New Year’s Eve only gained importance when the Gregorian calendar was established in most Christian countries during the 16th century, with the start of the New Year on the 1st of January. About New Year’s Eve The 31st of December, the last day of the year, is New Year’s Eve, or the feast of St Sylvester. A priest who survived the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian became pope in 311. According to legend, he baptised Emperor Diocletian and his wife St Helena. He died in 335. He is one of the first venerated saints whose cult spread throughout Europe. In the past his feast day was not associated with any celebrations or customs. New Year’s Eve only gained importance when the Gregorian calendar was established in most Christian countries during the 16th century, with the start of the New Year on the 1st of January. People visited churches, gave thanks for the good experiences of the past year and prayed for the good course of the new one. However, the merriment and customs of pagan times were not encouraged by the Church. Only the development of economics and science in the 19th century, which heralded the arrival of a “new golden age”, gave New Year’s Eve more significance. Society grew richer and, in anticipation of an even better year, celebrated New Year’s Eve more and more merrily and opulently, with plenty of food and drink. Some customs persisted in the countryside, such as the so-called sweepers — poor women who walked around the local area, wishing people well and symbolically sweeping stoves so that they would burn well in the New Year, for which they received alms. Housewives avoided leaving their laundry to dry, otherwise it meant the risk of someone in the family dying in the coming year. The custom of eating pork jowl with horseradish and apples at midnight for good luck also dates back to the 19th century. In particular, the years of transition from one century to another in 1899 and 1900 and then 1999 and 2000 marked the most exuberant celebrations of New Year’s Eve and the arrival of the New Year. Spectacular entertainments and shows, lavish feasts and increasingly expensive and spectacular fireworks displays were organised in the streets, in restaurants and in peoples’ homes. It is only recently that the various delicacies have been replaced by open sandwiches, and garnished plates with various savoury dishes along with sweet desserts. The amount of alcohol consumed also started rising. Since the end of the 19th century, it has been a common custom to welcome midnight with champagne and make a toast wishing all the best for the coming year. New Year’s Day Back in Roman times, the new year began on the first of March, the day on which consuls took office. The beginning of the year is related to the established calendar. From 46 BC until 1582 the Julian calendar, modified by Emperor G. J. Caesar was in use. The Julian calendar differed from the Gregorian calendar in that it counted all years divisible by four as leap years. To avoid the deviation that arose, the Gregorian calendar only counts those years at the beginning of the century that are divisible by 400 as leap years. Already according to the Julian calendar, the first day of the year was January 1. In the Church liturgy, however, the 1st of January was not consecrated at first, the beginning of the liturgical year was Advent. It was only from the 17th century that the unification of the ecclesiastical and civil beginning of the year on the 1st of January was advocated. In Bohemia, the so-called bark singers were rewarded on that day, the farmers gave gifts to the farm workers and maids, and parents to their children. The parishioners paid tribute to their pastor and wished him health and God’s blessing. Teachers sent so-called minucí — painted greeting cards with rhymes to the authorities and town representatives, to which it was customary for them to respond with a financial gift. In the villages, young people walked the streets carolling. There was no unpleasant work to be done — it was believed that what was done on New Year’s Day would be done all year round, laundry was not allowed to be dried, nothing was allowed to be taken out or swept out of the room. Baker’s carol singers would come out and dust with their brooms in exchange for a small treat or a reward, and sometimes women would go carolling wearing a shawl with a goose wing and carrying a cup of axle grease, which they would smear on an inattentive farmer. As a reward, they were given homemade alcohol and a tasty treat. Most of these customs have been forgotten. The basis of the New Year’s Day celebration today is the gathering of the whole family for a big lunch, where lentils or soup with fine semolina known as millionova (to keep one’s money) should not be missed, while pork is usually served. Rabbit or poultry is not allowed, so that the luck does not run or fly away. After lunch, the family goes for a walk and visits exhibitions, cultural performances or friends. Before the New Year, individuals, families and companies send each other New Year’s greeting cards with a pleasant or funny picture wishing health and happiness in the coming year. Often, wishes for a Merry Christmas and New Year’s greetings are combined. On New Year’s cards, sometimes the French abbreviation P.F. (pour féliciter — for luck) is used. The first New Year’s card, actually an apology card with a picture, was sent in 1827 by Count Chotek, who, due to his important duties, was unable to respond to the ever-increasing number of congratulations. When is the New Year celebrated in different countries? The Orthodox and Greek Catholic rites follows the Julian calendar, according to which the New Year falls on the 14th of January. The beginning of the Islamic era is marked by the departure of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622. Hurra Muharram, the first day of the first Islamic calendar month, is calculated according to the lunar system, so the date of the end of one year and the beginning of the next is not precisely fixed and may shift throughout the year. However, the Islamic world is not uniform either, and in Afghanistan and Iran they celebrate the beginning of the solar year on the 21st of March according to the Persian calendar. In Israel, the beginning of the New Year is fluid and falls on the first day of the month of Tishri, between the 6th of September and the 5th of October. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days and is considered, according to Jewish tradition, to be the time when God decides the fate of each person in the coming year. In China and some other East Asian countries, the new lunar year begins in late January or February. Thais celebrate their trut (New Year) in March or April, while South Indian Tamils do so at the winter solstice. Tibetans celebrate it in February. For the Japanese, New Year’s celebrations are the 1st — 3rd of January. However, in many rural areas the festivities take place between the 20th of January and the 19th of February.