New Year Customs and Traditions , Old and New

The day we celebrate as New Year's Day was not always the first day of January. January 1 has no astronomical significance but was the arbitrary date chosen by Julius Caesar in the year 46.

The Romans gave each other New Year gifts of branches from sacred trees.and gold-covered nuts or coins imprinted with pictures of Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings. Janus, fittingly, is portrayed with two heads - one looking forward, the other looking back. He symbolised the break between the old and new.

But new year festivities are older than Rome. The celebration of the new year and the concept of starting afresh is the oldest of all holidays.

Janus is the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings, we find him still in modern culture in his namesake, the month of January.

Doors and gateways look in two directions, so Janus looks both backward and forward at the same time. With his two faces, one regarding what is behind and the other looking toward what lies ahead, Janus represents the contemplation of an old year while looking forward to the new.

Janus symbolises change and transitions, the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, of one universe to another. He is the middle ground between barbarity and civilisation, rural country and urban cities, and the doorway between youth and adulthood. As the Guardian of Exits and Entrances, Janus also represents beginnings and, apart from planting season and harvest time, Janus oversees marriages and coming-of-age transitions

Roughly 2000 years before the Common Era, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox. This was the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, of blossoming and renewal.

The Babylonians swore oaths, made promises and New Year Resolutions at this time. The most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

Please make sure you return any you may have borrowed!

Oaths and sacred promises were made in the Northern European tradition. The sonartoltr, an atonement boar, was sacrificed during Yule festivities.

On the night it was to be killed, it was considered so holy that vows were taken with hands laid over its bristles. Boasts were made upon the boar's head, and these boasts had to be truthful.

The god Freyr hated liars, and those who made false boast soon brought down his wrath. Remember this when you make your own New Year resolutions - the last thing you want is the wrath of Freyr on your head.

The wild boar, ferocious ancestor of the domesticated pig, is now only to be found in remote areas of Europe, but once he ruled the dark places in the great woodlands.

It's hard to imagine today the terrors of the wild wood, where the bear and the boar awaited the defenseless traveler. But it was not so long ago. Now, from the safety of our sterilised cities, our memories of the wild boar and of the hunt par force are confined to a tradition of Christmas.

The deadly strength of the wild boar suddenly erupting from the darkness was a symbol for the Iceni in their revolt against Rome and a symbol too, for Richard III, one of England's most controversial kings.

In mythology the Boar represents the spirit of abundance and prosperity, of fertility and wealth. Fierce, strong and dangerous, he had a special place in the heart of a warrior. His ritual sacrifice at the darkest time of the year would guarantee bountiful crops in the next harvest, victory in battle and the vanquishing of the old enemy - the long dark nights of winter.

The beautiful golden twins Freyr and Freyja of Norse mythology are connected with the boar. Freyr had a magical gold boar named Gullinbursti able to run as fast as any steed and which, gleaming as gold in the shadows, could repel shadow and turn night into day. We are talking about solar attributes here, and the midwinter sacrifice could also symbolise the death of the old sun.

The sonartoltr was an atonement boar sacrificed during Yule and considered so holy that oaths were sworn and vows taken over its bristles. On the night before Yule, the biggest and best boar was brought into the hall where the assembled company laid their hands upon the animal and swore their unbreakable oaths upon the Bragarfull (holy cup - a bragging cup ?) and the sonartoltr. Heard by the boar, these oaths went straight to the ears of Freyr himself and Freyr hated liars. Those who made false boast would suffer his wrath!

Once the oaths had been sworn, the boar was sacrificed in the name of Freyr and the feast of roast boar flesh began!

Around the years of 600 BCE, the Greeks paraded a baby in a basket to signify the New Year. The infant symbolised the god Dionysos, whose annual rebirth guaranteed fertility and creativity for the year.

Wherever you are in the world, farewelling of the old year was originally done out of fear of the evil spirits who were let loose on the last day. So we make lots of noise to drive away these spirits away in order to start the Year unharmed and unimpeded.

In traditional belief, the luck you will have throughout the coming year is determined by what you do or eat on the first day of that year.

For this reason, it's common to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. I certainly intend to!

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