I wish my parishioners a happy new year three times a year. First on Advent Sunday, because a new liturgical year begins; second on January 1, because it is both the secular New Year celebration and the feast of Mary, Mother of God; and third on Lady Day – March 25. And here’s why:
The earliest records of a New Year celebration are from Mesopotamia in the time of Father Abraham – around 2000 BC. For the ancients, in an agricultural society, the new year was not heralded in midwinter, but at the spring equinox in mid-March. Following these already ancient customs, the first Roman calendar, which had only 10 months, also recognised mid-March as the beginning of the year. This is where September, October, November and December have their names: from March, they were the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th months.
