As we flip the calendar towards a new year, there is plenty to be thankful for. Family, friends, community, and living in California’s beautiful Central Coast.
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.
Did you also know that countries all around the world have their own unique New Year’s traditions? Brazil and Italy feature lentils in their new year cuisine, Austria focuses on suckling pigs, and Spain uses grapes. The Danish smash broken china on friends’ front doors, supposedly in a sign of affection. Do you think Solvang residents follows this tradition? Ed can only hope.
Happy New Year edhatters.
The Danes have their cracked ceramics, and we have crackpots. Happy New Year!