Artigenda
New Year’s Eve
When: anually, December 31.
New Year’s Eve is the last evening or night of the year, before the end of the year at midnight. New Year’s Eve is also known as Silvester Eve and is the year’s last night. Along with New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, this night marks the transition to the new year. This night is familiar to everyone.
Origins and traditions
The history of New Year’s Eve goes way back. The origin of the evening is not exactly known. It is suspected that we have to go back thousands of years for that. The celebration cannot be traced back to one culture. Different people have given their meaning to the evening on the last night of the year. However, they have all attached their traditions to that last night.
Babylonians, Germanic tribes and Romans
Presumably, the Babylonians were the first to pay attention to the last night of the year. It just wasn’t on 31 December. Remember, their calendar looked different. That was true of more cultures of the past. Often, the transition to a new year was linked to the spring season. People then said goodbye to winter. Since the Babylonians actually welcomed spring, the festivities were all about fertility and renewal.
The Germanic tribes eventually gave the Romans their inspiration for end-of-year festivals. It was mainly about honouring gods at the end of the year.
"Pagan rituals"
The Roman Catholic Church, of course, had nothing at all to do with these kinds of “pagan rituals.” The downside was that in the first centuries after the era, people were still indulging in celebrations around the turn of the year that, to church officials in the Vatican, were considered “pagan rituals.” So this had to end.
The evening was named Silvester night and not without reason. The name is named after Pope Silvester. It is not known exactly when this pope was born, but it is known that he died on 31 December 335. People did everything they could to eliminate the original celebrations, for instance, by organising church services and ringing the church bells after noon. Later, other rituals followed, only they had little to do with religion.
Varies per country
There is no standard New Year’s Eve celebration. Each country’s celebration is different. Not only that. The celebration also varies from one population group to another. According to tradition, people spend the last night of the year with family and friends. This does not apply to everyone. Others instead choose to seek other forms of entertainment.
