Trace your New Years tradition

by Krystle Ballatore
The celebration of the New Year is on January 1st. The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. The earliest recording of the New Year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, 2000 B.C., and was celebrated during mid-March.



The New Year was moved from March to January because the beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. It is the season of rebirth and blossoming. But, January 1st has neither astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is simply arbitrary.

A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on their winter solstice.

People all over the world celebrate this holiday, eve though it is expressed in different languages and has different traditions. In English someone would say, “Happy New Year”, in German one might hear, “Prosit Neujahr”, and in Italian the New Year is expressed with the words, “Buon Capodanno.”

In England, crowds of people would gather and stand around with arms linked to sing “Auld Lang Syne”. The custom of first-footing is important because it is supposed to ensure good luck for the inhabitants of the house. The first-footer must be male, young, healthy and good looking. He must be dark-haired and he should be carrying a small piece of coal, money, bread, and salt. These are the symbols of wealth. The custom of exchanging gifts was transferred to Christmas it was originally done on New Years, when the Lord of the Manor was given samples of produce by his tenants and peasants, while he gave a valuable gift to the Queen or King. The Englishman gave their wives money to buy pins for the coming year. This tradition died, but, the expression "pin money" is still used to describe the money set aside for personal use, especially if given to a woman by her husband.

In Germany, people would drop molten lead into cold water and try to tell the future from the shape it made. A heart or ring shape meant a wedding, a ship a journey and a pig meant plenty of food in the year ahead. People also would leave a bit of every food eaten on New Year's Eve on their plate until after Midnight as a way of ensuring a well-stocked larder. Carp was included as it was thought to bring wealth.

In Italy, to welcome in the New Year, it is traditional to light petards (a kind of firecracker) and fireworks on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. This tradition is recognizable nearly around the world, but in Italy, many folks still throw old possessions out the window, in the hopes of forgetting past misfortunes and clearing the decks for good luck in the new year. A more common way to salute the beginning of the year is to toast it with sparkling Italian wine. For the New Year's Day dinner, eating pork products accompanied by lenticchie, or lentils, is a tradition followed in most regions of Italy. The pork is said to represent the fat, or riches, of the land, and the lentils symbolize money or good luck.

New Years is an exciting holiday that has been celebrated for many centuries with different traditions. But, for everyone, it means the same thing. It is a time to start new, so make it worth it!