Wednesday, January 1, 2025

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 1st of January 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy new year to you and yours from the Christian History Almanac and your friends at 1517. Of course, we have different ways of counting time (as I always remind you here at the Almanac). The Church Year begins with Advent. The Academic Year begins even earlier in the Fall. A fiscal year can start anytime but today (because then you would call it the calendar year).

January 1st, as the official beginning of the year, began with the Gregorian Calendar reforms of the late 16th century- and you might remember as these reforms were made by Pope Gregory, many Protestant lands refused to make the sensible reforms, in some cases, for centuries making the job of the Early Modern historian in the West a little tricky sometimes.

But, as you might expect with regards to the new year, even the calendar new year however you read it- there is more than countdowns and parties and resolutions connected to today- especially in the church.

It was the ancient Romans- BC style- that set the first day of the year on the first day of the month named for the God Janus- the two-faced God who looks forward and backward and is the god of transitions and beginnings. He and the new year were celebrated as part of the Saturnalia festivities that many in the early church sought to replace with our Christmas celebrations.

From the time of Augustine in the 400s, he was complaining that our New Year's Celebrations had no theological justifications. But the church would borrow something else from the culture- the “octave” or the practice of 8 days of celebration for certain public events, at least since the time of Emperor Constantine.

8 Days, or an octave, of celebrations from the 25th (counting inclusively) brings you to the final Christmas celebrations on this, the 1st of January (the 12 Days of Christmas comes later in the 500s).

The church also found that by observing Christmas on the 25th, you have not only the octave, borrowed from Rome but also the Jewish custom of an 8th day after birth being the day of circumcision, as is commanded by Abraham in Genesis 17. And so we can jump to Luke 2, where we read: 

“21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”

And so today, the 1st of January, would be recognized as the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus and, later, also the Feast of the Holy Name.

The recognition of the Circumcision of Jesus has its own complicated history. Theologically, the Gospel writers all seem to emphasize how Jesus followed the law of Moses and kept the covenant as required. There is also a tradition of seeing this as the first “shed blood” of Jesus, which points forward to his death on the cross.

But, we should remember that in the pre-modern world, while circumcision was not solely practiced by the Jewish people, it became a practice associated primarily with them (see how Paul will refer to the Jewish people simply as “the circumcised”). Rising anti-semitism made the proper identification of Jesus as Jewish a scandal for many, and so his own circumcision and the feast associated with it gave way to emphasizing the other part of Luke 2- his name, Jesus.

And so you might see some churches celebrating New Year, others nothing on principle, others the continuing season of Christmas (in its 12 days, or octave of 8 days ending today), and others celebrating both the naming of Jesus and his circumcision. However, you have, and do celebrate- I’m reminded of Augustine’s call that “During these days when they revel… we observe a fast in order to pray for them”.

Whether your fast has begun or is part of a New Year Resolution- however you take all the jumbled up celebrations- from circumcision and naming to Saturnalia and Toyotathon… or maybe a day for a bunch of college football, best of luck to all teams except Notre Dame. Happy New Year, or something like it from the Christian History Almanac.  

 

The last word for today from the daily lectionary for this day comes from the Luke passage we read earlier and Philippians 2:

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing

    by taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

    and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 1st of January 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by an Indiana man who is more Fort Wayne than South Bend; he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man reminding you that Rudy was probably offside… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.