Wait, do I have the right date?!
The celebration of the New year is not a modern phenomenon, but not all New Years celebrations were or are celebrated on January 1st. In Egypt and Greece the new year was during the summer months, in Mesopotamia and Rome it was celebrated in March.
To be honest though, the actual date itself does not matter nearly as much as what they did to celebrate the new year. How did the ancients ring in the New Year?
Keep reading to see what four of these cultures did:
Babylonian
The akītu festival, or new years festival celebrated at Babylon, is probably the most famous religious celebration known from ancient Mesopotamia. It was celebrated twice a year, with its origins as an agricultural harvest festival. Once in the month of Nisannu for the grain harvest and then in the month of Tašritu for the wheat harvest.
The akītu festivals weren't celebrated the same way in each city - they changed, reflecting on the shifting values in society. The festival lasted for around 12 days and included activities such as prayers, complex rituals, sacrifices, royal processions of the king and deities and the reciting of the Babylonian creation story. For example, in Babylon, these events would have taken place in the Esagila, the temple of Marduk, who is the patron god of Babylon.
There is an indication that the akītu festival turned into a political device used by the monarchy to guarantee the ruler of the king, the national god and his capital city. The priests of Marduk alongside the monarchy exploited the festival in support of their control as each king was divinely selected by Marduk. In doing so, it helped reaffirm the king's divine authority over his people. Manipulative - yes. A new concept - no.
Egypt
In Ancient Egypt, the new year was celebrated in the middle of the summer, dictated by when the Nile flooded together with astronomical factors as the moon, sun, and stars, and as such it was not a set date. In Egyptian mythology the flooding of the Nile was caused by the goddess Isis’ tears as she mourned the death of her husband Osiris, whom she later resurrected.
According to the Roman writer Censorinus who lived during the third century CE, the star Sirius (they knew it as Sepdet) would “die” for roughly 70 days. In reality, the star simply passed behind the sun, making it invisible to the people, and this rising is also known as heliacal rising. Sirius would reappear a few days before the Nile flooded in mid-July. This “resurrection” was explained in mythology as Isis reappearing. This was quickly followed by the first new moon, and the start of the New Year, or the start of Wepet Renpet/Senet.
The rising of the Sirius star, and the inundation of the Nile was celebrated with a festival. It was called Wepet Renpet and was the opening of the year. It celebrated the death and rebirth of the god Osiris, and by extension the rejuvenation and rebirth of the land and the people. It is attested to as starting in the latter part of the Old Kingdom (c. 2613 - 3150 BCE) as well as a rise in popularity of the Osiris cult.
During Wepet Renpet people feasted and drank, and the celebration lasted multiple days. However, it was not all fun and games - some rather sad rituals related to the death of Osiris were performed but they were followed by singing and dancing to celebrate the re-birth of the God.
Athenians
Based on the Attic calendar, the first month of the year was named Hekatombaion which was generally around our midsummer. More specifically, it was on the first new moon after the summer solstice, which does mean that it was on one specific date. Therefore, the ancient Athenians celebrated their new year at some point in July or August.
The first month is named Hekatombaion which means “100 oxen/cattle are sacrificed”. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was the one who gave us fire, among other things. He was also the one who taught humans how to sacrifice animals to the Greek gods. Being the great guy that he is, he convinced the gods that thigh bones wrapped in fat was the best piece of all. And so, the priests would pray, sacrifice the animal, burn the bones and fat so that it could reach Mount Olympus and feed the gods, and then cook up the meat. Translation? A massive BBQ. While “hekaton” does mean a hundred, they may not have always sacrificed literally 100 cattle. It may have been more of a figurative hundred. Nevertheless, that’s still a lot of oxen and a whole lot of meat to eat!
So how did the Athenians celebrate the New Year? Most likely with a massive BBQ and most definitely with some good wine to pass around.
Roman
The first month in the year’s calendar was the month of March, named after the god that was most precious to the Romans: Mars. Father to Romulus and Remus, Mars was both a god of war, but also the god of fertility. The entire month of Mars is full of various celebrations aimed at pleasing him, with the first day being a very busy one.
First up: The were priestesses to the goddess Vesta (goddess of the hearth) and were responsible for keeping the sacred flame alive. These women had to take a vow of chastity for 30 years, but were afforded precious rights and freedoms normal women would never have, which was probably a fair trade to be honest. March 1st was the day that the sacred fire of Vesta was allowed to burn out, so they could rekindle it and light it again. They would also put new laurels (crowns made of leaves) on the Regia (the Royal house), the Curiae (the Senate house), and the houses of flamines (all of the official Roman cults).
Second – The Salii, the dancing priests of Mars would move their sacred shields throughout the city several times during the month, and spent those evenings feasting. These shields were replicas of Mars’ sacred shield which had been found on March 1st in the house of Numa (Rome’s second king, he was known to have begun most religious practices within Roman society). The Salii would go around the city banging on the shields with a short spear or staff, while singing ancient hymns, and performing some rhythmic dances. They wore warrior outfits with a bit of a religious zeal to it. The hymns they sang were so ancient, that the Salii themselves did not even know what they were singing sometimes!
Third – Happy Mother’s Day! This was also the day when the mothers received gifts from both friends and family. While we should appreciate our mothers every day, it’s also nice to have one special day devoted to our moms, and in ancient Rome, this was the very first day of the year, March 1st.
Let’s do a quick recap of the day. The Vestal Virgins start by lighting a fire and putting new laurels everywhere; the Salii spend the day singing, dancing and banging on their shields; and you need to get your mom a Mother’s Day present. This is definitely a celebration we at MENAM can get behind!
To conclude, there was certainly a lot of variety in how each culture celebrated the New Year in the ancient world. The Babylonians planted or harvested their crops and had some activities. The Egyptians saw the Nile flood and they partied for several days. The Athenians had a massive BBQ. The Romans had some religious cults perform their yearly rituals and it was mother’s day. Of course, these are only a few of the ancient cultures and their respective traditions. So whichever culture or religion you are more inclined to, now you know how you would celebrate it in ancient times!
Until then, Happy Gregorian Calendars New Years!
Text: Anna Sunneborn Gudnadottir, Olivia Berry, and Cindy Levesque. MENAM Archaeology. Copyright 2022. Images:
Fireworks - Wikimedia Commons.
Reconstruction of the Akitu festival - iimgur.com.
The Sirius Star - Wikimedia Commons.
A head of Cattle - Wikimedia Commons.
The Dedication of a new Vestal Virgin - Wikimedia commons.
Further reading:
Crump, William D.. Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide, McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Fowler, W. W., 1899. The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. New York: MacMillan and Co. Limited.
Michels, A. K., 1990. Roman Festivals January-March. The Classical Outlook, 68(2), pp. 44-48.
Hannah, Robert. Greek & Roman Calendars. London: Duckworth, 2005.
Kelly, Aidan, Peter Dresser, and Linda M. Ross. Religious Holidays and Calendars: an Encyclopedic Handbook. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc, 1993.
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