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New Year's Eve: It's Mankind's Oldest Holiday
By M. J. Wilson
(Newsweek Feature Service)
FIFTY YEARS AGO this December 31, American cities exploded in a series of drunken orgies unparalleled before or since. People guzzled as if each drink would be their last, because they believed it would be: the onset of Prohibition was but a few weeks away.
With Repeal, normalcy returned – at least theoretically. But normalcy on New Year's Eve seems to be excess. Urged on by atavistic impulses we don't understand, we will once again this year be observing a series of mad traditions that may end in tragedy on the highway and are guaranteed to cause, at the very least, pangs of headaches, dyspepsia and remorse.
New Year's is the oldest continually observed holiday on record – anybody's record. Babylonians observed it as early as 2600 B. C., with the quaint custom of humiliating their king before the temple of a god named Marduk. If the king wept, the upcoming year would be good. If not, watch out. (Babylonians cried easily.)
UNTIL THE MIDDLE of the 18th century, the new year fell on any date determined by potentates, priests or oracles. The Egyptians started afresh whenever the Nile overflowed. The Greeks chose the first moon after June 21 – a date which itself was none too secure.
In the Middle Ages, some countries started from the vernal equinox, some from Christmas, some from Easter. Finally, in 1752, the Protestant countries (including the American colonies) accepted the calendar devised by Pope Gregory in 1582, and January 1 was agreed upon. (The Chinese and the Jews, however, still observe a free-floating new year.)
Throughout history, the advent of the new year has symbolized death and rebirth. The old year was to be driven out, and the best way to exorcise its tired and testy spirits was with noise – explosions, fireworks, bells, gongs and guns.
And of course, the best way to get into a frame of mind for making a din that would drive away evil spirits was to get yourself good and lit.
Twenty-five centuries ago, a Hindu medical writer described the after-effects of such a blast: vomiting, loss of appetite, heartburn, lassitude, continued thirst, tremors of head and limbs, a palpitation, weakness of joints, respiratory difficulty, giddiness and a feeling as if one were wrapped in a sheet.
Once the demons were driven away, there were all sorts of omens and portents for the celebrant to heed. It was widely believed that the first day of the year determined what the other 364 would be like. So people dressed neatly, did a little work, paid their debts, returned borrowed goods and filled their cupboards with food.
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In Part 2 of this article tomorrow, we look at early New Year's customs in a young United States, as well as some cures for hangovers!
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