Why Does the Year Begin On January 1?
Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2009
by Joyce Dunn
First we have Thanksgiving, (here in America , anyway.) Then one month later, Christmas, and one week after that, New Year's Day. After January 1, the holiday scene is pretty bleak until Easter. There is Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day of course, but by comparison to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, they don't amount to much.
So, to help break up those long, dreary three months between Christmas and Easter, why not use February 2? This is the day Pagans celebrate Imbloc; the return of the sun. At this time the days are beginning to be noticeably longer. Or use February 1, to avoid impinging on the Pagan holiday, or the groundhog.
Personally, I think the spring equinox would be a logical time to designate the beginning of a new year. Of course, that would do nothing to alleviate the three dreary months following Christmas.
I don't know about you, but by the time Christmas is over, I'm a little tired of celebrating, or to be more accurate, just plain tired. Because Christmas falls on a different day of the week each year, we have about two weeks when it's difficult to remember what day of the week any given day is during those two weeks.
Anyone up for starting a campaign to move New Year's Day?
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Thanks for your comments. Wishing you a wonderful 2010
Well, the Christmas celebration is the best in my opinion, and to end it all, New Years would be a great way to finish.I guess that's a good way of looking at it. I do love Christmas too. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Interesting thoughts. Thanks for sharing. Linda DThanks for reading and commenting. Have a great 2010
An interesting take, but why change? Doesn't it have to do with either the farming calendar, or earth's rotation around the sun? Or did I just make that up?I really don't know why Jan 1 was chosen. Being a farmer's daughter, I doubt it has anything to do with farming.Have a great new year.
Rosh Hashanah is the New Years Day for all people. It is based on the creation of the world. Rotation of the earth. Jesus knew this. Only Jewish people recognize this sorry to say. It should have nothing to do with religion. Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny have nothing to do with spiritual meaning either accept for marketing purposes.Interesting. How does one decide when the creation of the world happened? I don't believe the beginning of the year should have anything to do with religion either, or the Santa Claus and Easter Bunny hype. We shouldn't need a man in a red suit to remind us of the value of giving to others, or a bunny and eggs to remind us of the eternity of life.
Well, Joyce, you have a very tall order there, trying to change the start of New Year. I don't feel sorry for you. You picked this assignment, so I'll stand back and watch you sweat it out. But I'll be cheering for you when you finally pull it off one of these days. Then you or I could write a book on The Woman that Changed New Year. For my two cents, I will sign your petition to move New Year's Day to February or April. Meanwhile, I'll just be happy if the gods stopped the Daylight Saving Time nonsense. Thanks for witty article. ~mogama~Glad you enjoyed the article, and thanks for joining my fan club. I'm not much for 'tilting at windmills', so don't hold your breath waiting for the petition. :)Happy New Year
Interesting concept- never thought of it before, but makes a lot of sense- Thanks- Joyce- Always- Ella
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