by Allen Wiggs

Created on: December 31, 2009

The clock hits midnight, the old bearded man is no more, in his place is a young baby wearing a top hat, a diaper, and a sash with a number on it of the new year that has just begun. This is the symbolism of the Western New Year, youth and vitality, a chance to start over, and do it all right. But what is the tradition of using a baby? To find this out you need to go back centuries to various major historical societies.

A new born child is the perfect symbol for life's renewal, it is after all the continuation of the human race, and is the purest human there can be. As Catholicism grew, not only a baby in general but also specifically the baby Jesus was used to symbolize the new year, this made even more sense as Christmas was moved to December and be close to the beginning of the year. The symbol of baby Jesus was already in people's minds so it was easy to associate the two holidays.

Before that, in ancient Rome, the beginning of the year was actually celebrated with Spring and not with the start of January. It was not until 153 B.C.E. That the Roman Senate first decided that the year would begin on January 1st, since it was when the two consuls would start office. This was not highly recognized until Julius Caesar established the Julian Calendar in 45 B.C.E. and it has been that way ever since in Western Civilization. The Romans also celebrated using a baby as a symbol of the New Year, a tradition they borrowed from the Greeks years before them.

In Ancient Greece, it is believed around 600 B.C.E. that the tradition started. To celebrate the start of Spring which was at the time of New Year, a baby would be taken through the city as part of the celebration of Dionysus. The babe was to represent the God of wine and spirit of fertility. But there is evidence that also the Ancient Babylonians and Egyptians also may have held a similar tradition and used a baby as the symbol for the start of a New Year. Even moving further East, there's evidence of China using a baby to symbolize the New Year to symbolize not only rebirth but also strength and vitality.

As more and more evidence is found, the use of a baby as the symbol of the New Year seems to go back further and further. Wherever it may have first began, we still are not completely sure. But what is known is that it has been part of Western society for well over two thousand years and shows no signs of stopping. We will always look to the New Year as a time of endless possibilities, a chance to be reborn, and to move forward. All things that the baby in the top hat, diaper, and sash represent.

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