Father Time and Baby New Year
Father Time and Baby New Year have come to personify the New Year’s holiday, but where did these two figures come from?
Father Time is usually depicted as a bent-over, elderly man, sometimes carrying an hour glass or a sickle. He is a derivation of the Greek god, Cronus (Kronus), the father of Zeus and the other Olympic gods. This character also makes an appearance in the Roman pagan Saturnalia festival to herald in the New Year. To read more about Father Time, see this interesting article on Mythology.com.
Baby New Year is the symbol of new beginnings and innocence, the personification of the New Year. He is typically depicted as a white male infant, wearing nothing more than a diaper and sometimes a black top hat. Using a baby to symbol new beginnings is seen in ancient Egypt, Greece, and in the Roman Empire. The modern custom of using a baby to symbolize the New Year came to North America from the Germans who used the symbol since the 14th century.
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POSTED IN: New Year's Holidays
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