The ancient Aztecs and Maya had nuanced calendars that celebrated New Year’s Eve on different dates, with special traditions to mark them.
Their calendars and celebrations shared many similarities, but also many differences, both to each other and the modern-day calendar. For example, the Aztecs and the Maya had 365-day calendars like the Gregorian calendar, but they also had 260-day calendars dedicated solely to rituals. Both of these ancient civilizations also practiced different rituals and had different meanings for the end-of-year holiday.
Aztec and Maya New Year’s Eve traditions
Though they resided in the same modern-day country of Mexico, the Mayan and the Aztec peoples were completely separate civilizations with their own cultures, traditions, and holiday celebrations.
Aztec New Year’s Eve
The Nahua, or Aztecs, used the term “Yancuic Xihuitl,” which means New Year, to refer to the five-day period that fr them marked the transition from the old to the new year. The Aztecs considered the period to be a time of misfortune and as such they performed ritual cleansing and fasting to appease the gods. They also avoided doing any major activities in an attempt to not fall into bad luck.
The Aztec New Year’s Eve was celebrated on March 11 of the Gregorian Calendar and was the final day of the “Nemontemi,” or “empty days” that contained potential calamity. The ancient Aztecs waited anxiously for the first day of the year and celebrated its arrival by blowing into conch shells. This is still practiced today among the Nahua people who reside in Mexico.
On New Year’s Day, Aztec priests would perform major renewal rituals, specifically to satisfy the gods related to fertility and agriculture. These included Tlaloc, the god of rain, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war.
Ultimately, Aztec New Year traditions were focused on appeasing the gods to avoid cosmic calamity. Avoiding major tasks and instead focusing on ritual practice and fasting so that they could get through the empty five-day period of misfortune unscathed, upon the arrival of New Year’s Day they also focused on cleansing themselves of the impurities of the previous year.
Mayan New Year’s Eve
The Mayans held similar New Year beliefs to the Aztecs, but marked the transitioning year at a different time. Considering the similarities in the calendars between the two civilizations, it is perhaps no surprise that the Maya also allotted a five-day period dedicated solely to the New Year. However, the Mayans observed this special time in a different month, which they called the “Wayeb.” This occurred at the end of their 365-day calendar and, like the Aztec New Year, was also tied to misfortune.
During the Wayeb, the Mayan people would avoid travel or major life decisions, instead focusing on prayer and making offerings. They offered incense to appease the gods and danced over fires to ask for the gods’ mercy.
Their New Year’s Day was called “One Pop,” and New Year’s Eve was called “The Seating of Pop.” On New Year’s Eve, practices of divination would take place. Mayan priests would make predictions for the upcoming year for the civilization’s cities, neighborhoods, and individuals.
The citizens of the Mayan Empire also participated in ritual cleansing for New Year. Owing to the fact that they had patron gods for each year, they would switch the statues of the previous year’s gods in each cardinal direction of the capital before placing the new ones down, including at the Empire’s central temple.
On New Year’s Day, Mayans would clean their homes, discard old items, and refresh personal altars. This enabled them to start the New Year afresh, reflecting their belief in the cyclical nature of time. The priests would also ensure their people were in cosmic harmony on New Year’s Day, by performing grand rituals in the main temple.
Overall, the Mayan New Year symbolized a rebalancing of cosmic harmony. The goal of the Mayans was to survive the final five days of misfortune, and begin the new cycle in a state of perfect balance. The Mayan people were closely in tune with the astrological and cosmic order, and their New Year practices and beliefs reflected that.