The Ancient Origins of New Year’s Celebrations新年慶典之源起

阿普麗爾·霍洛韋

On the 1st January of every year， many countries around the world celebrate the beginning of a new year. But there is nothing new about New Year’s. In fact， festivals and celebrations marking the beginning of the calendar1 have been around for thousands of years. While some festivities were simply a chance to drink and be merry， many other New Year celebrations were linked to agricultural or astronomical events. In Egypt， for instance， the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile， which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius2. The Phoenicians and Persians began their new year with the spring equinox3， and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice4. The first day of the Chinese New Year， meanwhile， occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice.

The celebration of Akitu5 in Babylon

The earliest recorded New Year’s festivity dates back some 4，000 years to ancient Babylon， and was deeply intertwined with religion and mythology. For the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia， the first new moon following the vernal equinox—the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness—heralded the start of a new year and represented the rebirth of the natural world. They marked the occasion with a massive religious festival called Akitu （derived from the Sumerian word for barley， which was cut in the spring） that involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days. During the Akitu， statues of the gods were paraded through the city streets， and rites were enacted to symbolize their victory over the forces of chaos. Through these rituals the Babylonians believed the world was symbolically cleansed and recreated by the gods in preparation for the new year and the return of spring.

In addition to the new year， Akitu celebrated the mythical victory of the Babylonian sky god Marduk6 over the evil sea goddess Tiamat7 and served an important political purpose： it was during this time that a new king was crowned or that the current ruler’s divine mandate was renewed. One fascinating aspect of the Akitu involved a kind of ritual humiliation endured by the Babylonian king. This peculiar tradition saw the king brought before a statue of the god Marduk， stripped of his royal regalia， slapped and dragged by his ears in the hope of making him cry. If royal tears were shed， it was seen as a sign that Marduk was satisfied and had symbolically extended the king’s rule.

Ancient Roman celebration of Janus8

The Roman New Year also originally corresponded with the vernal equinox. The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days， with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox. According to tradition， the calendar was created by Romulus9， the founder of Rome， in the eighth century B.C. However， over the centuries， the calendar fell out of sync with the sun， and in 46 B.C. the emperor Julius Caesar10 decided to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar， a solar-based calendar which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar11 that most countries around the world use today.

As part of his reform， Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year， partly to honour the month’s namesake： Janus， the Roman god of change and beginnings， whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. This idea became tied to the concept of transition from one year to the next.

Romans would celebrate January 1st by offering sacrifices to Janus in the hope of gaining good fortune for the New Year， decorating their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties. This day was seen as setting the stage for the next twelve months， and it was common for friends and neighbours to make a positive start to the year by exchanging well wishes and gifts of figs and honey with one another.

Middle Ages： January 1st abolished

In medieval Europe， however， the celebrations accompanying the New Year were considered pagan12 and unchristian-like， and in 567 AD the Council of Tours13 abolished January 1st as the beginning of the year， replacing it with days carrying more religious significance， such as December 25th or March 25th， the Feast of the Annunciation， also called “Lady Day”.

The date of January 1st was also given Christian significance and became known as the Feast of the Circumcision， considered to be the eighth day of Christ’s life counting from December 25th and following the Jewish tradition of circumcision eight days after birth on which the child is formally given his or her name. However， the date of December 25th for the birth of Jesus is debatable.

Gregorian Calendar： January 1st restored

In 1582， after reform of the Gregorian calendar， Pope Gregory XIII re-established January 1st as New Year’s Day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately， it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British， for example， did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then， the British Empire， and their American colonies， still celebrated the New Year in March.

每年1月1日，全球多國會慶祝新一年的開始。不過，新年這個節日并不新。事實上，為慶祝掛歷上新的一年的開始而舉辦典禮和慶祝活動已有上千年的歷史。有些新年慶祝活動僅僅是為了暢飲尋開心，但也有許多與農事或天文事件相關。譬如說，在埃及，尼羅河每年漲水標志新年到來，其時恰逢天狼星升起。腓尼基人和波斯人以春分日作為新年之始，希臘人則把冬至日當作一年的起點，而中國農歷新年的第一天則是冬至日后第二輪新月升起的日子。

巴比倫的阿基圖節

最早有記載的新年節慶可以追溯到約4000年前的古巴比倫，那時的新年慶祝活動與宗教和神學密不可分。對美索不達米亞平原上的古巴比倫人來說，春分日——即3月末白晝與黑夜等長之日后出現第一輪新月，預示新年伊始，代表自然界迎來新生。為紀念這一特殊的日子，古巴比倫人舉行盛大的宗教節日，稱為“阿基圖慶典”。“阿基圖”源于蘇美爾語中的“大麥”一詞，因為大麥于春季收割。這一慶典歷時11天，每天都會舉行不同的儀式。慶典期間，會舉行諸神雕像全城游行活動，并舉辦儀式紀念諸神戰勝混沌之力。古巴比倫人相信，經過這些儀式，世界象征性地為諸神所凈化和重塑，以迎接新年到來和春回大地。

除了慶祝新年，阿基圖慶典也慶祝巴比倫天神馬杜克戰勝邪惡的海洋女神提亞瑪特，此舉也帶有一個重要的政治目的：慶典期間也是新王加冕或現任統治者圣命續期之時。阿基圖慶典有趣的一點在于一項“羞辱”巴比倫國王的儀式。根據這項獨特的傳統，國王會被帶到天神馬杜克的雕像前，摘去王冠，脫掉衣袍，被人揪著耳朵扇耳光，目的是讓國王痛哭。國王流出眼淚則標志馬杜克對他很滿意，他的統治也象征性的得到延期。

古羅馬人紀念雅努斯神

古羅馬的新年起初也是在春分日。早期的羅馬歷法中，一年包括10個月，共304天，每年春分日為新年的第一天。傳說，羅馬城的創建者羅慕路斯在公元前8世紀發明了該歷法。然而，幾百年過后，這個歷法與太陽的運行周期脫了節。公元前46年，朱利烏斯·愷撒決定聽取當時最優秀的天文學家和數學家的建議來解決這個問題。他開始采用基于太陽運行的儒略歷，該歷法接近目前大部分國家使用的現代格里高利歷。

愷撒大帝在改革中規定1月1日為一年的第一天，部分是為了紀念羅馬掌管變化和開始的神靈雅努斯——羅馬歷法的1月即源自他的名字Janus。雅努斯神有兩張面孔，一個可以向后看到過去，一個可以朝前看到未來。人們將這種設想與新年辭舊迎新的概念聯系了起來。

每年1月1日，羅馬人都會祭祀雅努斯神，用月桂樹枝裝飾屋子，舉辦熱鬧的聚會，期盼來年交上好運。人們還把這一天看作為未來12個月打基礎，親朋好友往往在這一天互相祝福，互贈無花果和蜂蜜，希望新年開個好頭。

中世紀一度廢除1月1日為新年的第一天

然而，在中世紀的歐洲，新年慶祝活動被視為非基督教的異教活動。公元567年，圖爾理事會廢除了1月1日作為新年伊始的規定，取而代之以更具宗教意義的日子，比如12月25日或者3月25日，后者即天使報喜節，又稱“圣母領報日”。

1月1日也被賦予了基督教意義，成了“耶穌圣名節”，即12月25日耶穌誕生后的第8天。根據猶太人傳統，嬰兒出生后第8天舉行割禮時正式起名。然而，12月25日是否為耶穌誕生日仍存爭議。

公歷恢復1月1日作為新年第一天

1582年，教皇格里高利十三世改革了公歷歷法，重新將1月1日定為新年第一天。大部分天主教國家幾乎立即采用了公歷歷法，但新教國家逐漸才予接受。譬如說，英國直到1752年才采用這套改革后的歷法，在那之前，大英帝國及其美洲殖民地仍在3月慶祝新年。

（譯者單位：對外經濟貿易大學）