Nearly all of our holidays have their roots in ancient human history which based celebrations these holidays were based upon the changing landscape of environment around them. When our ancestors were nomads they based the cycles of time on the sun and the moon. Division of time based on harvests came about during the Agricultural revolution. As time was kept there was a beginning and an end bringing us to New Years and its celebrations.
The New Year was not always celebrated in January as we celebrate it now in western society. Originally the Romans celebrated the New Year in March. This was based on the crop cycles of that time, when it was time to plant the new crops it was then time to start off the New Year. The Roman calendar had only ten months; the year started in March and then ended in December.
But why do we celebrate the New Year in January? There is no agricultural or celestial significance to this date. January is in the middle of winter, when there are no crops being planted or harvested, the days are still short and not to mention it is cold. In approximately 153 B.C. the Emperor added two months to the calendar, January and February. The new calendar was set as the standard civil calendar for Roman business. January being named for the god Janus (who was the god of gates and doors) was considered the start of the new year for the civil calendar. It wasn’t until Julius Cesar and his creation of the Julian calendar (which included his name as one of the months) that January was strictly set as the celebration of the New Year.
For many centuries afterward there was still debate as to how the years were to be divided. The whole world was not on the same calendar. The calendar that we know today is the Gregorian calendar. It was widely accepted by most of the Catholic countries; Protestant countries, Britain and the American colonies were slow to accept them. It wasn’t until 1752 that Britain and America accepted this calendar. Until that time both still celebrated the New Year in March.
It was a very big deal to change the New Year from March to January. During the Middle Ages celebrating the New Year in January was banned because it was seen as a pagan holiday and therefore bad. The New Year was celebrated on December 25th, coinciding with the birth of the Christ child. Though out calendar has changed it still has its Roman roots. September through December are derived from the Latin numbers seven through ten, April comes from the Latin word “to open” (as in flower buds) and May is for Maia (goddess of earth or Mother Earth).
