A New Dawn, A New Beginning

Each year, as the previous year ends and the new one arrives, the world wears a festive look. There are celebrations everywhere, we get busy making New Year Resolutions (most of which we never follow up!) and the 31^st night is generally synonymous with “Party Time!” But have you wondered how and when did this system originate?

Various cultures throughout history have celebrated the concept of New Year as per their calendars. The earliest recorded celebrations were in ancient Babylon, around 4000 years ago, on the first New Moon following the Equinox in March. In Egypt, the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile. In India, even today, each region has its own New Year: Ugadi in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Goa, etc. 

Of course, all over the world today, 1^st January is celebrated as the New Year. So, what is the story behind this? Let’s flow down the river of Time and go back to the 8^th Century BC when Rome was founded. The Romans followed a calendar consisting of 10 months and 304 days, with each year beginning on the March Equinox. Later the months of January and February were added, making a grand total of 12 months. However, over a period of time, the calendar fell out of sync with the Sun. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar (he of the “You too, Brutus!” fame) introduced the Julian calendar and made January 1^st the New Year Day. This was in honor of the Roman God Janus who had 2 faces, one looking into the past, the other, the future. In fact, the month Quintilis was renamed July after Julius Caesar. Later on, the month Sextillus was renamed August after the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. In fact, March, May and August are examples of Capitonyms in English. 

Over the years, this calendar became very popular and even today, with the Gregorian calendar, we have continued this tradition.

The New Year’s Day stands for a lot of things: discarding the old, bringing in the new, etc. Historically a lot of interesting events have happened on this day. On January 1st 1808, importing slaves into the USA was banned, thus bringing an end to this highly unjust practice. On this day in 1925, the great astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way, opening up new vistas for Mankind and brining in the hope that we might not be alone in this vast Universe. Fun fact: On January 1^st 1907, the then American President Theodore Roosevelt shook hands with around 8510 people, setting a new Guinness World Record that stayed unbroken for nearly 70 years!  

This New Year, though, has come at a very challenging time. 2020 is a year most of us will remember as “The Year The World Stood Still”. In the clutches of one of the deadliest pandemics in known history, the world witnessed unprecedented lockdowns. Even now things aren’t completely back to normal. People have lost their jobs, their near and dear ones, and in some cases, their lives too. Just when things were starting to look better, we now hear reports of a second wave, third wave, etc. This prompts the question: “Isn’t there an end to this nightmare”?  It actually seems as though a real Thanos might be sitting up there somewhere, directing this chaos.

In the midst of all this then, how do we stay intact and positive? By looking around us and learning from Mother Nature. When Summer, Winter or the Rainy season is at its peak, we do feel uncomfortable. But eventually it ends and the next season starts. Similar is the case with day and night. This is a never-ending cycle. This is what exactly happens with our lives too. Happiness is going to be followed by sorrow, which in turn will be succeeded by happiness. Trials and tribulations are ephemeral in nature. Hence we need to endure and wait with the hope that better times are definitely in store for us. Just like Coal under pressure transforms into a diamond, these trying times will transform us into a better race.  

On that hopeful note, Dear Readers, Wishing all of you a Very Happy New Year from our side!!!

This article has been authored by Anirudh Jayaram , a verbal faculty at TIME Mumbai