New Years day or Proclamation vs Cutting it short

Traditionally in the Western World the New Year has started on two different dates, March 25th or January 1st. Both are based on the Christian tradition, but why were they selected?Well, March 25th is easy. It is the Feast of the Annunciation, when the angel told Mary that she was gonna get a night time visitor. It is the very beginning of the Jesus story and so a good place to start the calendar.But why January 1st? Why was what happened that day important?Most likely in Faith and Belief.Edited by jar, : No reason given.Edited by jar, : appalin spallin

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Thread copied here from the New Years day or Proclamation vs Cutting it short thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.

A quick wiki search suggest the Romans used the 1st of January as the date a new consul was appointed. This became the new year apart from in the Middle Ages when it was the 25th of March as you note (new to me).

Well, the Romans did celebrate it on January 1 but that was not the reason the Western Christian nations adopted January 1st.There is a hint in the topic title.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

"Cutting it short". I figured it out once that January 1st was the eighth day of Jesus' life, the day He was circumcised.

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I rode off into the sunset, went all the way around the world and now I\'m back where I started.

Yes. It is Circumcision Day.Hit wrong key.It was important because it was the day that a child was finally expected to live, was named and also was accepted as a member of the Faith.Edited by jar, : hit key too soon.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

My bad.

No problem.The two dates were chosen as the start of a year for very Christian reasons, but I would hazard a guess that even most Christians were unaware of the reasons. They are important though, even today. For example, many Christians today condemn abortion based on a Biblical basis, yet Biblically, even a child, born and breathing was not considered as fully living and human until it lived at least a week and a day. It was only then, when the odds of the child living had improved, that the child was considered human and nameable.So when the day rolls around next year and fireworks light the night time sky, be sure to remember that what we are really celebrating is a Circumcision.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

I figured it out as a smart-ass argument that millenia start at the year 0 and not the year 1. According to tradition, Jesus was circumcised on January 1st of the year 1 CE. He was born on December 25th of the year 1 BCE, which could also be thought of as the year 0 CE. So He was 1 year old on December 25th of the year 1 CE and 2000 years old on December 25th of the year 2000.Of course, all of that is predicated on the assumption that it's His birth that counts, which turns out to be wrong. It's His circumcision that counts as His "beginning".In the Old Testament, circumcision was a sign of God's covenant with the children of Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus (supposedly) became the sign of a new covenant (or the new sign of an old covenant). I think there's even some talk in the epistles about Jesus being the "new circumcision" or something like that.Edited by Ringo, : Circumcised "circumsision".

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I rode off into the sunset, went all the way around the world and now I\'m back where I started.

His circumcision was not really the beginning rather that was the day when he became a Person, was Named, became part of the religion and tribe. The circumcision was part of the ritual recognizing those things.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

There also seems to be a parallel with the creation of mankind "in the beginning" and mankind's "coming of age" in the Garden of Eden story.

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I rode off into the sunset, went all the way around the world and now I\'m back where I started.

Possibly but I'm not sure I see that.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Is there not also the issue of "the first shedding of the blood of Christ"?

From the middle ages all the way into the mid 1700s that was an important point, creating parallels with the crucifixion.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!

Yeah, thought so.Wanted to post "'twas penis mutilation day!", when I first saw your proposed topic, but then I did some other stuff and was beaten to it by Ringo.Damn you Ringo, coming back and stealing my spotlight!