In ancient Mesopotamia, in Babylon, where the king was viewed not as the son of a god but as a god’s agent, or representative, on earth, the New Year’s festival (Akitu), in the spring month of Nisan, contained not only seasonal renewal motifs but also themes centring on the renewal of man and his community. The Enuma elish, the epic of creation, was read at the festival in order to remind the participants that cosmos (order) arose out of chaos by means of a struggle between Marduk, the god of heaven, and Tiamat, the goddess of the deep and the powers of chaos. The New Year’s festival was sometimes celebrated over a period of 10 to 12 days in Babylon. On the fifth day, a sheep was beheaded; the body of the sheep was thrown into the river, and the head was taken into the wilderness. This ritual act, in which an exorcist (mashmashu)—one who casts out demonic powers—participated, symbolized the ridding of the community of the powers of chaos. (It was similar to the scapegoat ritual of the ancient Hebrews, in which the sins of the community were ceremonially transferred to a goat, which was later led to a wilderness area to wander about far from the community.)

Before sunrise of the third day following the scapegoat ceremony, the Babylonian king, as the representative of a sinful people as well as the agent of the god, had to submit to ritual acts of humiliation: his symbols of power were removed, and the priest (urigallu) hit him in the face and enjoined him to pray for the forgiveness of his sins and the sins of his people. After a profession of innocence, the priest absolved the king, restored his regal insignia, and performed ceremonies with the king to ensure the continuous support of the powers of order in nature. During the three days between the sacrifice of the sheep and the reinvestiture of the king, the populace of the city engaged in chaotic activities, perhaps of a carnival-like nature, to symbolize the presence of chaos in nature and society during this period of the apparent absence of the king and the god. When the king reappeared to his people, with his royal symbols of office and in the presence of the statue of Marduk, a procession of statues of the various gods together with their adoring devotees then took place, leading to a sanctuary (bītakītu) outside the city. On the 10th day, a banquet involving the king, priests, temple functionaries, and the gods was held to celebrate the renewal of nature, man, and society.

The significance of seasonal renewal in areas of other religions

Among the pre-Columbian Maya, the first month (uinal), Pop, of the New Year—which would be July in the presently used calendar—became a time for several renewal ceremonies. Old pottery and fibre mats were destroyed, and new clothes were put on. The temple was renovated to meet the needs of the god that was especially venerated during a particular year (the annual god changed from year to year). New wooden and clay idols were made, and the portals and implements of the temple were reconsecrated with blue paint, the sacred colour. The god of the year entered the sacred precincts according to the cardinal point of the compass that he represented (and thus there were only four New Year’s gods). The purpose of the processional rite was to ward off the forces of evil that might prevail against the people of the area. Dances by old women and sacrifices of live dogs (by throwing them down from the temple pyramid) were some of the activities that occurred during the Maya New Year’s festival.

In Japan, among those engaged in agriculture, the ta-asobi (“rice-field ritual”) festival is celebrated at the beginning of the year to ensure a plentiful harvest. Dances, songs sung with a sasara (musical instrument), sowing of seeds, and feasting play important roles in securing the aid of the kami (gods or spirits). Divination by means of archery, in which the angle of the arrow on the target is significant, has been used in shrines to help determine the methods that should be used in securing a good crop. In Hinduism, the Makar Sankranti, a New Year’s festival in the month of Magha (January–February), is celebrated with a fair that continues for a month’s duration, with much rejoicing. The Śrī Pañcamī, a festival (utsava) of seasonal renewal on the fifth day of Magha, symbolizes the ripening of crops. Feasts and festivals centring on seasonal renewal can be found among all peoples of the world, both past and present. Rogation festivities (Days of Asking), originally held by the ancient Romans to counteract the effectiveness of the deity (Robigus) of red mildew on wheat, were reinterpreted by early medieval Christians of the West from the 5th century on as litanies for the blessing of the seed. Rogation Day, the fifth Sunday after Easter, is still practiced in the 20th century in rural Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.