The New Year and Religious Traditions

The New Year marks the conception of a new calendar year and, for many, a new beginning in general.  While the Gregorian calendar - currently in worldwide use - falls on January 1, there are numerous calendars that remain in regional use that calculate the New Year differently due to religious reasoning. These other faith-based calendar systems are mainly for ceremonial and spiritual purposes and celebrations take place at different times throughout the year. January 1 had a long journey of ups and downs before it became accepted as the first day of the year in the modern calendar format.

 

~ for more info: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/gregorian-calendar.html

 

The Christian orthodox churches of Georgia, Jerusalem, Russia, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine still use the Julian Calendar and celebrate their New Year on January 14 (January 1 according to the Julian calendar). There are seven of the twelve biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Syria and Turkey - which have adopted the Revised Julian calendar; they also celebrate the New Year on January 1. In many countries the Eastern Orthodoxy actually celebrate both the Gregorian and Julian New Years holiday - the Gregorian day is celebrated as a civic holiday and the Julian date (known as the Old New Year) is a  religious holiday.

 

~ for more info: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/orthodox-new-year 

 

The Chinese New Year (known as the Lunar New Year) occurs every year on the new moon of the furst lunar month. The actual date can fall any time between January 21 and February 21 [four to eight weeks before Spring] and is inclusive of the Gregorian calendar. Traditionally, the years are distinguished by one of twelve  Earthly Branches, which is represented by an animal, and one of ten Heavenly Stems, which correspond to the five elements. This combination cycles every 60 years. It is the most important Chinese celebration of the year.

 

~ for more info: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/chinese-new-year

 

The following New Year celebrations from around the world are highlighted below:

  

 

The New Year originally began with the old Roman Empire's Julian calendar on March 15, which basically had been considered the logical beginning of Spring. But for political and military reasons, January 1, 153 B.C. became the day to observe the beginning of the new year. From then on, the year began on January first, and has continued until this day. For Christians, this day is traditionally observed as a time for family gathering, special meals, making resolutions and, in some sects, attending religious services commemorating another year past and prayers for a prosperous new year.         

 

Many of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, such as those in Russia and Serbia, still observe their holidays and festivals based on the Julian calendar. Therefore, the New Year gets celebrated twice by many people in these countries: The "New New Year" on Jan. 1 and the "Old New Year" on the first day of the Julian Calendar which falls on January 14. Since most public festivities and celebrations are centered around the Gregorian new year, the "Old New Year" is generally observed more quietly by family meals, prayer and special church services.



 

Nowruz (Persian for "New Light" or "New Day") coincides with the spring equinox which usually falls on March 20, 21 or 22. Widely known as the Persian New Year, Nowruz is widely observed in Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations. The holiday is believed to have started with Zoroaster himself and is the most important holiday in the Zoroastrian tradition. Additionally, Nowruz is an important holy day for people in the Baha'i Faith and is widely observed by Shiite Muslims. An official state holiday in most countries of the region, Nowruz is usually marked by several days of activities including special foods, gift giving, parties and family gatherings. 



 

The landscape of holidays in South Asia is crowded to say the least. Immeasurable diversity in religious beliefs and practices means that there is no uniform New Year's observance for the millions of Hindus, Sikhs and other inhabitants of the region. There are many traditions that celebrate the New Year in mid-April with festivals to mark the beginning of Spring. This coincides with the first days of the Nepali and Bengali calendars, among others. Pictured here, Sikh pilgrims perform rituals at the Gurdawara Punja Sahib in Hassanabdal, the third most sacred city for the followers of Sikh religion. The festival of Baisakhi, which is celebrated on April 14, marks the Punjabi and Nepali New Year and the beginning of the harvest season in the region.

 

 

The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the nation of more than a billion people. The season around the New Year festival, which marks the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar and falls in late January or February of the Gregorian calendar, features the largest annual human migration in the world as people travel home to spend time with their families. Specific customs and traditions vary widely within China but gift-giving, fireworks, elaborate feasts, dances and the construction of decorative shrines are common rituals. Pictured here: Chinese Taoist worshippers light joss-sticks as they pray beside the Dafo temple in southwest China's Chongqing municipality on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year.  

 

 

Losar is the most important holiday for the people of Tibet and marks the beginning of their lunar calendar. Although it often coincides with the Chinese New Year, the two celebrations are not culturally linked. The Losar festival usually lasts for two weeks with public celebrations, special foods, prayer and family gatherings. Many of these activities center around the Buddhist monasteries with meditation and ceremonies aimed at blessing the coming year. 

 

 

While this is commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year and is literally translated to mean “head of the year,” Rosh Hashanah actually marks the beginning of the 7th Hebrew month, Tishrei. In the Torah, the beginning of the year is mentioned in the context of the first Passover holiday, which falls in the month of Nisan. But by the time the Jewish oral tradition -- the Talmud -- was written down, Rosh Hashanah had been established as the Jewish New Year and was referred to in the Mishnah for the first time as the "Day of Judgement." Among other things, it is considered the New Year for people, animals and legal contracts, and is used for calculating the sabbatical and jubilee years. Today, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, or High Holy Days, on the Jewish calendar. It is a time of reflection for some Jews and an opportunity for spiritual awakening for others -- the shofar, a ram's horn, is blown repeatedly during this holiday season to wake people up in this way. Still others just enjoy the New Year as a time of reunion and reconciliation with family and friends. 

 

 

Al-Hijra, the Islamic New Year, is the first day of the first month of the Islamic calendar, Muharram. It marks the Hijra in 622 C.E. when the Prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca to Medina in order to establish the first Muslim community. HuffPost blogger, Omid Safi, recently provided an explanation for the significance of the Hijra.

 

 

With the majority of people and governments around the world following the Gregorian calendar, Jan. 1 is the day that most people celebrate the start of the new year. While it is mostly associated with revelry and fireworks, many spiritual people take the New Year as an opportunity for meditation and resolutions to focus themselves for the coming year. 

 

 

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While the modern world is beholden to the Gregorian calendar and its January 1 New Year's date, this holiday is yet another reminder of the common threads shared by many of the planet's religions. And, despite the differences in the way of observation, these traditions all express an appreciation for the past and produces hope for  blessings and prosperity in the coming year.