January
is the month of Janus, the two-headed god of ancient Romans in charge of
new beginnings. His two faces gazed in opposite directions so that he could
watch the start and the end of each day. With such a momentous job, Janus was
the natural choice to usher in the New Year. But the actual first day of
the New Year was up for grabs until the Roman Senate settled on January 1.
Janus became the god people prayed to for mercy from their enemies and for a prosperous
time ahead.
Janus
is one of the few Roman gods that has no counterpart in Greek mythology as the
Zeus/Jupiter or Hera/Juno duality. Janus was one of the "good
gods" who humankind could appeal to for help in everyday life. How
Janus became associated with the negative connotation of being hypocritical or
deceitful: "two-faced" or "Janus-faced," remains a mystery.
God of doors, gateways, beginnings, childbirth, the future and the past, he was
often called upon at the start of wars. To show his support, the doors to his
temple in the Roman Forum would remain open during wars, while they stayed
closed during times of peace.
Beginning
the New Year with resolutions is a tradition we are very familiar with. Many
people pledge to work on bettering themselves, and vow to stop smoking, lose
weight, or give up drinking. The ancient Romans also had resolutions, eager to
throw out whatever bad luck they had in the old year and replace it with good
luck in the new. They believed in giving New Year's gifts: olive branches from
special, sacred trees; gold-covered nuts; or from the wealthy, gold coins of
Janus himself.
We
in modern times also look forward to a fresh start on January 1 and derive
comfort from traditions with our family and friends. Our custom of having
parties on New Year's Eve comes from the belief that what people did or ate on
January 1 would affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year.
What better way to ring in the New Year than celebrating with those you love?
Many
people still believe in the tradition that if a tall, dark-haired man is the
first person to enter their house, they will have good fortune for the entire
year. And as for food, black-eyed peas are a requirement to eat on New Year's
Day, along with ham or hog jowls, a symbol of prosperity. Some regions consider
cabbage as lucky food, doughnuts as the circle of life, and even rice is
considered fortuitous.
Whatever
your New Year's resolutions are, may the god Janus be smiling down upon you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January
is the perfect month for reading my JANUS IS A TWO-HEADED GOD, an award-winning
science fiction romance is available at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
The
sequel, JANUS IS A TWO-FACED MOON, is available at on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.
Happy
New Year!
Susanne
Susanne
Marie Knight
Read
outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist!
