I’m not normally one for New Year’s Resolutions but this year I have actually made a couple. Reflecting on my rebellious response to my own disdain for such things I really got thinking: why do we celebrate the New Year, its just another day but does have some significance, but apparently not celestial? Indeed why do we celebrate anniversaries at all? I’m not a big one for birthday celebrations, which does have something to do with my upbringing, but I do like to celebrate certain milestones in my life such as reaching the end of another decade. Ahah! Perhaps there’s the rub, celebrating survival, acknowledging having made it through another year on this mortal coil. Maybe not that significant in these days where healthcare and living conditions mean that our lives tend to be longer than they were back in antiquity. But back to the New Year to start with (pardon the pun); in the 6th century 1st January was abolished by the church because of its pagan origins. Although it was reinstated in the 16th century the 6th century Council of Tours that abolished the 1st January celebration did have grounds: 1st January was a pagan festival introduced by Julias Caesar in 46 B.C. as feast of the Roman god Janus – god of doorways and beginnings. Celebration of the New Year on 1st January is completely arbitrary, although there could be some celestial significance in that the earth is nearest the sun around this time of year. However if we adopt that explanation then we would celebrate the New Year at the WInter Solstace.
Yet why celebrate birthdays, well there is another Roman link; it is thought that they were the first to celebrate birthdays but initially for at least a millennia only the birthdays of men and famous people were celebrated. We can also thank the Roman’s for putting candles on cakes, this was done to honour their moon god, Luna. But we have to thank the German’s for adopting the birthday cake with candles, a practice that began in the late 18th century.
So what to do? Thinking about the teaching’s of Jesus (who’s birthday on the 25th December could be considered arbitrary as well) and his discourse on worry in Matthew 6, we are taught “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Indeed I heard a scholar once say that the Jews did not look into the future and walk towards it, no they looked into the past and backed into the future.
So if I was a really true to my faith and the teaching of the Bible I would not celebrate birthdays, I would not celebrate the New Year, I would not plan to start doing something in the New Year (such as give up booze) but would do what I intend to do right now……..well perhaps after that nice bottle of Rioja I was bought for Christmas.
