by D. Anderson

Created on: February 15, 2010   Last Updated: February 16, 2010

Paganism stems from pre-Christian days, and the calendar used then was different then now, which made New Year’s Eve actually celebrated on October 31st.  While many pagans may honor October 31st (known as Samhain) as a new year and a time of new beginnings, it is not the start of a new calendar.  Many pagans seem to be in conflict with celebrating the New Year’s according to the Gregorian calendar (what we use now) and on December 31st, but for all intents and purposes, it is not practical to live life as if November 1st is the start of a new year.  Symbolically, it can be honored as such on Samhain, but it is more practical to go with the Gregorian calendar.  While the Gregorian calendar was created by Pope Gregory XIII it is not a “Christian” calendar per se but was revised from the Julian calendar to revise when a leap year occurs.  The New Year is not a Christian holiday but “New Year” celebrations have been honored from such dates as October 31st (Celtic) to March 15th (Ancient Roman Feast Day of the God Mars) and as far back as the Ancient Babylonians.

That being said, a pagan can honor December 31st-January 1st as the New Year without sacrificing their pagan beliefs and, in fact, New Year celebrations are steeped with pagan traditions if one knows where to look.

The correspondences for January are a carnation, garnet, and the full moon that occurs in this month is known as the Cold or Wolf Moon.  The Roman God Janus is also prevalent and presides over the doorway or gate leading to the New Year.  He has two faces or two heads, one to look back at the old year and one to look ahead to the new year.  Giving reverence to him to allow the New Year to come in and by giving an offering (New Year’s Resolution to give up something bad or start something good) will ensure that you have a blessed and prosperous New Year. 

Father Time and the New Year Baby are also common icons.  Father time is often thought to be an incarnation of either Zeus (Greek) or his father the Titan Chronus.  Seen with a scythe, Father Time represents the old year and the baby the year to come.  A staff is similar to a scythe and can be set near an altar or used in a ritual, and since it is a male tool it represents the male entities of the year (Janus, the baby, Father Time). 

In the 7th century, pagans of the Netherlands had a custom of gift-exchanges at this time.  This is

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