The origins of New Years Eve can be traced back to Neolithic peoples who tied the holiday to agricultural concerns and fertility. Centuries of devising calendars by ancient peoples resulted in a wide fluctuation of actual dates, yet the coming of the New Year was most often dictated by the cycles of the moon as well as a rebirth associated with the coming of spring. Each historical account contains certain common elements, such as the importance of light, resurrection, and self-examination. Contemporary New Years celebrations featuring feasts that include “good luck” dishes as well as the use of fireworks are products of an ancient past.
The Coming of the New Year in the Ancient World
Every ancient culture tied the coming of the New Year to nature, a logical decision given that ancient religious beliefs derived from the interaction of people with their environment. Anthropology professor Anthony Aveni cites the Egyptian belief that the festival of Isis was closely linked to the coming of the New Year which coincided with the rising of the Nile River. “It all emanates from the age-old myth of Osiris,” according to Aveni.
Literature professor Dudley Young states that the ancient Greek idea of the “year spirit” or eniautos daimon was borrowed from Babylon. According to the Greek belief, New Years Eve coincided with the rebirth of Dionysus who is often depicted wearing two masks. In modern tradition, “Old Man Time” is frequently retired on New Years Eve as a younger incarnation ushers in the events of the New Year.
Aveni suggests that the changing of New Year to the end of December occurred in 153 BCE: “The New Year was reckoned by the first sighting of the crescent moon in the west after sunset following the winter solstice.” New Years in Rome was eagerly anticipated as soothsayers watched the skies for omens. Good omens precipitated a solemn procession of Roman leaders who then sacrificed a white bull.
Pagan and Christian Europe Celebrate New Years Eve
Pre-Christian Europe also recognized New Years Eve as the beginning or rebirth of another year. In Scotland, people celebrated Hogmany, a folk custom featuring a young man donned in an animal hide going from door to door. The festival was accompanied by much noise as people beat the side of the hide. Noise drove away evil spirits. In certain parts of Germany in later centuries, young men shot guns into the air to drive away witches and other evil spirits. Everyone is familiar with the contribution of fireworks by the Chinese, whose New Year comes later. Fireworks were used to dispel evil, combining the two important elements associated with New Years Eve: light and noise.
In Germany, New Years Eve is still referred to as Sylvester. This dates back to the Medieval Catholic Church cycle which places the feast of St. Sylvester on New Years Eve. For the church, New Years Eve pointed to the end of the Christmas period, Epiphany, and the start of the cycle of light on January 20th with the feast of Saints Fabian and Sebastian. The high point of this cycle was Candlemas or the Feast of the Purification on February 2nd, a time when candles were blessed. It was also known as the Mass of Light in German (Lichtmess) for it pointed to the end of darkness and the coming of spring.
New Years Eve has always been associated with rebirth and fertility. In early Roman Republican days, New Years fell in March, a month dedicated to Mars who was also the protector of crops. Contemporary New Years Eve celebrations include personal “resolutions,” also a form of rebirth and resurrection. Fireworks are a staple and in some small way impart an old superstitious desire to cast out the evil of the preceding year and instill a hope for prosperity in the next.
Sources:
- Anothony Aveni, The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford University Press, 2003)
- R.W. Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany (London: the Hambledon Press, 1987)
- Dudley Young, Origins of the Sacred: The Ecstasies of Love and War (St. Martin’s Press, 1991)
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