At midnight on January 1st, we usually celebrate the beginning of a new year. We celebrate with fireworks, parties, and many wishes for good luck and achievements.
There are various customs we perform to celebrate this date; some prefer to dress entirely in white as a movement for peace and good energies, or in specific New Year colors to attract money, luck, love, and health.
But did you know that for some peoples and New Year traditions around the world, the celebration occurs at different times?
It all has to do with the calendar used. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely followed in the world, including by us. That’s why we find it strange when this date does not hold the same significance for other cultures.
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar was created in Europe in 1582, at the initiative of Pope Gregory XIII.
Due to the exportation of European customs to the rest of the planet, the Gregorian calendar was adopted to mark the civil year worldwide, for practicality and convention.
However, some peoples and countries preferred to maintain their customs aligned with their own calendars, valuing their ancestral culture.
In Islam, the New Year corresponds to the month of May in the calendar we know; for the Jews, it falls around September, and the Chinese celebrate this date between January and February. The first people to celebrate the New Year festival were the Mesopotamians. They celebrated the end of winter and the beginning of spring from March 22 to 23, when a new planting season began, as they depended on agriculture for their subsistence.
With the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the first day of the year became January 1st.
Catholicism
On the transition from December 31 to January 1, the Catholic Church commemorates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. People usually gather to celebrate the arrival of a new year with a hopeful and expectant outlook for the new cycle of grace and blessing. Masses are held on the last day of the year and the first day as well, some occurring very close to the transition.
Islam
Unlike Christian religions, Islam places greater emphasis on the teachings of Muhammad, a prophet who came after Jesus (who is believed to have lived between 570 and 632 AD), as he was said to have come to complete the message of Jesus and the other prophets.
For Muslims, there are only two religious holidays: Eid El Fitr, which is the celebration after the end of the fasting month (Ramadan), and Eid Al Adha, where they celebrate the obedience of Prophet Abraham to God.
The Islamic calendar has 354 days, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar. For this reason, the date of the Islamic New Year varies from year to year. Celebrations begin at sunset on the day before the arrival of the first month of the Islamic year, called Muharram, and last about 10 days.
However, unlike Western tradition, the celebration of the Islamic New Year is more introspective, involving acts of compassion, fasting, and prayer.
Judaism
Jews do not celebrate Christmas and New Year at the same time as most people, but for them, December is also a festive month.
At the end of December, Jews celebrate Hanukkah, which in Hebrew means the Festival of Lights. This date marks the victory of the Jewish people over the Greeks, achieved two thousand years ago in a battle for the freedom to follow their religion.
Although not as famous in Brazil, the Hanukkah celebration, which traditionally lasts 8 days, is as “popular” in other countries as Christmas. In New York, for example, stores that sell Christmas decorations also sell the Menorah (a candelabrum with 8 candles).
The turkey and cod typical of Catholic Christmas are replaced by potato pancakes and fried dough balls in oil, and instead of unwrapping gifts at midnight, children receive money.
The Jew celebrates Rosh Hashanah. The term means head of the year.
Jews follow their own calendar, and the transition is celebrated on the first day of the month of Tishrei, which in the Gregorian calendar usually falls between August and September, depending on the year. Typically, on Rosh Hashanah, families gather for a dinner with prayers, the Seder.
The most traditional Jewish festivities always feature typical foods and represent something related to history or something desired from that moment onward.
Buddhism
Buddhists do not celebrate the New Year. There are only special practices to wish for a better new year, but no ritual. People who follow the religion may even gather, recite a sutta, offer incense and flowers at the Buddha altar to illuminate the house, but there is no ritual taught in Buddha’s doctrine. Some Buddhist practices at the end of the year include giving thanks and asking for a better new year and performing purification ceremonies.
In Japan, the New Year is welcomed with 108 bell tolls from Buddhist temples.
Candomblé and Umbanda
Yemanjá, Yansã, and Oxum are entities celebrated throughout the year in Afro-Brazilian religions, which have a special symbolism in December. However, for Umbandists, the celebration of Christian Christmas is something more natural, as most of their followers came from the Christian religion. Umbanda found a place for Christ among its deities – he is associated with Oxalá, considered the greatest Orixá of all. On December 25, Umbandists thank the entity who, according to their belief, commands all the forces of nature.
“Bater cabeça” is the way to greet the Orixás, asking for protection.
Some Candomblé terreiros also offer a special ritual for the date, but this practice is not mandatory in all centers.
Puthandu New Year
Puthandu is the New Year date celebrated in Tamil Nadu (Indian state), Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and Mauritius. It usually falls in mid-April of the Gregorian calendar and is considered the day when the god Brahma began the creation of the universe.
The celebration is marked by prayers and religious rituals. For example, a ritual bath is performed, followed by a ceremony that gathers family members. Dressed in new clothes, the faithful thank God for the graces received and ask for blessings for the new year. Offerings are also made to the deities, including rice cakes, milk, and sugar.
In some traditions, especially for Tamil culture, meals are prepared and shared that mix six flavors, including sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. The different flavors represent the good and bad moments that are part of everyday life.
Ethiopian New Year
The Ethiopian New Year is celebrated on September 11 of the Gregorian calendar. Called Ekutatash, its name means “gift of jewels” and is related to the return of the Queen of Sheba to Ethiopia after a visit to King Solomon.
The celebration coincides with the end of the rainy season and the beginning of spring and harvest time. It is marked by banquets among friends and family, and is also associated with the color yellow, due to the flowers that usually bloom during this time in the region. Colorful processions welcoming the new year are also common, as well as torches that are lit in front of houses.
Yoruba New Year
The Yoruba calendar is based on the number 4: four lunar phases, four elements, four cardinal points, and four seasons of the year. Thus, the week has 4 days, each dedicated to an Orixá. Each month has seven weeks, and the year consists of 13 months.
However, to align with the Gregorian calendar, the Yoruba people also use seven days a week and four weeks a month, especially for business. The Yoruba New Year occurs on June 3 of the Gregorian calendar, coinciding with the beginning of the yam harvest, but it can vary from one location to another.
The specific celebrations for the Yoruba New Year are not clear. However, the date coincides with the Ifá Festival, which takes place in early June. The event lasts for several days and involves various rituals, food preparation, offerings, and also divinations performed by the oracle.
Inca New Year
Although the Inca civilization has been extinct, this people, with its culture and traditions, survives in the ancestry of many peoples in the Andes region, especially in Peru and Bolivia. However, today, the celebrations of the Inca New Year contain elements of Christianity, especially as it coincides with Christian Christmas.
The Inca New Year begins on the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere and is a religious festival in honor of the sun god.
Wiccan New Year
Wicca is a neopagan religion that revives the spirituality, customs, and culture of ancestral peoples, such as the Celts and pagans of Great Britain. The Wiccan New Year is known as Samhain and occurs on October 31 of the Gregorian calendar.
Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is celebrated during the first New Moon after the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. Therefore, it occurs in January or February.
The New Year celebration lasts about a week, and in addition to traditional foods, relatives and friends usually exchange red envelopes containing money, as a way to wish for and attract wealth and abundance for the new cycle. Each new year is dedicated to one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
Hinduism
The Indian calendar is lunisolar, meaning it is based on the movements of the moon and the sun. It is quite similar to the Gregorian calendar.
The year for them begins on March 22 (based on our calendar) and in leap years starts on March 21. The years are counted for Indians from the Saka Era, where year 0 for them can be represented by year 78 for the West.
Although most Indians celebrate the “traditional” New Year, the fact that the Hindu people have their own calendar means that New Year celebrations usually occur at the end of October or beginning of November, when the 12-month cycle ends.
During this period, Indians celebrate the mark of the beginning of a new phase, and this celebration comes through a festival: Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights.
Diwali originates from an ancient Hindu legend that tells how Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.
The Festival of Lights gets its name from the custom of lighting lamps and decorating the city with them… lanterns, candles, fairy lights, and lamps fill the streets.
It is traditional for Indians to wear elegant red attire and prepare a delicious meal to share with their families. Gift exchanges are also common during this period, which is why shopping malls and stores get quite crowded.
Taoism
Taoism, a religion predominantly seen in China, does not have any celebration on Christmas. However, the religion has numerous dates to celebrate the birth of great masters or their ascension. The Chinese New Year, like in Buddhism, is the most celebrated date for Taoists.
Hare Krishna
In this religion, the New Year is celebrated on the day marked as the appearance of Krishna on Earth over 500 years ago. Krishna’s admirers have a symbolic celebration established by the phases of the moon.
The celebration does not always occur on the same date, as it changes according to the period of the full moon. This Hare Krishna culture festival is called the Festival of Gaura Purnima, or the Festival of the Golden Moon. The New Year ritual begins with bathing the deity, which is placed on an altar in the temple.
After this, the devotees sing and dance the worship mantra. Once the practice is completed, a feast with 108 dishes, both savory and sweet, is served.
Thai New Year
Songkran, the Thai New Year, occurs on April 13 of the Gregorian calendar. Its name comes from Sanskrit and means “astrological passage.” The festivities last three days, and like in the West, people share the idea of leaving behind what did not work out and renewing hope with good energies for the new year.
As a tradition, birds and fish kept in captivity are released.
A fun curiosity is the custom of “water fights.” This element symbolizes purification. The act of throwing water signifies the wish for prosperity, harmony, and luck for people.
Sources: EBC, mulheresjornalista.com, genera.com.br & blog.casadaindia.com.br