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New Year's Eve - the evening before the New
Year has been the last day of the year ever since the Gregorian calendar
came into existence. It was designated St. Sylvester's Day.
Before that the beginning of the
year was celebrated at different times. It was Pope Innocence VII who -
in 1691 - declared January 1st as the beginning of the year.
Who is, or rather was, Sylvester?
From 314 - 335 he was Pope under Emperor Constantine and it was then that
Christianity was established as the state religion.
Sylvester was renowned for his wonderful deeds. For example, he is said
to have saved Rome from a nasty dragon and revived a dead bull. Sylvester
became patron saint of all pets.
There are quite a few different
customs on New Year's Eve. For instance 'New Year Threshing'
- when a stage's wooden floor is threshed with flails - still occurs. Another
custom that is practised even today is using party crackers (and toy torpedoes).
At midnight people make a lot of noise with fire-crackers and stoppers.
And little pots of four-leafed clover, (chocolate or miniature) chimney
sweeps, and marzipan pigs are exchanged as "good-luck charms".
Today people either have their
fortune told with the help of cards (cartomancy) or they try to read their
future by pouring molten lead into water.
In the Tyrol they used to collect lead from old crosses and between 11p.m.
and midnight cast bullets (so-called 'Freikugeln') for their guns. Even
the weather was forecast: in Franconia twelve onion skin halves were filled
with salt and put in a row. In some of them the salt dissolved faster than
in others - these were to be the rainy months.
In the morning of New Year's Day
people wished each other 'good luck'. Those words
spoken by a young girl meant good luck for the whole year. Said by old woman
it would bring bad luck.
Everywhere in the world the night before the
new year is considered special. Many customs practised today - like fire
crackers, opulent meals, good-luck charms - actually go back to pagan times.
Smoking out houses is still common in rural areas: demons were scared off
by burning incense in people's homes, stables or sheds. In Christianity
this day was dedicated to thanking God for His blessing of the past year
and at the same time, to pray for a blessing for the New Year.
... and here you can find some more information
about New Year's Eve
and New Year's Day
!
Bearbeitung © rik2000-04; translation © by k.preis2003
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