Did you know?

The beginning of the new year and the time to make New Years resolutions.

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. The first of January was dedicated by the Romans to their God of Gates and Doors,Janus. A very old Italian God, Janus has a distinctive artistic appearance in that he is commonly depicted with two faces … one regarding what is behind and the other looking toward what lies ahead.

Ancient Egyptians originally celebrated the New Year with the Feast of Opet around the middle of June, which was when the Nile River usually overflowed its banks. Consequently, people were unable to work and would be free to take part in the festivities. Statues of the God, Amon, together with effigies of his wife and son, would be taken by boat down the Nile from Karnak to Luxor, where the people would sing, dance and feast for a 24 days before transporting the statues back to the temple. Phoenicians and Persians proclaimed the beginning of the New Year on the Autumnal Equinox (September 22nd).

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century. Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year’s resolutions, which also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The first rooftop celebration atop One Times Square, complete with a fireworks display, took place in 1904. The New York Times produced this event to inaugurate its new headquarters in Times Square and celebrate the renaming of Longacre Square to Times Square.

New Years Day is the first day of the year, in the Gregorian calendar. In modern times, it is the 1st January. It is a time for looking forward and wishing for a good year a head. It is also a holiday.
The people welcome in the New Year on the night before. This is called New Year’s Eve. In Scotland people celebrate with a lively festival called Hogmanay. All over Britain there are parties, fireworks, singing and dancing, to ring out the old year and ring in the new. As the clock Big Ben strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang Syne. It reminds them of old and new friends.

Links: http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/year/january.htm
http://www.inspirationline.com/Brainteaser/newyear.htm