middletowneye: Happy New Year-2022!

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S DAY-JANUARY 1, 2022!

Happy New Year-January 1, 2022.

How did the New Year's Day holiday come about? Four thousand years ago in ancient Babylon they began the New Year in March to coincide with the beginning of Spring or the Vernal Equinox following the first full moon after Spring's arrival. They celebrated the New Year with a Religious event called "Akitu" that lasted for eleven days which "involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days" according to History.com's article "New Year's."

It wasn't until Julius Caesar reign during the Roman Empire that he updated the early Roman calendar of ten months and 304 days. In 46 B.C., Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar "by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time," according to History.com. This Julian Calendar "closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today," from History.com. Julius Caesar began the New Year as January 1st "to honor the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties," according to History.com.

Christian leaders in Medieval Europe changed the date of the New Year from January 1st to dates that had more religious value such as December 25th-Jesus Christ birth and March 25th-the Feast of the Annunciation. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII returned New Year's Day to January 1st of each year according to the History.com article "New Year's."

In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic the Center for Disease Control and the Connecticut Department of Public Health are issuing guidelines for safe gatherings during the Christmas & New Year’s holiday season. The CDC recommends that you get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus and get your booster shot too. They are advising people to “Consider using a self-test before joining indoor gatherings with others who are not in your household,” according to their website.

In Connecticut these “Self-Tests” are available at any of the major pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreen’s, Wal-Mart & Target according to Middletown’s Acting Health Director Kevin Elak & Acting Cromwell Health Director Salvatore Nesci. Elak stated “They are very hard to find in stores right now. You will probably have to order it online and have it shipped.” Call your local pharmacy to see if they have it.

On Tuesday, December 21, 2021, President Joe Biden stated that beginning in January 2022 500 million free home rapid COVID-19 self-tests will be mailed to residents who requests them. There will be a website that will launch in January 2022 that will help residents requests these kits.

Connecticut Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani believes people should assess who they will be gathering with for their holiday celebrations and “…consider personal protections based upon the vaccination status of the group.” Juthani stated “If you have a fully vaccinated group of people and fully boosted group of people, I think you’re at your highest level of protection, if you have somebody who’s a little bit more vulnerable in your group … wearing a mask is not a bad idea. That’s a self-preservation measure,” according to Connecticut Public Radio. Juthani made these comments on November 23, 2021.

For more information about how the New Year's Day holiday began and how to stay safe this holiday season due to the COVID-19 virus please see the following websites:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/new-years
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/celebrations.html