systems, with the latter dividing a year into twelve months, each of which in turn is divided equally into thirty-nine and a half days. The well-coordinated dual-system calendar reflects Chinese ingenuity.
There is also a system that marks the years in a twelve-year cycle, naming each year after an animal such as Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. People born in a particular year are believed to share some of the personalities of that particular animal.