Sunday, December 13, 2015

When January 1st Wasn't the First Day of the Year

By Nancy Bilyeau


In less than two weeks it will be the first day of 2019. Time to hang your freshly bought calendars and write a new year on your checks.
         But strange as it may seem, January 1st did not always signal the beginning of a new calendar year. Up to 1752, the two were separate things in England and its colonies. Until that point, people began each calendar year on March 25, which was Annunciation Day—or Lady Day. This was the day the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she had conceived and would give birth to Jesus in nine months.
         
        
It took an 18th century act of Parliament for England to officially begin each new calendar year on January 1st. The centuries of discrepancy cause lots of headaches for historians and genealogists. There’s no question that it’s strange, not least because England lagged behind much of the rest of Western Europe. Why did this Protestant nation cling to Annunciation Day—by its very definition a day revolving around the Virgin—as the time to change the calendar when most Catholic countries had already shifted to January 1st in the 16th century or 17th century?



         The reason for the January 1st controversy has a lot to do with England’s refusal to take orders from a pope after Henry VIII’s break from Rome in the 1530s. It was Pope Gregory XIII who replaced Julius Caesar’s calendar, devised in 45 BC, with a new one in 1582—and it’s the Gregorian calendar we all use today.  Reform was unquestionably needed. There were too many days in the year; the equinoxes were out of whack; the Julian calendar had strayed 10 days from the solar calendar.

         Among other things, the pope’s new calendar established that each calendar year begin on January 1st. Once it was issued, Italy, Spain and Portugal instantly adopted the Gregorian calendar, followed by France and the other Catholic countries of Europe. But England, Germany and the Netherlands refused. So for centuries, there were two calendars in Western Europe. It wasn't a strictly religious-led decision either. In Protestant Scotland, they changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1600. But England stubbornly refused.

        

         The first step to understanding this furor is to realize that Pope Gregory XIII was not simply someone who cared about calendars. Born in Bologna as Ugo Buoncompagno, he was a transitional pope. Certainly not as venal and corrupt as the Borgias a century earlier, he was a gifted teacher and administrative talent who nonetheless had an illegitimate son before marrying and really liked to spend money. 

         Once he became Gregory XIII, he spent huge sums on not only Catholic colleges but also displays such as the Gregorian Chapel in St. Peter’s. To pay for all this, he resorted to papal confiscation. Most relevant to our story, he supported the overthrow of Henry VIII’s Protestant daughter with Queen Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I.




         Gregory’s predecessor, Pope Pius V, had already excommunicated Elizabeth and declared her a usurper in 1570. During his papal office, Gregory put intense pressure on the Spanish king, Philip II, to invade and dethrone England’s queen. Gregory personally financed an armed force of 800 men to land in Ireland to join a Catholic rebellion against Elizabeth (it fizzled). Moreover, a Jesuit led the papal commission to devise the Gregorian calendar—and the Jesuits were the religious order specifically created to fight the Protestant Reformation. This all fueled Elizabethan England’s refusal to accept anything that originated in the Vatican.

         The fierce clashes between Catholic and Protestant in the 16th century are the tumultuous background of my historical thrillers. The heroine of my novels, The Crown, The Chalice, and The Tapestry, is a novice in the Dominican Order at Dartford Priory, outside London. But it’s not just the Christian splintering in early modern Europe that fascinates me. I also love studying what came long before the Renaissance.

         One October, as Halloween approached, I researched the roots of the holiday’s celebration in Tudor England and made some discoveries. I learned that the roots of Halloween reach back to the Dark Ages Celtic festival of Samhain (“summer’s end”), when people lit bonfires and put on costumes to scare away the spirits of the unfriendly dead. All-Hallows-Even, which was shortened to “Halloween” in the 16th century, was a complex blend of Celtic and Catholic customs. After all, the holiday was the run-up to All Saints’ Day on November 1st, an occasion to venerate all the Catholic martyrs. Not surprisingly, the Protestant Reformers took a dim view of Halloween, but its popularity was so great that they were unable to stamp it out.

         My  blog post on Halloween (http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2011/10/truth-about-halloween-and-tudor-england.html) stirred up so much attention that it made me want to keep reading about the distant and complex roots of what we celebrate today.

         I began thinking about the origins of Christmas and New Year’s Day the morning of December 20th one year, when I stood outside my apartment building with my son, waiting for his school bus to arrive. Although it was 7:15 a.m., dawn had barely broken; the Christmas lights that the superintendent had strung over the bushes glowed yellow in the purplish-gray light. A hazy fullness hung in the air—and it seemed to carry a strange potency. Almost like something magical. I had no idea as I stood there that what I sensed would connect to January 1st and the fascinating furor over when to begin the calendar year.

        

         I snapped a photo and posted it on my Facebook page, along with sharing a description of the strange feeling all around me. A high school friend, D.K. Carlson, offered an explanation: “The solstice is almost here.” It made me shiver to think it was the power of the winter solstice that touched me that morning: the approach of the shortest day of the year, the moment when the earth is in a point of its orbit farthest away from the sun. I find it very interesting that Julius Caesar established December 25th as the date of the winter solstice. It was—you guessed it—Pope Gregory XIII who made the adjustment to December 21st.

         Long before the time of Julius Caesar, man honored the solstice. Bronze Age archaeologists have uncovered symbols and signs that reveal awareness of the shortest day of the year. The monuments of Stonehenge and Newgrange in Ireland are believed to have solstice alignments. In 2000 BC, people may have gathered at Stonehenge in mid-December to pray for the sun to return again, the source of all life.
        

         Again and again, in many societies and religions, the solstice has great meaning. For the Druids, it was Alban Arthuan, the Light of Winter. As part of the celebration, priests cut the mistletoe that grew on winter oaks and blessed it. Germanic pagans launched the tradition of burning the Yule log and decorating a home with clippings of evergreen trees.

         In Rome, not surprisingly, the celebrations became more debauched. Saturnalia, which took place in mid-December, ran the gamut from heavy drinking to gambling to reversing society norms, with masters waiting on slaves. Lighting candles was very important. So was the tradition of children going house to house, offering small gifts, such as wrapped fruit, in exchange for other tokens.

Saturnalia was so popular that not even the Fall of Rome could kill it. It morphed into the Feast of Fools, celebrated from the Fifth Century until the Renaissance in much of Western Europe on January 1st. The servants became the masters, with a lower-echelon “Lord of Misrule” chosen to preside over all drunken festivities beginning in late December and concluding on the first of January.
  
         Not surprisingly, the early Catholic Church did not look kindly on the parties--stimulated by the winter solstice--that marked January 1st. The church leaders didn’t want something as important as beginning a new year to take place on that same day. In 567 AD, a Council of Tours decreed that the first of January was abolished and the blameless Annunciation Day was chosen. It took a while for this to be accepted, but by medieval times, people in England looked on March 25th as the beginning of the year. And this tradition stuck through the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, and into the time of the Hanoverians.

       

         Until finally, in 1751, in the reign of George II, England—and its colonies in the Americas—gave in and made the change, moving from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian. Parliament passed An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use. To make this work, 16 days were dropped from 1751, and January 1, 1752 was officially deemed the beginning of the year.

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 Nancy Bilyeau is the author of the new bestselling historical thriller The Blue, a spy story set in the art and porcelain worlds of the 18th century.

51 comments:

  1. I would love to receive your book!! Thank you so much for doing this giveaway!! Merry Christmas!! My email address is: bfiller040610@gmail.com

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  6. I would love to get a signed copy. I love English history and the Tudor period is my favorite. Merry Christmas and a Happy Nee Year. I also live your blog post on the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. heidihosler@gmail.com

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  7. TUDOR lover and 16th century British aficionado for ages! Love to see The Tapestry on my bed stand!

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  8. TUDOR lover and 16th century British aficionado for ages! Love to see The Tapestry on my bed stand!

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  9. Grace my hand so fair, if thou longs to share, Thy Tudor manuscript of love,
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  10. I would love to receive a copy of The Tapestry! It sounds really good! Thank you for the giveaway!

    Happy Holidays!
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  11. Would love to win. sable677 at yahoo dot com

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  12. I would love a copy of the Tapestry
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    Plus when are you coming to Ireland. ..please

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  14. I would love to win Tapestry.
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  15. Would have a place of honor under my tree.
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  16. What an interesting post! Thank you!
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  17. I would love a copy please!! This sounds like a great read. I have never read any historical fiction from that time period but this book sounds good. It was interesting about the calendar. I had no idea that England was so stubborn and rebellious. Sigh. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you. Merry Christmas!

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  18. I hope I win this contest! Looking forward to the Tapestry. hhill308@gmail.com

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  19. I'm in! Thank You for the giveaway. Merry Christmas. royal1@stny.rr.com

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  22. The Tapestry has been on my TBR list forever!! :D redhead.with.camera@gmail.com

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  23. Would love a signed copy of Tapestry! Then I could pass along my unsigned copy to someone who should love your books like I do! :)
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  24. I appreciate your research and diligence to get it right. Thanks for writing such interesting blogs and sharing of yourself with us. I hope to win a copy of The Tapestry profmyers@gmail.com

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  25. Tudor history is my Master's degree field, so would enjoy reading this book. Great blog about January 1...most don't know that bit of history. bobsagendorf@hotmail.com

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  26. Winning a signed copy would be fab! ladyofthegrey at hotmail.com
    Thanks!

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  27. Would love to have your book. plhill2000@gmail.com

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  28. To be able to have one of your books would be fantastic. I have read the first two books concerning Joanna Stafford and am ready for the third. I read around 80 books a year, probably 90% are historical fiction. Great to know something of my ancestry.
    Thank you for the chance.
    Jackie
    jhm0823@gmail.com

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  29. Wow Nancy, this is a wonderful giveaway. Thank you very much for the chance to win a copy. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Email is terryparrish2010@hotmail.com

    Thanks!

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  30. How interesting! I would love to win the giveaway! Thanks and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  31. Thank you for the chance to win this autographed book of yours. I'm so excited to have it autographed. Merry Christmas to you and your family. My email... oldsexy50@gmail.com

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  32. Thank you for the chance to win this autographed book of yours. I'm so excited to have it autographed. Merry Christmas to you and your family. My email... oldsexy50@gmail.com

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  33. I'd love to read your book! Mbsmith1@cox.net

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  34. I love reading about Joanna's adventures! Would be beyond thrilled to win! Keep writing!!!
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  35. I would like to receive a hardcover of The Tapestry. Thanks very much. mprimo1@hotmail.com

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  36. I would love to receive a hardcover copy. I love the history of England and even more so because my mother is from there. bluedawn95864@gmail.com

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  37. Would love to read. Thank you for the chance. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!
    littlequeenie29@msn.com

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  38. I'd love a copy of your book. The article was very interesting and enlightening. Merry Christmas to you and your family! luvs2read4fun(at)gmail(dot)com

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  39. I would enjoy having a hardcover copy of The Tapestry. I enjoyed reading the post: I didn't know that Scotland went to the Gregorian calendar in 1600, over 150 years before England did so.

    Have a beautiful and blessed Christmas and a New Year full of joy!

    katheryn(at)gallant(dot)tc

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  40. I'd love to win The Tapestry. I have loved the series! texas_writer13@hotmail.com Thank you for the opportunity!

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  41. I would love to read this book. I am fascinated by English history. pawnshoplady53@hotmail.com

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  42. Great article! I would like to recieve a hardcopy of "The Tapestry."

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  43. Thank you so much for your books; I'd love to own a copy of The Tapestry!~

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  44. I would love to have a hardcover of The Tapestry; please enter me into your contest. Thank you for your lovely post. My email is michelle_willms at yahoo dot com.

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  45. This novel would be a treasure which I would enjoy greatly. Thanks for this giveaway. Wishing you happiness and Happy Holidays. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  46. I would love to receive a hardcover of The Tapestry. A Tudor fan and a historical lover. Many thanks. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  47. Wow, this is really interesting and must have been very confusing. I would love to be entered into the contest. Thanks.
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  48. I would love a signed copy of the Tapestry to add to my collection! Merry Christmas!
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  49. I am very intrigued!! Sounds amazing! Thank you for this amazing chance. Merry Christmas🎄

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  50. I am very intrigued!! Sounds amazing! Thank you for this amazing chance. Merry Christmas🎄

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  51. I would enjoy the chance to read The Tapestry. Bswdrw@allwest.net

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