The document discusses the origins and meanings of January and the new year. It explains that in Roman mythology, Janus was the two-faced god of beginnings and endings who could look backward and forward simultaneously. Julius Caesar named the first month of the Roman calendar after Janus, and it has since come to represent both looking back on the past year and looking forward to the future. The document also reflects on reminiscing about accomplishments and regrets from the past year while having high hopes and expectations for the new year with a clean slate.

1. January
New Year is a time to look back and a
time to look forward!
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2. In Roman mythology there was a god who
was the guardian of doorways. He had
two faces on his head and could look
backward and forward simultaneously.
He was the patron of beginnings and
endings, and in 46 B.C. Roman emperor,
Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar
and gave the first month of the year the
name of this pagan God, Janus' month or
in latin Januarius from which we get our
word, "January"
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3. Janus' month has always been a time of
endings and beginnings, when we have the
feeling of making a fresh start on a clean
slate.
People are obsessed with beginnings and
endings.
They hold meaning for us, they fascinate
us, we like them because they somehow
magically make life seem simpler, not so
complex and overwhelming. It helps us
place life into small compartments that are
easier to deal with.
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4. • We mark the beginning of a new year.
• The day a person in born.
• The day a person graduates from
primary, secondary, or University
school.
• The day a person is married.
• The day this church was started.
Like the Greek mythological figure from
which we get the name "January", we look
backward and forward.
We reminisce about how things were. But
we also look forward to the future!
I have here a daytimer... people are fond of
giving these away at the end of the year.
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5. Last week I was looking over last years
appointments.
It was nice to be able to look back over the
year:
• See the things I accomplished.
• Look at all the appointments, the
people I had met, the events I
attended.
But there were also regrets:
• The vacation I never took
• The things I wanted to do, but in the
hectic pace of life, never found the
time.
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6. Even so, there was something nice about
being able to set it aside, and to say, "That
was last year.!"
Now I have a clean slate. A new start. New
possibilities. I have great expectations
looking forward!
You may not even have a daytimer.
But we all have memories in which we
record the events of our lives.
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7. What will you record in your New Year's
book?
Do you plan to make any changes?
Let God guide you to the changes he wants
to make in your life! Just remember, God
doesn't love you for what you've done or
what you will do, but because of what he
did on the cross. On the cross he forgave
your past and gave you a future!
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