Funday Times

Happy New Year
By Smriti Daniel
New Year's Day is one of the oldest celebrated holidays and was first observed 4000 years ago in ancient Babylon. However, it hasn't always been celebrated on January 1. Babylonians began New Year's Day on what is now March 23, when new crops were planted. The celebration lasted for 11 days. During the festival, the king was sent away so everyone could do what they wanted for a few days. At the end of the holiday, the king returned with a royal parade and everyone went back to work.

Romans also celebrated New Year's Day during March. In 46 B.C., Roman Emperor Julius Caesar created the Julian Calendar which we still use today and established January 1 as the beginning of the New Year. This way, the year was synchronized with the sun. Since then, New Year's Day has been celebrated on January 1 in most of the world.

Although many countries celebrate New Year's Day on the same day, each country has different traditions. In Southeast Asia they release birds and turtles for good luck in the coming year.

In Japan, people hang a rope of straw in front of their houses signifying happiness and good luck. They also begin to laugh at the exact moment the year begins, which is thought to bring good fortune. In British Columbia, Canada, there is a traditional polar bear swim, where people put on their bathing suits and take a swim in the icy water.

Some countries have different names for their New Year’s Day celebrations.
In Greece, New Year's Day is called the Festival of Saint Basil to fill with gifts. In Scotland they celebrate Hogmanay. In some villages, they burn barrels of tar and roll them through the streets, showing that the old year is burned up and the new one can begin. Scottish people believe in "first-footing" where the first person entering your house in the New Year will bring luck for the whole year.

Not all nations use a calendar that begins on January 1. The Chinese New Year is celebrated between January 17 and February 19, depending upon the time of the new moon each year. Called Yuan Tan, Chinese people all over the world celebrate this holiday with a street procession called the Festival of Lanterns. Thousands of lanterns light the way for the New Year. In Vietnam the New Year festival is called Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short, and begins between January 21 and February 19. Many people in Vietnam buy a carp fish and let it go free in a river or pond. Like some Europeans, the Vietnamese also believe in first-footing.

In the United States, most people ring in New Year's by getting together with family and friends. On New Year's Day, Americans have parades and cookouts and watch football. Many people also make resolutions, vowing to improve some part of their lives during the year. However you celebrate New Year's Day, remember it is a good time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.

Some New Year customs
In some countries, mock combats are performed to represent the struggle between the seasons, Life and Death, and Old year and New. Plant and fruit trees are beaten with sticks; water is poured to cleanse the spirit, remove impurities, and invite grace.

It is also an established fact that there cannot be a New Year until the Old Year has gone. The Old Year is said to be evil and must be banished. An effigy of Death is paraded through the town or city and is buried, drowned, or burned. The effigy can be made of straw, twigs, or rags.

Nothing should be taken out of the house as one may remove the good luck along with it. It was said to be wise to make sure that lots of things are to be carried in.

Both one's pockets as well as one's stomach should be full. This was to make certain that in the ensuing year one would be prosperous and well fed. Empty pockets and unstocked kitchens promised a year of poverty.
"Farewelling" of the old year was originally done out of fear that the evil spirits were let loose on the last day of the year. So people would make lots of noise and have lots of fun to drive the evil spirits away, so that they could start a New Year unharmed and unimpeded.

Another way people would drive the evil forces away was by setting of fireworks as it was believed that they were afraid of light and that they were also afraid of noise. So this was the reason why people would make lots and lots of noises at the stroke of midnight. Church bells toll to drive evil spirits away at the end of the old year.

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