The Jewish people are not the only ones to have a unique date for New Year. There are countless different New Years held by various religious, ethnic, and tribal groups around the world.
This Friday will begin the Chinese New Year. Now to the Chinese, it is called either the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival. The first thing in Common it has with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is that it follows the Lunar cycle. Friday is in fact a new Lunar month, but in the Jewish Calendar it is the sixth month of the year. However it is interesting to note that there is a debate in the Talmud as to when the world was created and when in fact is the New year. There is the opinion that it was in the month of Nissan which is when Passover falls out, and there is the opinion that it was Tishrei, which is the way we follow.
So differences in opinion as to when the New Year should be is understandable even from the Jewish perspective, and it does not come as a surprise that there are many ideas around this.
One thing I like about the Chinese New Year is that it is celebrated anywhere from six to sixteen days. And unlike the Gregorian Calendar, January first, The Chinese New Year does not start with a party. It begins with going to temples to pray and give thanks, and spending time with the family. I believe this is a good thing and how a
New year should begin. Afterword’s comes the party and celebrations.
In Judaism we have the same. We start with Rosh Hashana, two days of prayer and time with the family. Ten days later is Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement were we are judged by G-d on our actions during the past year. And then finally comes Succoth, the festival of booths, where we celebrate non-stop for a week.
