“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
Benjamin Franklin
Happy 2025!
The earliest recorded festivities in honor of new year’s date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, 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.
So when did Jan. 1 become New Year’s Day?
The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox. It was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the 8th century B.C. A later king, Numa Pompilius, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius.
Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun, and in 46 B.C., the Emperor Julius Caesar decided to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today.
As part of his reform, Caesar instituted Jan. 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated by offering sacrifices to him, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties.
In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced Jan. 1 as the first of the year, with days carrying more religious significance, such as Dec. 25 (Jesus’ birth) and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation). Pope Gregory XIII re-established New Year’s customs that are common worldwide, include watching fireworks and singing songs to welcome the new year, including the ever-popular “Auld Lang Syne” in many English-speaking countries.
The practice of making resolutions for the new year is thought to have started among the ancient Babylonians, who made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year off on the right foot. They would reportedly vow to pay off debts and return borrowed farm equipment.
In the United States, the most iconic New Year’s tradition is the dropping of a giant ball in New York’s Times Square at the stroke of midnight. Millions of people around the world watch the event, which has taken place almost every year since 1907. Over time, the ball itself has ballooned from a 700-pound, iron and wood orb to a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing in at nearly 12,000 pounds.
Towns and cities across America have developed their own versions of the Times Square ritual, organizing public drops of items ranging from pickles (Dillsburg, Pennsylvania) to possums (Tallapoosa, Georgia) at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
In the Philadelphia area, the wonderful tradition of the Mummer’s Parade on New Year’s Day is a phenomenon that spans many generations. The city of Philadelphia first sponsored the Mummer’s Parade in 1901.
On behalf of the entire Voorhees Township Committee, have a happy and healthy New Year!
The Voorhees Breakfast Rotary Club is looking for sponsors for its 16th annual Voorhees Township Community Service Awards dinner. It will take place on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Lucien’s Distinguished Catering in Berlin.
For more information, visit voorheesbreakfastrotary.org or call Nick Colanzi at (856) 454-7693.
