Spring - The Original New Year's

did you know that back in the day, spring was the beginning of the new year? spring still marks the beginning of the astrological new year. think about it - spring - renewal, new cycle, everything coming back to life. then you have summer, which is the peak. autumn is when it starts to wind down and things are shed, released. winter, "dead," silence, stillness, a time of going inward; reflection. in preparation for the renewal. and then there it is - spring - the start of a new year, a new cycle. new blossoms and leaves and refound energy and spirit within everything. spring is the time when the cycle is complete (life, death, rebirth), and a new one begins.

ancient babylonians celebrated the new year at the beginning of spring. in some cultures and some parts of the world, it is still celebrated as the new year. in turkey, iran, pakistan and afghanistan, "noruz," which means "new day," is celebrated. it is a time of purification and setting one’s intention for a new beginning. in bali, they celebrate "nyepi," a festival for the new year. on the day of nyepi, the island goes into silence, fasting, and prayer. and also for the bahá’í, the new year (naw-rúz) occurs on the spring equinox. so what happened? who changed this? the romans. but there were those who refused the changing of the new year to january 1st, and celebrated the new year at the end of march through april... they were called "april fools."

i absolutely love spring. i love the surge of energy and vitality i feel. i love that it leads into summer. i find that i create a lot more during this time. i love the flowers dripping off of the trees; i love that it brings a whiff of warmth, after being in the cold darkness. there are parts of the world that don't experience "four seasons" but they still go through the same stages, and in most places, there is still a cooler, slower, period (winter).

if i had to choose a beginning of the cycle (this existence is all about cycles), i resonate more with this order - spring (march/april) being the beginning of the new year; the end of winter being the end of the cycle, the end of the year.