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Tri-Counties Genealogy &
History by Joyce M. Tice
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When Does the New Year Begin?
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Bradford County PA
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Chemung County NY
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Tioga County PA
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Looking Back and Looking Forward
Commemorating the New Year - But When??
Joyce M. Tice
New Year’s is my favorite holiday. I like the idea of finishing one
cycle and starting another. In a year our planet orbits the sun once and
we go through our whole four-season cycle. This process has become part
of the psyche of our species and is reflected in all our human cultures.
From the nature-based agricultural cycle that sustains us to the accounting
cycle by which we measure our business progress, calculate our tax liability
and close the books, our annual trip around the sun defines all that we
do on this planet. It’s like going around the board in a Monopoly game
except that instead of passing Go and collecting $200, we fill out our
1040 form, pay our taxes, plant our seeds, and go around again.
But, when does the year really start? Where does a circle begin or end?
The Celts started the new year November 1 at the end of the previous agricultural
cycle. Until fairly recent times in Europe and its satellites the year
began at the vernal equinox, around March 25. This takes the opposite approach
by
measuring from the beginning of the agricultural season to come. It also
drives genealogists to distraction trying to remember that until sometime
in the mid 1700s in this British colonial country, March 24, 1720 was followed
a day later by March 25, 1721. It boggles our Janus-centered minds. If
we could end the year with the Celts and start it again with the vernal
equinox, we could bypass winter altogether. This is an appealing proposition
to all but hard core skiers. A lot of us would be very happy with that.
In about 153 BC, the Romans were the first to establish January 1 as
the start of the year. The month was named for the god Janus whose two
faces looked both to the past and to the future. He was the portal – the
door that closed and the door that opened. This did not catch on, though,
for quite a long time. January 1 symbolized nothing that made sense to
agrarian people so most societies ignored it. In 1582 Pope Gregory decreed
that January 1 started the year, and so it did, eventually. Protestant
Great Britain finally adopted it in 1752, not even two centuries after
the decree.
My personal preference for the start of the new year is the winter solstice
around December 20. As soon as I get the first glimmer that a day is longer
than the one before, I get an immediate and intense attack of spring fever.
My green thumb starts twitching. I become insanely hopeful. I start planning
the garden, order a five-year supply of seeds from the nursery catalogs,
and launch my annual pre-gardening frenzy. By mid January I am planting
seeds under lights even though I know it is way too early. Both Christmas
and the January 1st New Year correspond to the first lengthening
of daylight, so it feels like the right time to start the year to me.
The New Years Resolution tradition was begun by the Babylonians whose
most common promise was to return borrowed farm tools. In the United States
we resolve to curb our excesses - stop smoking, lose weight, pay off our
credit cards. Whenever our new year begins, it is indeed a good time for
looking back, learning from both our successes and our failures, and moving
on to do better in the coming cycle. I resolve to order fewer seeds this
year or use up the excess from last year. Reflect on the past and resolve
for the future and Happy New Year 2007.
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Bradford County PA
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Chemung County NY
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Tioga County PA
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Published On Tri-Counties Site On 31 DEC 2006
By Joyce M. Tice
Email: Joyce M.
Tice
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