The Romans dedicated New Year's Day to Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings for whom the first month of the year (January) is also named. After
Julius Caesar reformed the calendar in 46 BC and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Senate voted to deify him on the 1st January 42 BC[SUP]
[4][/SUP] in honor of his life and his institution of the new rationalized calendar.[SUP]
[5][/SUP] The month originally owes its name to the deity Janus, who had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. This suggests that New Year's celebrations are founded on pagan traditions. Some have suggested this occurred in
153 BC, when it was stipulated that the two annual
consuls (after whose names the years were identified) entered into office on that day, though no consensus exists on the matter.[SUP]
[6][/SUP] Dates in March, coinciding with the
spring equinox, or commemorating the
Annunciation of
Jesus, along with a variety of Christian feast dates were used throughout the
Middle Ages, though calendars often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December.[SUP]
[citation needed][/SUP]
Among the 7th century
pagans of
Flanders and the
Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year. This was a pagan custom deplored by
Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemings and Dutchmen, "(Do not) make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare
Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another
Yule custom]." The quote is from the
vita of Eligius written by his companion,
Ouen.
Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the
Gregorian calendar. In England, until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752, the first day of the new year was the
Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, also called "
Lady Day". The March 25 date was known as
Annunciation Style; the January 1 date was known as
Circumcision Style,[SUP]
[7][/SUP] because this was the date of the
Feast of the Circumcision, considered to be the eighth day of Christ's life, counting from December 25 when his birth is celebrated.
This day was christened as the beginning of the New Year by Pope Gregory as he designed the Liturgical Calendar.[SUP]
[
New Year's Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/SUP]
