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Nature's New Year

Today, my family, who hail from the southern part of India, celebrated the beginning of the New Year  known as Ugadi (Yug= Era; Adi= New beginning). I discovered that many other communities in India and Southeast Asia also celebrate their new year today under various names such as Vishu, Puthandu, Baisakhi, and Chaitra Navratri. While it may appear strange to celebrate the beginning of the new year four months into the calendar year, I found that it is actually not at all uncommon around the world and historically. 

Spring is the season of new beginnings, with fresh blossoms and nature coming alive after the long, desolate winter months. The new growth signifies rebirth and renewal in most cultures. As a result, spring was the natural time to celebrate the new year for many cultures and civilizations. The most common date to celebrate new year was the Vernal Equinox, on March 20 when the length of day and night is equal. Vernal is derived from the Latin word vernare meaning "to bloom" and Equinox means "equal night."

Indian Hindus celebrate the new year not on the vernal (spring) equinox, but the first new moon following it. This is because they follow a lunar calendar. An interesting (albeit inconvenient) aspect of this is that the exact date of the new year varies each year because it depends on the moon's cycle which does not coincide with the solar year. 

The celebration of new year (Akitu) in spring really began with the ancient Babylonians around 2000 BC. They celebrated the beginning of creation and everything on earth on the first day of spring, which was also in fact, the new moon following the spring equinox because like most ancient civilizations they too used a lunar calendar.  A unique tradition on new years day was the king ceremonially dethroning and submitting himself to God before being reinstated. 

Depiction of Akitu celebration

The ancient Romans also celebrated the new year on the vernal equinox for centuries until the Roman calendar added two new months and changed the beginning of the civil year to the first of Januarius in 153 BC (later called Julian calendar after Julius Caesar reformed it). Since then, the western world has celebrated the new year in January after the festival of Janus as I wrote in my post on January 1. A few cultures such as the Bahá'í faith still celebrate the new year (Naw-Rúz) on the vernal equinox.

In the zodiac, the astrological year begins when we enter the sign of Aries, which also occurs in spring. Many cultures such as Zoroastrianism celebrate the new year (Nowruz) at this time. So other than the civilizations influenced by the Romans, everyone still celebrates the new year in spring when nature dictates the renewal of life. As the Ugadi greeting goes,

May the New Year brim with a new harvest of happiness and prosperity!


Sources:

https://www.history.com/news/5-ancient-new-years-celebrations
https://worldhistory.us/ancient-history/ancient-near-east/akitu-the-babylonian-new-year-festival.php



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