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The history and symbolism of the New Year

2024-12-31 19:30:00, Lifestyle CNA

The earliest documented New Year's celebrations date back to Mesopotamia, where the new year began at the vernal equinox (around March). This period represented a new beginning in agriculture.

The New Year of the Gregorian calendar, in use around the world today, falls on January 1, just as it did with the Roman calendar. According to Catholic tradition, January 1 is the day of Jesus' circumcision (on the eighth day after his birth), when he was given his name, while the beginning of the New Year was December 25, which coincides with Christmas and in some regions the start of Easter.

The ancient Romans celebrated the New Year on March 26 and their calendar was synchronized with the sun.

Pagans used fir branches to decorate their homes during the winter, as it made them think of the coming spring. The Romans used fir branches to decorate their temples in the festival of Saturnalia, which was a celebration in honor of Saturn.

Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, created what is known as the Julian calendar, which fixed the start of the New Year on the first day of the year, January 1. In the 16th century, with Pope Gregory XVI's reform of the Gregorian calendar, January 1 returned as the start of the year.

January 1 has been accepted relatively late in Western culture as the first day of the year. Until 1751 in England and Wales and all the British possessions the new year began on March 25.

New Year in Albania

Until the establishment of the communist regime in our country, religious holidays and symbols such as the tree and Santa Claus were important throughout the Christmas world.

From 1945, the dictatorial regime of Enver Hoxha gave more weight to the New Year to exaggerate holidays and religious symbols.

With the adoption of the Constitution, in 1976 the Communist Regime declared Albania the first atheist country in the world, legally prohibiting participation in religious ceremonies and possession of religious books.

After 1976, the symbolism of Christmas shifted to New Year's celebrations, making this holiday one of the most important.

New Year's dishes

In Albania, the main dishes are roasted turkey, which in some areas is accompanied by kulach and the main place on the dessert plate is occupied by baklava.

Other sweets are sansallia, kompekai and kadaifi with nuts.

With the arrival of the new year, sweets, special breads or fruits or traditional dishes are found on every table around the world.

Different foods are often described as foods that bring prosperity, wealth and longevity. In Italy it's lentils, while in Spain it's grapes./ CNA