The New Year is an Artificial Date, But How We Treat it Can be Purposeful
The selection of January 1 as the
first day of each New Year is a purely human contrivance. It is not related to any natural marker. The collective “we” of the human population
simply fixed January 1 as the date. Five
decades before the birth of Christ, the Julian calendar (created by and for
Julius Caesar) set January 1 as the start of a new year. The first day of January (named for the Roman
god Janus) was the date that Rome’s two consuls assumed their yearlong offices.
These were the two most important
elected officials in the Republic; the term of their reign was
significant.
But for all of the depth, breadth and political sway of the Roman Empire, the Julian calendar was not universally adopted. During the Medieval Period, the Catholic Church viewed the January 1 celebration as a pagan festival and eventually set the New Year on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th.
It was not until 1570, when Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian with the Gregorian calendar that New Year’s Day was set as January 1. This also put a tuck in the fabric of time. To accomplish a calendar correction that took back 10 days of seasonal creep caused by the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar used a Papal Bull to simply remove 11 days from the count. The evening of October 4, 1582 most of Europe (England being the chief exception) went to sleep only to wake up the next morning to a date of October 15, 1582. October 5-14 simply did not exist that year!
There are some astronomical reasons for a January 1 start to the New Year. The earth is at its perihelion (closest position to the sun) around this time of the year. The winter solstice occurs within three weeks of January 1. But similar criteria could set the New Year during the world’s aphelion (farthest position from the sun) which occurs in June, or the summer solstice in the same month. We could choose the vernal or autumnal equinoxes when the hours of light and dark are equal. Certainly there are cultures that use a lunar calendar, solar phenomena, or scriptural dictates for the New Year. Each of these traditions peg New Year’s to a cycle and not a date.
None of these choices work well for a world that likes scientific, fiscal and legal precision. The practicality of a date specific to start each year is reinforced by the fact that no matter when a culture enjoys its New Year’s celebration, the dates on the check will all reflect the Gregorian calendar. Fun is fun, but business is business. So January 1, 2018 will be the New Year for many of the world’s people, all of the world’s legal documents and most of its historians.
The Roman god Janus had two faces. One looked back and the other forward. This leads people to use the end of one year and beginning of the next for optimistic reflection. I think we should think small on occasions like this.
Maybe just one time each day I can stop myself from using an angry, sarcastic or mean spirited remark. Maybe just one time each week I can do some small act of kindness for someone. Maybe just one time each month I can reach out to someone I have not spoken with for some time. Maybe just once this year I can forgive someone (or even myself) for a weakness, a mistake, or a lapse in judgement. Maybe, by this time next year, I can say that 2018 made me a better person.
Have a productive year. Live well, love much, laugh often. Keep the faith.
But for all of the depth, breadth and political sway of the Roman Empire, the Julian calendar was not universally adopted. During the Medieval Period, the Catholic Church viewed the January 1 celebration as a pagan festival and eventually set the New Year on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th.
It was not until 1570, when Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian with the Gregorian calendar that New Year’s Day was set as January 1. This also put a tuck in the fabric of time. To accomplish a calendar correction that took back 10 days of seasonal creep caused by the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar used a Papal Bull to simply remove 11 days from the count. The evening of October 4, 1582 most of Europe (England being the chief exception) went to sleep only to wake up the next morning to a date of October 15, 1582. October 5-14 simply did not exist that year!
There are some astronomical reasons for a January 1 start to the New Year. The earth is at its perihelion (closest position to the sun) around this time of the year. The winter solstice occurs within three weeks of January 1. But similar criteria could set the New Year during the world’s aphelion (farthest position from the sun) which occurs in June, or the summer solstice in the same month. We could choose the vernal or autumnal equinoxes when the hours of light and dark are equal. Certainly there are cultures that use a lunar calendar, solar phenomena, or scriptural dictates for the New Year. Each of these traditions peg New Year’s to a cycle and not a date.
None of these choices work well for a world that likes scientific, fiscal and legal precision. The practicality of a date specific to start each year is reinforced by the fact that no matter when a culture enjoys its New Year’s celebration, the dates on the check will all reflect the Gregorian calendar. Fun is fun, but business is business. So January 1, 2018 will be the New Year for many of the world’s people, all of the world’s legal documents and most of its historians.
The Roman god Janus had two faces. One looked back and the other forward. This leads people to use the end of one year and beginning of the next for optimistic reflection. I think we should think small on occasions like this.
Maybe just one time each day I can stop myself from using an angry, sarcastic or mean spirited remark. Maybe just one time each week I can do some small act of kindness for someone. Maybe just one time each month I can reach out to someone I have not spoken with for some time. Maybe just once this year I can forgive someone (or even myself) for a weakness, a mistake, or a lapse in judgement. Maybe, by this time next year, I can say that 2018 made me a better person.
Have a productive year. Live well, love much, laugh often. Keep the faith.
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