Happy New Year 2021

The New Year has finally arrived and we have transitioned from 2020 and left it behind. Life took us all by surprise last year and threw quite a few curve balls but here we are with a bright shiny New Year to look forward to. Based on the Jewish calendar our current year that we call 2021,(MMXXI) is 5781. That’s a difference of 3760 years. January is the beginning of a different year in parts of the world where the time zone is UTC+01:00 or later, and includes most of Africa, Europe, Asia, and western Oceania. 2021 began on Friday, January 1, of the Gregorian calendar.

This is the second year of the 2020s decade and the 2021st year of Anno Domini (AD) or as some now call it the Common Era (CE). AD and BC reflect life before and after the resurrection of Christ. CE and BCE are used by those who do not desire to measure time, based on a religious figure. Either term is accepted and both are currently being utilized This is also the 21st year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st year of the 21st century. 2021 is scheduled to host many major events that were originally scheduled for 2020. These include the Eurovision Song Contest, 2020 Summer Olympics, Exp 2020, and UEFA Euro 2020. Each of these were postponed or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and there is no guarantee they will take place in the coming 12 months.

The United Nations declared 2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust, the International year of fruits and vegetables, the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, and the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. From around midnight on December 31 and throughout the day on January 1 many will be singing a traditional New Year's tune, Old Lange Syne. Following is the first and most familiar verse.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet

For days of auld lang syne .

This song is also sung at funerals and graduations to signal an ending and a new beginning.

The month of January has been named for the Roman god Janus, who was known to be the protector of doorways and gates which are symbolic of beginnings and endings. Janus has two faces, one looking into the past, and the other into the future. This seems to be an appropriate symbol for the first day of the year. It’s pretty common to reflect upon the previous year and also look forward to the new one. American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the following poem for the first month of the year.

Janus am I; oldest of potentates;

Forward I look, and backward, and below

I count, as god of avenues and gates,

The years that through my portals come and go.

On January 2, 2021, Earth will reach this year’s perihelion, which is the point where during its orbit our planet is closest to the Sun. At perihelion, the Earth will be a mere 91,399,454 miles away from our largest and brightest star. January’s full Moon, will be considered a full Wolf Moon and will reach its peak illumination on Thursday, January 28, at 2:18 P.M. EST. The moon will be seen rising from the horizon near sunset on that evening. The Full Wolf Moon and other names are used by The Old Farmer’s Almanac and come from a number of sources. These include information from Native Americans, Europeans and Colonial Americans.

A full Moon name was not given for the period when that particular moon would be available but usually applied to the entire lunar month in which it appeared. It is believed that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were heard howling more often during the first month of the year. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but today we know that wolves howl for various other reasons. Howling and other wolf sounds are generally used to define territory, locate pack members, coordinate hunting and reinforce social bonds.

January is considered to be the coldest month in the northern hemisphere although in recent years this varies. The birthstone is the garnet and the flower is the carnation. Important historical figures who were born in the first month of the year include:

Paul Revere, 1735

Betsy Ross, 1752

James Madison Randolph, first child born in the White House, 1806

Edgar Allen Poe, 1809

President William McKinley, 1843

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882

Martin Luther King Jr. , 1929

Happy New Year 2021!