Every year around this time, my husband and I get into a debate.
He says: As Jews, we shouldn’t celebrate this New Year’s. We’re hooting and hollering over changing the calendar which recognizes time in terms of the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ?
I say: It’s totally secular. I even asked an Orthodox rabbi about this, and he said there is no reason a Jew couldn’t celebrate New Year’s Eve with the Champagne, noisemakers and a kiss at midnight.
He says: We have our own New Year (Rosh Hashanah). Why would we celebrate another one?
And so the circle goes round and round.
There are many New Years — the new school year; the new fiscal year, etc. all with varying levels of significance. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, occurs in the fall. It is our celebration of the birthday of the world, but it has deeper meaning than just popping corks and watching football. However, one similarity to the secular New Year is that Rosh Hashanah is a time for deep introspection. We ask that we may be granted a good year. We start with a clean slate, having repented (and starving ourselves) during Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) that is observed 10 days after Rosh Hashanah.
In my opinion the secular New Year’s Eve is merely an excuse to have some fun with good friends, as we have chosen to “observe” it for the fast few several years. And what’s so sacrireligious about watching a ball drop?
Several years ago I had the good fortune to visit Israel, landing there on January 1, and was introduced to Sylvester. That’s how Israelis refer to New Year’s Eve, a tradition that has its origins from Europe. December 31st is the Catholic Feast of Sylvester, which celebrates a fourth-century pope who incidentally prohibited Jews from living in Jerusalem. (Most Israelis don’t even know why they call it Sylvester. It’s not without controversy, but I digress).
By calling it Sylvester, Israeli Jews separate the secular holiday from the religiously and culturally significant Rosh Hashanah. A Sylvester party is just the same as a New Year’s one, just packaged under a new name. And it is another excuse to party, however, without the required day off of work after since January 1 is just another day in Israel.
So I’m still going to have pizza with our friends tonight, and I’ll probably still watch that ball drop. Ironically enough, I just had another rabbi friend wish me a Happy New Year on Facebook.
But instead, I’ll wish all of you a very Happy Sylvester indeed!
Laura Weisskopf Bleill, a co-founder of chambanamoms.com, will probably fall asleep before the clock strikes midnight tonight. She writes “Being a Jew in C-U,” a column about being a Jewish suburban girl in a cornfield, on Thursdays. You can reach her at laura@chambanamoms.com.