S
Shruti Dasgupta
Guest
As the clock strikes midnight on December 31, people around the world rejoice in celebrations!!! They bid farewell to the old year and welcomed the new one. However, the New Year’s Day celebration at midnight is thanks to the widespread use of the Gregorian calendar. Thus, it’s worth pondering whether this date holds intrinsic significance or if there are alternative perspectives on marking the beginning of a new year.
PC FamilySearch
Pope Gregory XIII changed out the Julain Calendar for the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Since its introduction, it has become the most widely used calendar system today. It aligns the Christian concept of a solar year and establishes 1st January as the first day of a new year. However, the choice of day is completely arbitrary.
There are no religious, cultural, or astronomical reasons for anyone to celebrate the stroke of midnight between 31st December and 1st January as New Year’s Day!
PC Rupert Shepherd
The midnight madness of the New Year’s Celebration can be attributed to the advent of Globalism. What is Globalism? Well, it is a brainchild of the colonial hangover that the world suffers from. This after-effect of colonialism has ensured that the Gregorian calendar is a universally accepted convention.
However, before the widespread use of technological advancements that seem to show a predetermined inclination towards the Gregorian calendar, the world celebrated New Year on different days. India, to date, rings the new year on the 14th -15th day of the Gregorian month of April! Therefore, in all ways that matter, the midnight between 31st December of the previous year and 1st January of the next year is just a game of numbers!!!
PC mahanagartimes.com
Contrary to the Gregorian Calendar, the Hindu Samvat marks the new year on the first day of the Chaitra month. This day usually falls in the months of March or April, and is known as the Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. Maharashtra celebrates Gudi Padva on this day and the Telugu mark it as Ugadi. The rest of Bharat’s Sanatanis mark it as the first day of Chaitra Maas Navaratri Puja.
Astronomically speaking, Chaitra Shukla Pratipada marks the spring equinox. Thus, it symbolizes the balance between day and night.
Moreover, agriculturally speaking it aligns with the sowing season in Bharat, making it a crucial time for farmers. Thus, the Indian New Year that holds significantly more cultural, religious, and astronomical importance than the Gregorian New Year’s Day.
PC Life, Hope & Truth
The celebration of 1st January as the new year is mostly Christianized. After all, it was the date marked for New Year’s Party on Pope Gregory’s insistence. Earlier, even the Romans marked the beginning of the year in the middle of March. This practice was marked as a pagan ritual and prohibited by the church.
PC Wikipedia
Today, drinking, smoking, and partying are the most common ways of marking this day. This leads to the question of what exactly are we celebrating on January 1?!? To most Bharatvasis, it is just a day to party. There is no personal or cultural significance to this date. Unlike Sanatani festivals tied to astronomical events or agricultural cycles, the transition to January 1 is just an arbitrary transition marked by the change in the number used for the year.
Granted, humans do feel happy about the earth surviving another trip around the sun, it is as intrinsic as their love for marking the passage of time. But is the numerical transition of dates an event that must be celebrated with debauchery? Do we really need to stay awake till midnight to mark the event, while the Sanatani New Year’s Day is left unmarked in our social, cultural, or work calendars?!! The answers to such questions depend on how deeply you are connected with your roots! Let’s hope Sanatanis are able to identify traditions that need to be shed and embrace others with deeper meaning in their lives.
The post Gregorian Calendar New Year’s Celebration – A Sanatani Perspective appeared first on The Jaipur Dialogues.
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The Gregorian Calendar and Its Influence
PC FamilySearch
Pope Gregory XIII changed out the Julain Calendar for the Gregorian calendar in 1582. Since its introduction, it has become the most widely used calendar system today. It aligns the Christian concept of a solar year and establishes 1st January as the first day of a new year. However, the choice of day is completely arbitrary.
There are no religious, cultural, or astronomical reasons for anyone to celebrate the stroke of midnight between 31st December and 1st January as New Year’s Day!
PC Rupert Shepherd
The midnight madness of the New Year’s Celebration can be attributed to the advent of Globalism. What is Globalism? Well, it is a brainchild of the colonial hangover that the world suffers from. This after-effect of colonialism has ensured that the Gregorian calendar is a universally accepted convention.
However, before the widespread use of technological advancements that seem to show a predetermined inclination towards the Gregorian calendar, the world celebrated New Year on different days. India, to date, rings the new year on the 14th -15th day of the Gregorian month of April! Therefore, in all ways that matter, the midnight between 31st December of the previous year and 1st January of the next year is just a game of numbers!!!
The Indian New Year: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada
PC mahanagartimes.com
Contrary to the Gregorian Calendar, the Hindu Samvat marks the new year on the first day of the Chaitra month. This day usually falls in the months of March or April, and is known as the Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. Maharashtra celebrates Gudi Padva on this day and the Telugu mark it as Ugadi. The rest of Bharat’s Sanatanis mark it as the first day of Chaitra Maas Navaratri Puja.
Astronomically speaking, Chaitra Shukla Pratipada marks the spring equinox. Thus, it symbolizes the balance between day and night.
Moreover, agriculturally speaking it aligns with the sowing season in Bharat, making it a crucial time for farmers. Thus, the Indian New Year that holds significantly more cultural, religious, and astronomical importance than the Gregorian New Year’s Day.
Is 1st January a Celebratory Day??
PC Life, Hope & Truth
The celebration of 1st January as the new year is mostly Christianized. After all, it was the date marked for New Year’s Party on Pope Gregory’s insistence. Earlier, even the Romans marked the beginning of the year in the middle of March. This practice was marked as a pagan ritual and prohibited by the church.
PC Wikipedia
Today, drinking, smoking, and partying are the most common ways of marking this day. This leads to the question of what exactly are we celebrating on January 1?!? To most Bharatvasis, it is just a day to party. There is no personal or cultural significance to this date. Unlike Sanatani festivals tied to astronomical events or agricultural cycles, the transition to January 1 is just an arbitrary transition marked by the change in the number used for the year.
Granted, humans do feel happy about the earth surviving another trip around the sun, it is as intrinsic as their love for marking the passage of time. But is the numerical transition of dates an event that must be celebrated with debauchery? Do we really need to stay awake till midnight to mark the event, while the Sanatani New Year’s Day is left unmarked in our social, cultural, or work calendars?!! The answers to such questions depend on how deeply you are connected with your roots! Let’s hope Sanatanis are able to identify traditions that need to be shed and embrace others with deeper meaning in their lives.
The post Gregorian Calendar New Year’s Celebration – A Sanatani Perspective appeared first on The Jaipur Dialogues.
Continue reading...