| New Years Day |
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In the fairly long history of humanity the celebration of New Year is found to have a
pre-historic root. Since the era of the most ancient civilization a number of dates
have been marked as the beginning of a new year by different people from
different parts of the world. The diversity is due to the difference in their ethnic and
cultural background.
Today the New Year is celebrated all over the world on January 1. But this was not
the case a few hundred years back. The wide spread acceptance of January 1 as
the New Year is confined only within the past four hundred years.
The changeover:
It was the Romans who first used January 1 as the beginning of the year in 153
B.C. Prior to that March 25, the date of the vernal equinox, was celebrated as their
New Year's Day. And this was considered to be the beginning of New Year by most
Christian European countries during the early medieval era.
The delayed acceptance of the changed date might be due to some of its inherent
difficulties. The date was unusual. For, unlike the customs prevalent till then, no
agricultural or seasonal significance was attached to it. Instead, it was just a civil
date, the day after the elections when the consuls would assume their new
positions in the Roman empire. But the bigger problem the changed date posed,
was difficulties in the calculation of the year. As the Romans moved their New
Year's Day backward almost three months to January 1, we have irregularities in
our calendar. The months of September, October, November and December,
originally mean, the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth month respectively. Later,
many of the Roman emperors had given new names to these months. September
received names as "Germanucus", "Antonius" and "Tacitus" under each of these
emperors' regime. Thus November also earned the varying names of "Domitianus",
"Faustinus" and "Romanus".
The inconveniences led Julius Caesar to institute a new calendar. It was devised
by the Greek astronomer
Sosigenes of Alexandria from the unrivaled Egyptian
solar calendar. Caesar wanted to change the date of the New Year from January 1
to a more logical date - to one of the solstices or equinoxes. However, it happened
that January 1 of 45 B.C. was the date of a new moon.
It would have been bad luck, or so regarded by the population, to change it.
For his calendar reform, the Senate rewarded him by having the month of his birth,
Quintilis, renamed "July" in his honor. Caesar's grandnephew, the Emperor
Augustus, had a similar honor bestowed on him when he corrected a mistake
which had crept into the calculation of the leap year. Till then it had been observed
every three years, instead of every four. He abolished all leap years between 8
B.C. and A.D. 8. Thus he set the calendar straight and earned for himself the
renaming of Sextilis as "August".
This calendar did not witness significant reforms till 1582, when Pope Gregory XII
incorporated our present method of calculation and dividing the year. It was the
Pope who reinstituted the practice of observing New Year's Day on January 1,
regardless of the pre-Christian associations with that date. The Gregorian reforms
also canceled ten days from October; Thursday, October 4, 1582, was followed by
Friday, October 15, 1582. the old discrepancy was provided for by making only
those century dates leap years that were that were divisible by 400. Thus although
the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, the 2000 is.
The global adoption:
Catholic countries adopted it soon. Yet it took some time for the Protestants to
follow suit. Finally Germany did adopt it in 1700, Great Britain in 1752, and
Sweden in 1753. It was then necessary to drop 11 days from the calendar because
1700 had been a leap year.
The Oriental countries through the influence of religious groups such as the
Hindus, Taoists, Buddhists and Moslems, considered the new Calendar as the
Christian Calendar, but also adopted it as their official one. Japan welcomed it in
1873 and China in 1912.
The Eastern Orthodox adopted it even later, in 19924 and 1927, Russia took it
twice - first in 1918 and after trying out its own calendars, again 1n 1924.
pre-historic root. Since the era of the most ancient civilization a number of dates
have been marked as the beginning of a new year by different people from
different parts of the world. The diversity is due to the difference in their ethnic and
cultural background.
Today the New Year is celebrated all over the world on January 1. But this was not
the case a few hundred years back. The wide spread acceptance of January 1 as
the New Year is confined only within the past four hundred years.
The changeover:
It was the Romans who first used January 1 as the beginning of the year in 153
B.C. Prior to that March 25, the date of the vernal equinox, was celebrated as their
New Year's Day. And this was considered to be the beginning of New Year by most
Christian European countries during the early medieval era.
The delayed acceptance of the changed date might be due to some of its inherent
difficulties. The date was unusual. For, unlike the customs prevalent till then, no
agricultural or seasonal significance was attached to it. Instead, it was just a civil
date, the day after the elections when the consuls would assume their new
positions in the Roman empire. But the bigger problem the changed date posed,
was difficulties in the calculation of the year. As the Romans moved their New
Year's Day backward almost three months to January 1, we have irregularities in
our calendar. The months of September, October, November and December,
originally mean, the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth month respectively. Later,
many of the Roman emperors had given new names to these months. September
received names as "Germanucus", "Antonius" and "Tacitus" under each of these
emperors' regime. Thus November also earned the varying names of "Domitianus",
"Faustinus" and "Romanus".
The inconveniences led Julius Caesar to institute a new calendar. It was devised
by the Greek astronomer
Sosigenes of Alexandria from the unrivaled Egyptian
solar calendar. Caesar wanted to change the date of the New Year from January 1
to a more logical date - to one of the solstices or equinoxes. However, it happened
that January 1 of 45 B.C. was the date of a new moon.
It would have been bad luck, or so regarded by the population, to change it.
For his calendar reform, the Senate rewarded him by having the month of his birth,
Quintilis, renamed "July" in his honor. Caesar's grandnephew, the Emperor
Augustus, had a similar honor bestowed on him when he corrected a mistake
which had crept into the calculation of the leap year. Till then it had been observed
every three years, instead of every four. He abolished all leap years between 8
B.C. and A.D. 8. Thus he set the calendar straight and earned for himself the
renaming of Sextilis as "August".
This calendar did not witness significant reforms till 1582, when Pope Gregory XII
incorporated our present method of calculation and dividing the year. It was the
Pope who reinstituted the practice of observing New Year's Day on January 1,
regardless of the pre-Christian associations with that date. The Gregorian reforms
also canceled ten days from October; Thursday, October 4, 1582, was followed by
Friday, October 15, 1582. the old discrepancy was provided for by making only
those century dates leap years that were that were divisible by 400. Thus although
the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, the 2000 is.
The global adoption:
Catholic countries adopted it soon. Yet it took some time for the Protestants to
follow suit. Finally Germany did adopt it in 1700, Great Britain in 1752, and
Sweden in 1753. It was then necessary to drop 11 days from the calendar because
1700 had been a leap year.
The Oriental countries through the influence of religious groups such as the
Hindus, Taoists, Buddhists and Moslems, considered the new Calendar as the
Christian Calendar, but also adopted it as their official one. Japan welcomed it in
1873 and China in 1912.
The Eastern Orthodox adopted it even later, in 19924 and 1927, Russia took it
twice - first in 1918 and after trying out its own calendars, again 1n 1924.
| reference: The Holiday Spot |
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