Happy 2022 Readers!

By edhat staff

To use the 2021 words of the year, this has been another year of perseverance filled with scientific achievements including a COVID-19 vaccine and an effort towards uniting the country in allyship. 

As we flip the calendar towards a new year, there is plenty to be thankful for. Family, friends, community, and most importantly health. 

With vaccinations and booster shots readily available, people are feeling more comfortable celebrating the new year like we used to. Although, with new COVID-19 variants spreading it’s best to be cautious. People are opting for more intimate gatherings as opposed to crowded venues. Whether you meet up with loved ones or choose to fall asleep watching the 9:00 ball drop on the east coast, stay safe out there.

Sticking with our usual tradition of a little holiday history, the earliest recorded festivities date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon, then the Romans until 46 B.C. where emperor Julius Caesar helped create the Julian calendar which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar of today.

“Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties. In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1 as the first of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25 (the anniversary of Jesus’ birth) and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation); Pope Gregory XIII re-established January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1582,” according to history.com.

Happy New Year edhatters.

You can also find more infographics at Visualistan