{{Short description|Christian saint's day}} {{for|Silvester and Sylvester (given name and surname)|Sylvester}} {{other uses|Sylvester (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Saint Sylvester's Day<br /><small>Feast of Saint Sylvester</small> | image = Pape St Sylvestre – BnF, ms 16251, fol. 87.jpg | imagesize = 220px | caption = Saint Sylvester as depicted in the 13th century ''{{ill|Livre d'images de madame Marie|fr}}'' | nickname = Silvester | type = Christian | observedby = Anglicanism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Reformed | date = 31 December (Western Christianity)<br>2 January (Eastern Christianity) | observances = Attending a Watchnight Mass, often held around midnight | celebrations = Fireworks, Theatre-going, Feasting, Making a toast, Partying<ref name="BerkmoesCole2009">{{cite book|last1=Berkmoes|first1=Ryan Ver|last2=Cole|first2=Geert|last3=Berry|first3=Oliver |first4=David |last4=Else |title=Western Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0jpUlPrDRFoC&pg=PA551|year=2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|language=en|isbn=9781741049176|page=551|quote=The German New Year's Eve is called Silvester in honour of the 4th-century pope under whom the Romans adopted Christianity as their official religion; there's partying all night long.}}</ref> | significance = Feast Day of Pope Saint Sylvester I<br />Final day of the Gregorian calendar year | relatedto = New Year's Eve, Christmastide, New Year's Day, Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God | frequency = Annual | duration = 1 day }} '''Saint Sylvester's Day''', also known as '''Silvester''' or the '''Feast of Saint Sylvester''', is the day of the feast of Pope Sylvester I, a saint who served as Pope from 314 to 335. Medieval legend made him responsible for the conversion of emperor Constantine. Among the Western churches, the feast day is held on the anniversary of Saint Sylvester's death, 31 December, a date that, since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, has coincided with New Year's Eve. For these Christian denominations, Saint Sylvester's Day liturgically marks the seventh day of Christmastide.<ref name="Watts2013">{{cite book|last=Watts|first=Isaac|title=Joy to the World: The Forgotten Meaning of Christmas|date=1 November 2013|publisher=Paraclete Press|language=en|isbn=9781612615301|page=49}}</ref> Eastern churches celebrate Sylvester's feast on a different day from the Western churches, i.e. on 2 January. Saint Sylvester's Day celebrations are marked by church attendance at a Watchnight Mass that is often held around midnight, as well as fireworks, partying, and feasting.<ref name="BerkmoesCole2009"/>
== Pope Sylvester I == [[File:Sylvester I and Constantine.jpg|thumb|upright|300px|Saint Sylvester with the Emperor Constantine the Great]] Under the reign of Pope Sylvester I, several of the magnificent Christian churches were built, including the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Santa Croce Church, and Old St. Peter's Basilica, among others.<ref name="Coffey2012">{{cite book|title=Companion to the Calendar, Second Edition|date=16 February 2012|publisher=LiturgyTrainingPublications|language=en|isbn=9781568542607|page=154 |author=Kathy Coffey |author2=Donna M. Crilly |author3=Mary G. Gox |author4=Marry Ellen Hynes |author5=Julie M. Krakora |author6=Corinna Laughlin |author7=Robert C. Rabe}}</ref> During the papacy of Sylvester I, the Nicene Creed, which is recited by communicants of the vast majority of the world's Christian denominations, was formulated.<ref name="Coffey2012"/> Sylvester is said to have healed, in the name of Christ, the emperor Constantine the Great of leprosy.<ref name="Coffey2012"/> After dying, Sylvester was buried on 31 December in the Catacomb of Priscilla.<ref name="Coffey2012"/>
==Regional traditions== [[File:Rottenburg - Marktplatz mit Rathaus und Dom (4233058937).jpg|thumb|The German city of Rottenburg am Neckar decorated for Christmas and Silvester]] [[File:Fajerwerki Krakow 010107 01.JPG|thumb|Saint Sylvester's Day fireworks in Kraków]] Several countries, primarily in Europe, use a variant of Silvester's name as the preferred name for the holiday; these countries include Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Slovenia.<ref name=jpost>{{cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Ariel|title=Celebrating an anti-Semitic pope on Sylvester|url=https://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Celebrating-an-Anti-Semitic-Pope-on-Sylvester-386256|access-date=31 December 2014|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231172036/http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Celebrating-an-Anti-Semitic-Pope-on-Sylvester-386256|archive-date=31 December 2014}}</ref>
=== Austria and Germany === In the capital of Austria, Vienna, people walk pigs on leashes for their Saint Silvester's Day celebration in hope to have good luck for the coming year.<ref name="Crump2014">{{cite book|last=Crump|first=William D.|title=Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide|date=25 April 2014|publisher=McFarland|language=en |isbn=9781476607481|page=215}}</ref> Many Christian households in Germany mark Saint Silvester's Day by practicing the custom of ''Bleigiessen'' using ''Silvesterblei'' (Silvester lead), in which ''Silvesterblei'' is melted over a flame in an old spoon and dropped into a bowl of cold water; one's fortune for the coming year is determined by the shape of the lead.<ref>{{cite web|title= SILVESTER – NEW YEAR'S EVE | url= http://www.mrshea.com/germusa/customs/silvestr.htm |access-date=31 December 2015|work= mrshea.com}}</ref> If the lead forms a ball (der Ball), luck will roll one's way, while the shape of a star (der Stern) signifies happiness.<ref>{{cite web|title= 2.0 Silvesterbraeuche – Neujahrsbraeuche | url= http://www.silvestergruesse.de/2-2-1-bleigiessen|access-date=31 December 2015|work= silvestergruesse.de}}</ref>
=== Belgium === Christians of Belgium have a tradition that a maiden who does not finish her work by the time of sunset on Saint Silvester's Day will not get married in the year to come.<ref name="Crump2014"/>
=== Brazil === Along with exploding fireworks, the Saint Silvester Road Race, Brazil's oldest and most prestigious running event, takes place on Saint Sylvester's Day and is dedicated to him.<ref name="CauBost1979">{{cite book|last1=Cau|first1=Jean|last2=Bost|first2=Jacques Laurent|last3=Chambry|first3=D.|first4=Paul |last4=Wagret |title=Brazil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynuGAAAAIAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Nagel Publishers|language=en |isbn=9782826307273|page=214|quote=On New Year's Eve there are fireworks in the streets, and at midnight begins the marathon known as the 'St Sylvester's Day race'.}}</ref>
=== Israel === In Israel, New Year's Eve is referred to as ''Silvester'' to distinguish it from Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year—which occurs in either September or October.<ref name="Haaretz">{{Cite news |title=The 4th-century Pope and the Great Jewish War Over New Year's Day |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2020-12-30/ty-article/.highlight/the-4th-century-pope-and-the-great-jewish-war-over-new-years-day/0000017f-efc3-da6f-a77f-ffcfa7a80000 |access-date=2022-09-10}}</ref><ref name=jpost/>
As some Israelis consider Pope Sylvester to have been an antisemite, the observation of New Year's Eve has been divisive among parts of the country's Jewish population, and celebrations tend to be relatively modest in comparison to other countries.<ref name="Kershner">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/30/world/middleeast/israel-novy-god-ashdod.html |title=New Year's Fete From Russia Irks Some in Israel: 'It's Not a Jewish Holiday' |date=30 December 2018 |last=Kershner |first=Isabel |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Haaretz"/><ref name=jpost/> In 2014, a report by a wearable technology manufacturer found that an average of 33% of Israelis went to bed before midnight on 31 December; notably, the Silvester is not an official holiday in Israel and January 1 is a regular workday, unless falling on a weekend.<ref>{{Cite news |title=On New Year's Eve, Israelis hit hay early |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/on-new-years-eve-israelis-hit-hay-early/ |access-date=2022-09-11 |work=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref name=jpost/>
Soviet diaspora (such as Russian Jews) that celebrate Novy God—a secular observance of the New Year with elements of Christmas that was established by the Communist Party<ref name=":0322">{{Cite web |last=Weber |first=Hannah |date=25 December 2020 |title=Yolka: the story of Russia's 'New Year tree', from pagan origins to Soviet celebrations |url=https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/9424/yolka-russia-new-year-tree-pagan-soviet-christmas |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113181107/http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/9424/yolka-russia-new-year-tree-pagan-soviet-christmas |archive-date=13 January 2018 |access-date=2021-06-12 |website=The Calvert Journal}}</ref>—have sometimes been criticized for celebrating an anti-semitic holiday. In the mid-2010s, campaigns emerged to promote the holiday to first and second-generation immigrants in Israel, as well as non-Russians, in an effort to build cultural awareness.<ref name="Kershner"/>
=== Italy === On Saint Sylvester's Day, "lentils and slices of sausage are eaten because they look like coins and symbolize good fortune and the richness of life for the coming year."<ref name="dePaola2011">{{cite book|last=dePaola|first=Tomie|title=Strega Nona's Gift|date=18 October 2011|publisher=Penguin Books|language=en|isbn=9781101653159|page=33}}</ref>
=== Switzerland === {{Main|Silvesterklaus}} On the morning of Saint Sylvester's Day, the children of a Christian family compete with one another to see who can wake up the earliest; the child who arises the latest is playfully jeered.<ref name="Crump2014"/> Men have, for centuries, masqueraded as Silvesterklaus on Saint Sylvester's Day.<ref name="Spicer1973">{{cite book|last=Spicer|first=Dorothy Gladys|title=Festivals of Western Europe|year=1973|publisher=Library of Alexandria|language=en|isbn=9781465579997|page=253}}</ref>
=== Ossetia === {{Main|Ossetian mythology}} As late as the 19th century, the nominally Christian Ossetians - an ancient Iranian people of the Caucasus descended from the Scythian nomads of the steppes – still had a class of shaman-like soothsayers called ''Burkudzauta'' or ''Kurysdzauta'' who would, on the eve of Saint Sylvester's Day, undertake dream journeys to the land of the dead in order to wrest from the warlike dead a bountiful harvest in the year to come. This practice was first documented in the year 1824 by pioneering ethnographer and orientalist Julius Klaproth.<ref>Klaproth, Julius ''Voyage au Mont Caucase et en Géorgie'', 2 vols, Paris, 1823 vol. II pp. 223 ff.</ref> Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg has noted (in his work ''Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath'') marked parallels between this Ossetian 'combat in ecstasy' and those formerly practised by the benandanti of Friuli and also by certain other shaman-like figures in Hungary and the Balkans.<ref>{{cite book |title= Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath |last=Ginzburg |first=Carlo |author-link=Carlo Ginzburg |year= 2004 |publisher= University of Chicago Press |location= Chicago |ref=Gin04}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|40em}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}}
Category:New Year celebrations Sylvester