Happy New Year !!!!!
Well, Christmas has passed and New Year's Day is upon us. We will go out and party, make resolutions (which we probably will never keep), have a glass of champagne (or maybe many more), share a kiss with someone (and hope we know them, if not then we kiss the stranger beside us in the crowd). Sound like fun? How much do you know about this celebration? We should know what we celebrate so let's look:
The earliest-known record of a New Year's festival dates from about 2000 BC in Mesopotamia, where the New Year (Akitu) commenced with the new moon nearest the spring equinox (mid-March; Babylonia) or nearest the autumn equinox (mid-September; Assyria). The year began for the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians with the autumn equinox (September 21) and for the Greeks, until the 5th century BC, with the winter solstice (December 21). By the Roman republican calendar the year began on March 1; after 153 BC the official date was January 1, and this was confirmed by the Julian calendar (46 BC).
In early medieval times most of Christian Europe regarded March 25 (Annunciation Day) as the beginning of the year, though for Anglo-Saxon England New Year's Day was December 25. William the Conqueror decreed that the year start on January 1, but, later, England began its year with the rest of Christendom on March 25. January 1 was restored as New Year's Day by the Gregorian calendar (1582), immediately adopted by Roman Catholic countries. Other countries slowly followed suit: Scotland, 1660; Germany and Denmark, about 1700; England, 1752; Sweden, 1753; and Russia, 1918. Observances of the secular New Year in the West vary regionally but typically entail the preparation of a customary meal (as "hoppin' John," a dish of peas and rice, in the U.S. South) and the making of personal resolutions for the coming year.
Ancient New Years Customs
Many ancient peoples started the year at harvesttime. They performed rituals to do away with the past and purify themselves for the new year. For example, some people put out the fires they were using and started new ones.
In early times, the ancient Romans gave each other New Year's gifts of branches from sacred trees. In later years, they gave gold-covered nuts or coins imprinted with pictures of Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings. January was named after Janus, who had two faces--one looking forward and the other looking backward. The Romans also brought gifts to the emperor. The emperors eventually began to demand such gifts. But the Christian church outlawed this custom and certain other pagan New Year's practices in A.D. 567.
The ancient Persians gave New Year's gifts of eggs, which symbolized productiveness. The Celtic priests of what is now England gave the people branches of mistletoe, which was considered sacred.
The Celts took over many New Year's customs from the Romans, who invaded the British Isles in A.D. 43. By the 1200's, English rulers had revived the Roman custom of asking their subjects for New Year's presents. Common presents included jewelry and gold. Queen Elizabeth I acquired a large collection of richly embroidered and jeweled gloves through this custom. English husbands gave their wives money on New Year's Day to buy pins and other articles. This custom disappeared in the 1800's. However, the term pin money still means small amounts of spending money.
Many American colonists in New England celebrated the new year by firing guns into the air and shouting. They also visited taverns and houses to ask for drinks. Other colonists attended church services. Some people held open house, welcoming all visitors and feeding them generously.
Another old custom involved using the Bible to predict what would
happen in the new year. People chose a passage of the Bible at
random. They then applied the passage to the coming months of the
new year.
TODAY
Each year, millions of people will celebrate the new year. They will gather in crowds on Times Square, at parties. Too many will drink too much, drunken driving kills far too many on this holiday. Far more importantly, when we take part, we honor foreign gods, mystics, pagan rituals rather than the Almighty Creator of the universe.
Rather, let us celebrate HIS
set apart days.
Rosh Hashanah, which literally means the head of the year, commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the world. It is celebrated on the first and second days of the seventh Hebrew month, Tishri. Depending on the solar calendar, Rosh Hashanah occurs in September or October.
Rosh Hashanah, when all living things are judged, is often referred to as the beginning of the Jewish New Year.
However, the Hebrew month of Nissan, in which Passover is celebrated, is the first month of the Jewish calendar. (Our Creator said this would be the first month of the year for us)
For more information about His Holy Days please contact us at Qumran Bet