January was taken from the name of the Roman god Janus, which is depicted with two heads, one facing forward, the other facing backward.
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By Ahmad Najib Burhani
·5 minutes read
January was taken from the name of the Roman god Janus, which is depicted with two heads, one facing forward, the other facing backward. This image of two heads is a representation of the separation between the old and the new, as happens at the turn of the year, the separation from 2020 and looking ahead to 2021.
New Year\'s celebrations, ceremonies and festivals are often seen as opportunities to reflect on the past year and think about what to do in the next year. Because it is considered a moment of reflection and contemplation, New Year is a public holiday in a number of countries.
The world community welcomes the New Year differently. There are celebrations that have a religious atmosphere, some are simply seasonal events. In Japan, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times on every New Year\'s Eve. This event is called Shogatsu.
In Spain, some people celebrate the New Year by eating grapes before midnight as a symbol of their hope for the years to come. In Cuba, Austria, Hungary and Portugal, pork is the main dish in a New Year\'s Eve dinner. The animal is believed to be a symbol of success and prosperity.
In Chile, the turn of the year is marked by visiting cemeteries and spending the night with loved ones who have died. In the United States, the most famous New Year\'s celebration is the dropping of a giant ball on Times Square, New York. In Scotland, New Year is celebrated by eating, dancing and singing the song “Auld Lang Syne” (Old Long Since). In many places, New Year celebrations are enlivened by firework displays and countdown parties.
Countries or societies that do not use the solar calendar will celebrate the New Year at a different time, such as China, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, which have a tradition of using calendars based on lunar cycles.
Therefore, they celebrate the new year on 1 Muharram or 1 Suro rather than 1 January.
Muslims also use a calendar based on the calculation of the month or the so-called Hijri calendar. Some Javanese people also use it. Therefore, they celebrate the new year on 1 Muharram or 1 Suro rather than 1 January.
Because of the current pandemic, the government had banned and prevented various New Year celebrations that could have attracted crowds. However, in many places, celebrations with fireworks continue, and the song "Auld Lang Syne" is still being sung in a number of European countries ahead of New Year\'s Eve.
The song "Auld Lang Syne" was originally a poem written by Robert Burns in 1788. It tells of a breakup and past memories. Should old friends be forgotten and never remembered again? Should the events of the past year be simply forgotten and not used as lessons for the coming year? With the past in mind, we need to do better in the next year. This is why people make resolutions on New Year\'s Eve.
Without the crowds
Of course, the meaning of the New Year can be maintained even without the celebrating crowds. For example, by absorbing the song "Auld Lang Syne", we can reflect on the condition of mankind, and of course this nation, which has been overshadowed by fears of death for almost a year, because the pandemic has not yet been overcome. We can see that one of the strengths of the Indonesian nation in facing Covid-19 lies in its social capital.
In the midst of limitations and sometimes confusion between central and local government policies in dealing with pandemics, various elements of society are here to help. Two things to be noted here are the high philanthropic spirit of the Indonesian people in reducing the burden on those in need and associations or institutions that come down to help ease the burden on the government and fill the shortcomings or weaknesses of the country.
While there are some religious groups accused of being "superspreaders" or Covid-19 "viral vectors", Muhammadiyah, as one of the largest religious organizations in Indonesia, for example, waged "humanitarian jihad" by mobilizing all its strengths to help overcome Covid- 19.
Not only in the form of fatwas and prayers, since meeting President Joko Widodo on 2 March, 2020, this organization immediately established the Muhammadiyah Covid-19 Command Center (MCCC). Muhammadiyah also converted its 77 hospitals to serve Covid-19 patients, deployed around 60,000 volunteers, and disbursed around Rp 130 billion (US$19.5 million) to support other Covid-19 mitigation programs.
The social capital in the form of religious organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, has helped fortify Indonesia against radicalism and terrorism, nurturing tolerance, and providing education and health services to people who are not covered by government programs.
It is inconceivable what the condition of this nation would be if the existing religious groups were acting as parasites, actors spreading the virus and disrupting government action.
Will this old friend be ignored and forgotten and will be then prefer to listen and join hands with new friends who have not proven their loyalty and contribution?
Under normal conditions, the New Year celebration is actually a celebration with people from various classes and strata. It can be used as an opportunity to strengthen bonding and as a bridge between various elements of society.
Celebration or festival arena is a place for melting and interacting. However, these roles are sometimes only symbolic, with little real implementation.
In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, without celebrations, we hope that the New Year will find its true meaning and provide an opportunity for deep reflection about this nation in 2021. The social capital of this nation, as it is now, will be greatly needed as strength when we begin vaccination and life recovery during the Covid-19 post-pandemic period.
Ahmad Najib Burhani, is a research professor at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).