WHY JANUARY 1st is… THE SO-CALLED NEW YEAR 🤔
Way back when, the Romans had a god named Janus.
He was the god of doors and gates and had two faces—one looking forward and one looking back.
Julius Caesar thought it would be appropriate for January, Janus's namesake month, to be the doorway to a new year, and when he created the Julian calendar, he made January 1 the first day of the year (this also put the calendar year in line with the consular year, as new consuls also took office that day).
For Caesar, the Julian calendar was a political tool and weapon.
As the Roman armies conquered new lands, the Empire often gave its new subjects some freedom in retaining certain religious and social customs.
After the calendar was created, though, it was used in every corner of the Empire, not just for consistency, but to remind all citizens of Roman authority and Caesar's power.
According to many of our ancestors and some cultures today, the new year begins on the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring.
While most places today begin their calendar year in January, for many cultures in the past the new year often began in spring, as marked by the Vernal Equinox.
In 2022, the spring equinox occurs on Sunday, March 20.
This event marks the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of the spring season.
If you think about the cycle of life it makes sense the New Year would be in the Spring… January is a part of Winter, which is the time for rest and regeneration!, not the beginning of new life, which occurs during the Vernal Equinox!
Way back when, the Romans had a god named Janus.
He was the god of doors and gates and had two faces—one looking forward and one looking back.
Julius Caesar thought it would be appropriate for January, Janus's namesake month, to be the doorway to a new year, and when he created the Julian calendar, he made January 1 the first day of the year (this also put the calendar year in line with the consular year, as new consuls also took office that day).
For Caesar, the Julian calendar was a political tool and weapon.
As the Roman armies conquered new lands, the Empire often gave its new subjects some freedom in retaining certain religious and social customs.
After the calendar was created, though, it was used in every corner of the Empire, not just for consistency, but to remind all citizens of Roman authority and Caesar's power.
According to many of our ancestors and some cultures today, the new year begins on the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring.
While most places today begin their calendar year in January, for many cultures in the past the new year often began in spring, as marked by the Vernal Equinox.
In 2022, the spring equinox occurs on Sunday, March 20.
This event marks the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of the spring season.
If you think about the cycle of life it makes sense the New Year would be in the Spring… January is a part of Winter, which is the time for rest and regeneration!, not the beginning of new life, which occurs during the Vernal Equinox!
