New Year’s in the Holy Land

This is an exciting time of year in the Holy Land for Christians. To celebrate Jesus' birth in the very place of His birth is a unique experience. Christmas Mass and other celebrations abound, especially in Bethlehem, the site of the Church of the Nativity. Now, locals and tourists alike are recovering from the Christmas weekend and gearing up for New Year's festivities. Israel is one of the only countries which adopted the Gregorian calendar yet does not officially recognize New Year's as a holiday, as Israel follows the Jewish calendar for celebrations and holidays. However, Christian travelers will find plenty to see and do on these holy days. (Perhaps even more so - because it is not a "vacation day" in Israel, everything is up and running!)

New Year's celebrations began long before Jesus' birth. It is said that the Babylonians - nearly 4,000 years ago - marked the occasion, though it was more likely celebrated in March, near the spring equinox. They made resolutions and promised themselves and their neighbors to be more upstanding citizens in the coming year. The Romans continued celebrating the New Year in March, until Julius Caesar officially changed the date to January 1^st. He wanted to honor the Roman god Janus; hence the name of the month. Janus was a two-faced god; he was able to look back to the past while looking ahead toward the future. Caesar felt this was an appropriate way to begin the new year. Again, the custom of resolutions continued - it seems that every culture and religion throughout history felt an obligation to better themselves for the coming year. The ancient resolutions tended more toward moral pledges, as opposed to our modern promises to "lose weight" or "learn Chinese."

During the next centuries, the date for New Year's bounced around. Because January 1^st had a pagan association, the church abolished that date, and New Year's was often celebrated in December, or in March, either near the spring equinox or on the Day of the Annunciation (March 25). For a while, January 1^st was celebrated - but as a day of prayer known as the Feast of the Circumcision. As a Jew, Jesus was circumcised eight days after His birth, which fell on the first of January.

Finally, when the Gregorian calendar was officially adopted by many countries in the late 18th century, January 1^st became the official "New Year." The Puritans, similar to their Christian ancestors, felt the date had been corrupted by the pagan festivities of centuries past. They urged Christians to view it as a day of making resolutions, specifically resolving oneself to live a more fully Christian life, and to abandon the godless celebrations.

If you will be in the Holy Land during "Sylvester" (the Israeli term for New Years' celebrations - named after a Roman pope) - there are plenty of music festivals, restaurants, and New Year's celebrations to help you celebrate in style and keep you busy well into 2010.

Some online resources to help you plan your weekend:

For those in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, take a look at these websites for great ideas on what to and where to do it:

http://www.telavivcity.com/eng/nye.asp and http://www.jercity.com/eng/nye.asp.

www.eluna.com is a terrific dining resource (it features kosher restaurants only), and often has discount coupons you can print and bring with you.

The magazine Hello Israel (http://issuu.com/hello-israel/docs/hello_israel_dec2009a) features an online edition with events and festivities for the month of December (and January 1^st, of course!)

Whether you choose to walk around the holy cities or attend celebrations until the wee hours of the night, enjoy the special weekend - and don't forget to make a resolution or two!