There are twelve days of Christmas. You can start your Christmas shopping whenever you like, but Christmas begins Christmas Eve and ends on Epiphany, twelve days after Christmas on January 6. This year, the season of Christmas consists of two Sundays “of” Christmas. That’s how we know it’s a season – the preposition. Epiphany has Sundays “after,” Lent has Sundays “in.” These are minor details that most people don’t notice.

You may be wondering, “What’s the connection between Epiphany and New Year’s?” In my opinion, the connection is that they fall at about the same time of the year. The difference is that these two holidays come from different calendars. Epiphany comes from the church calendar while New Year’s is from the secular calendar. Only when we combine our calendars do we see that New Year’s comes within the season of Christmas. The season of Christmas is only 12 days, but New Year’s always falls within those 12 days. The number of Sundays in a given year during Christmas will vary, depending on the day of the week we celebrate Christmas. In some church traditions, we number the Sundays after Epiphany (i. e., 2nd Sunday after Epiphany) until the Transfiguration.

What are the origins of Epiphany and New Years’s? Let’s look first at Epiphany. The word, with a lower case “e,” means an appearance or manifestation – a sudden manifestation, an intuitive grasp through some simple event. Our modern word can be traced back to Biblical Greek, through Latin, Anglo-French and middle English. The word with an upper case “E” refers to the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the coming of the Magi.

In the second century, the Church established Lent-to-Easter and Pentecost. During the third century, Epiphany was established to recognize the manifestations of Christ: birth, baptism, adoration of the magi, and the first miracle (turning water into wine). It was near the end of the fourth century that the church began to observe Advent and Christmas, and the birth celebration was separated from the Epiphany. In some parts of the world, Epiphany is celebrated with the King Cake. In Mobile, we see that associated with Mardi Gras.

The earliest records of a new year are from 2,000 BC in Mesopotamia. The new year was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox, mid-March. The earliest Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. That was a ten-month lunar calendar. Around 200 BC, Rome added January and February to the calendar. The new year was moved from March to January because the newly elected Roman “consul” took office in January (for a one-year term).

The Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC, a solar calendar. During the Middle Ages in Europe, the Council of Tours (587) abolished January 1 as New Year’s because it was pagan. At various times and places throughout medieval Christan Europe, the new year was celebrated on December 25, March 1 (the Feast of the Annunciation), and Easter. The Gregorian calendar (1582) restored January 1 as New Year’s Day. The Catholic Church immediately adopted that calendar, but it was only gradually adopted among Protestants. The British Empire and the American colonies adopted it in 1752 – until then, the new year was in March.

We all know the common expression that we study history so as not repeat it, especially our mistakes. Another reason for studying history is to be reminded of how relative our “traditions” are. If it happened within our experience, we tend to believe that it has “always” been. This brief review of two of our traditions that we think have always been, shows us how “new” and transitional our traditions can be.

Happy New Year.
Peace.
Cary