Greetings! From heart to heart, in this moment we speak, I am KejRaj!

Ancient Europeans marked the turning of the year with a midwinter celebration that often lasted seven to ten days, beginning around December 20th, the Winter Solstice. This was the moment when the sun appeared to “rest,” rising at its lowest point on the horizon for roughly three days.

Communities closely observed the sky, recognizing this pause as a sacred threshold between the dying old year and the promise of renewal. Feasting, ritual fires, and communal gatherings honored the return of light and reaffirmed social bonds during the darkest time of the year.

After these three still days, the sun’s movement slowly changed. By December 25th, people could visibly notice the sun rising slightly higher on the horizon, a powerful sign that the light was returning. Each day grew incrementally longer, reinforcing hope and the belief in cosmic order.

Following a week or so of celebrations, the longer days were clear enough to symbolize a true rebirth of time, making this period a natural moment to mark a “new year”, which became January 1st, in reality the last day of the celebrations.

The month of January was named after the Roman god, Janus or Janis, a deity of beginnings, thresholds, and transitions.

As we have mentioned previously, other cultures waited until spring to celebrate the “new year”, around what later became Easter, when daylight overtakes darkness, observation of longer days and shorter nights, temperatures rise, and nature begins to bloom and crops grow again.