New Year’s Customs

publication date: Dec 27, 2007

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author/source: Roswell Beacon

Every January 1 people are greeted with the salutation of “Happy New Year.” In fact, many stay up to wait for the clock to strike midnight to be the first to utter the phrase.

But according to ancient Babylonian tradition, the new year wasn’t always celebrated in the middle of winter. It was, rather, celebrated when the first visible new moon crescent was present after the vernal equinox — at the start of spring.

The new year may have been wisely celebrated then because spring is the season most associated with the rebirth of life.

Through the years, the calendar became out of sync with the sun through the result of tampering by Roman emperors. Eventually it was sorted out and the Julian calendar, under the authority of Julius Caesar, designated that January 1 was the official start of the new calendar year, and has been ever since.

Other New Year’s traditions include a symbolic baby image, which some believe also signals rebirth, and the making of resolutions for the year to come.