The first known New Year's Eve celebration is believed to be in 2000 BC in Mesopotamia. This one occurred during the vernal equinox in March. The New Year wasn't celebrated January 1st until Julius Caesar developed the solar-based Julian calendar. Another reason Romans celebrated the New Year on January 1st was to honor the two-faced Roman god Janus of new beginnings. He could go back to the past and move forward into the future. Ancient Romans made offerings to the god of beginnings, decorated their home with laurel branches, and exchanged gifts.
The midnight New Year's kiss is also believed to have originated in ancient Rome during the Saturnalia celebration. This pagan festival involved a lot of singing, dancing, drinking, socializing, exchanging gifts, and lots of kissing. In German and English folklore, the New Year's Eve kiss brings good luck. The person you kiss contributes to the fate of your year so pick your kissing partner wisely.
I hope this year brings good luck to all of us, but I'm pessimistic about it. It's already off to a bad start with the terrible fires in Los Angeles. Maybe I kissed the wrong person.
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1 comment:
Wow, those Romans really started traditions, didn't they? :) Great post, Kelley. Happy New Year to you and yours.
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