The ancient Romans marked the New Year by giving each other branches from sacred trees. Later they gave gold-covered nuts or coins imprinted with the pictures of the god Janus (after whom January is named). Janus had two faces – one looking forward and the other looking backward.
During the Middle Ages, the Church opposed New Year’s celebrations because of their pagan roots, particularly the use of the image of a baby to symbolize the New Year. That tradition began in Greece around 600 B.C. The annual rebirth of Dionysus (the god of wine and fertility) was celebrated by parading a baby in a basket.
But the popularity of using a baby to symbolize the birth of a New year proved strong. The Church eventually relented and allowed its members to celebrate the New Year with a baby – but as a symbol of the birth of the Child Jesus
In the Jewish tradition, the ritual circumcision and naming of a male child took place eight days after birth. Thus it was natural that the Church, eight days after Christmas, celebrated the feast of the “Circumcision of the Lord.” By coincidence, the feast falls on New Year’s Day.
In 1969 the feast of Mary, Mother of God, formerly celebrated on October 11, was transferred to January 1, replacing the feast of the Circumcision.
- Little Blue Book, January 1