The Pagan Origin of New Year’s Day

Evelyn Fonseca

Here we are again, on the eve of another new year. And with it, the second round of celebrations before the year is over. Before I knew the origin of New Year’s Day, it was one of my favorite holidays, and celebrated it with gusto. For one, it is a fresh start; a new page.

How does the adage go? “Out with the old, in with the new?”

My favorite thing about the New Year was being able to better myself, grow, and not repeat the mistakes from the year before. Little did I know that far from being refreshing and about newness, New Year’s Day is a holiday steeped in pagan rituals and traditions, some of which are still practiced today.

They say ignorance is bliss, however, this is one instance when ignorance is not bliss. If you desire to fix that ignorance, read along to find out the pagan origin of New Year’s Day. If not, won’t you at least stay out of curiosity?

Okay, here we go!

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The Origin of New Year’s Day

Humans have celebrated the start of the new year for thousands of years. In most cases, these celebrations were linked to agricultural and astronomical events.

The earliest recorded New Year’s day celebration was 4,000 years ago in Babylon. It took place during the first new moon following the vernal equinox. Yes, the New Year actually begins in spring, not winter. This was so because there was an equal amount of sunlight and darkness heralding the start of a new year and representing the rebirth of the natural world.

Akitu

To mark the new year, the Babylonians celebrated a festival called Akitu. It derives from the Sumerian word for “barley.” The festival lasted 11 days and a different ritual was conducted on each day. Statues of the gods were paraded throughout the streets as rites were conducted to symbolize their victory over the forces of chaos.

They believed that through these rites, the world was cleansed and recreated by the gods in preparation for the new year and the return of spring.

The principal god celebrated during this festival was Marduk (Babylonian sky god). Marduk was celebrated for his mythical victory over the evil sea goddess, Tiamat.

During Akitu, the new king was crowned or the current monarch’s rule extended. The king practiced a public ritual of humiliation during which he was brought before the statue of Marduk. He was stripped off his robes, slapped, and dragged by the ears in the hope of making him cry. If he cried, this was seen as a sign that Marduk was satisfied and extended his rule.

A New Calendar

The modern celebration of New Year’s day originates from the Roman celebration of the god Janus. As is the case with every major holiday, New Year’s day corresponded with the start of a new season, in this case, the vernal equinox.

The Romans used a calendar consisting of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning in the spring. Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun so in 46 BC, Julius Caesar “solved” the problem. He consulted with mathematicians and astronomers to create a new calendar based on the sun, which resembles the modern Gregorian calendar.

Thus, Caesar instituted January 1st as the first day of the year, partially in honor of the month’s namesake; Janus (the Roman god of change and beginnings).

Janus

This god’s full name is Janus bifrons, meaning, “the god who looked both ways.” It explains why Janus has 2 faces as a representation of his ability to look back into the past and forward into the future. This idea was tied to the concept of transition from one year to the next, from one vision to the next, and growth into adulthood. He was also worshipped at the beginning of harvest season, planting times, marriages, births, deaths, etc.

Sometimes referred to as diuom deo (god of gods), Janus presided over the creation of religion, life, and other gods. For this reason, he was regarded as the most important Roman god. His name was the first uttered in prayers, before even than Jupiter. He inaugurated the seasons of which the first of each month were considered sacred to him.

The Roman temple in Rome erected in Janus’ honor was called “Ianus geminus.” Worship of Janus traditionally dates back to Romulus and even before the founding of Rome. January 7 was the day of his festival called “Agonium.”

Early Romans featured him on coins, with one face clean-shaven and the other bearded. During the Renaissance, this 2-faced image not only represented the past and the future but also wisdom.

Janus Gates

The porter’s staff and a set of keys were the symbols representing Janus because he was the “gatekeeper.” That’s why the Latinized name for Janus, Ianus is derived from ia hua, meaning “door.”

Gates in Rome named after Janus were opened during times of war and closed during times of peace. Because of Rome’s constant warring, the gates only closed twice from the 7th to 1st century BC. These gates were called “jani” which represented ceremonial gateways. Usually, they were free-standing structures that served as symbolic entrances and exits.

These gates were also the subject of superstition; the Roman army had to depart by marching through a janus. The most famous janus in Rome was Janus Geminus, which was actually a shrine.

Pagan Traditions

Romans celebrated January 1st by offering sacrifices to Janus in hopes of gaining good fortune in the new year. They decorated their homes with laurel branches and spent the day partying. It was common for friends and family to exchange well wishes and gift figs and honey. Gifts were exchanged because they believed the beginning of anything was an omen for the whole.

Cakes made of spelt salt were offered to Janus and burnt at the altar. This was not only done during the New Year celebrations but also on the 1st of each month.

Kissing at the moment of transition into the next year is rooted in pagan sexual practice and superstition.

“Watch Night” services were conducted to watch out for evil spirits who were believed to roam the earth during those times. Hence comes the tradition of staying up to ring in the New Year.

Eating pork and black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day originates from homage to Janus. His mythological wife, Carna (goddess of human organs) was honored during her festival with a dish of fava beans and pork bacon. The peas/beans symbolize rebirth and pork/swine was the preferred sacrificial meat to the gods.

New Year Calendar

In medieval Europe, New Year’s Day celebrations were deemed pagan so that in 567 AD, the Council of Tours abolished January 1st celebrations. It got replaced with more religious days such as December 25 and March 25 (Feast of the Annunciation) or the spring Germanic fertility rites.

In an attempt to Christianize January celebrations, the Catholic church created the Feast of the Circumcision. Supposedly, this day venerated Christ’s 8th day of life, following Jewish tradition.

In 1582 after the Gregorian calendar was created, Pope Gregory XIII re-established January 1st as New Year’s Day.

Protestant countries gradually adopted the calendar except for Britain who did not embrace it until 1752. Before that, the empire along with the American colonies still observed New Year in March.

God’s Calendar

As we have seen, New Year’s Day observed on January 1st is based on ancient pagan tradition. And most traditions practiced on this day are also pagan in origin. Because we follow a secular calendar, our society has been contaminated by paganism right and left. Even the names of the week and months come from pagan gods. So it’s no surprise that all our holidays are pagan as well.

God created time, and only He has the authority to set the beginning and the end of the year. The Biblical new year is observed during Passover. According to Exodus 12:1-2, the new year begins in the month of Abib (March-April). This follows ancient tradition of observing the new year in spring.

The Biblical calendar is a lunar calendar. And even here we can see God’s perfect handiwork; science plays a role in God’s calendar. The Earth’s rotation regulates the length of a day therefore, the lunar phases indicate the length of a month. Earth’s orbit around the sun indicates the length of a year. The beginning of God’s sacred calendar mark the beginning of the seasonal harvests. Time is obedient to God’s sovereignty and so should we.

Final Thoughts

As I have urged in my previous articles in this series, please do your own research, don’t take anything I say at face value. And read with humility and without preconceived notions. The truth always triumphs at the end, but the decision to believe or not is up to us. Don’t allow pride to blind you. Love the Lord above your traditions. Ask Him what to do with this information. Don’t ignore conviction, don’t justify or rationalize your desire to keep celebrating these pagan holidays. But always bring these issues to the Lord and He will show you what you must do. That’s the only guidance you need.

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