Another stellar influence appears in the Mayan counting of time. It is commented that "The Mayan's comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has proven itself to be vast and sophisticated. The Maya developed 17 different calendars, some of them claiming to chart time accurately over a span of more than ten million years."1 One of these calendars is based on the cycle of the Pleiades and is held sacred. Clearwisdom.net claims that "The calendar systems left by the Mayas... is different from all other calendars around the world... The Mayas were very knowledgeable in astronomy, they had a very accurate calculation for the orbit of earth circulating the Sun. In their calendar system, they recorded the period of earth movement and lunar eclipse, as well as the orbital superimposition and synchronization of other planets. In fact, the astronomical knowledge of the Mayas has transcended far beyond the solar system."
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At Seanachaidh's Grove it is said:Mayan festivals were based on agriculture and the abundance of it, and the seasons. Little is actually known of their celebrations, but what is known is that there were 18 months in the Mayan calendar and each of these months had its ceremonies. Festing was a common preparation for these ceremonies which usually included large feasts, heavy drinking and sometimes orgies.
One result of forming seasonal calendars is creating seasonal festivals along the year, as Nigel Pennick expresses in his book The Pagan Book of Days:
The pagan tradition... places emphasis on the links between people, their land, and the natural cycles of the seasons... Pagan myth and ritual embody a profound respect for the physical world... To live according to the natural year is to be in harmony with all things natural and supernatural... The elder faith is based on the joyful celebration of life itself. An awareness of the natural year observed through seasonal rites and ceremonies brings a positive attitude to all processes and stages of life.
Thus, in most cultures around the world, we find such celebrations of seasonal festivals, and in particular, that of the New Year. At Iran On-line, Massoume Price says that this festival, called No Ruz,"is a celebration of the Spring Equinox, and that it has been celebrated by all the major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia - the Sumerian around 3000 B.C., the Babylonian around 2000 B.C., and the ancient kingdom of Elam in Southern Persia around the same time.
It seems that many peoples celebrate their New Year at springtime, to mark a season of beginning and revival in Nature. This is true of the Hindu culture, as is expressed on the now-defunct site HinduRitesandRituals.com: "The Hindu New Year and GudiPadwa falls on 30th March... The vrat or fast on this day is for happy and eternal married life." The Chinese year also begins at spring, which in their counting occurs in February.
At Seasonal Festivals of the Greeks and Romans we also find that the year begins at spring, and their other festivals were celebrated according to the other seasons:
Spring Equinox — first blossom, first wine, prayers for the year's fertility
Mid-Spring — May Day, festival of the Fertility goddess
Summer Solstice — grain threshing, Goddess' mysteries
Mid-Summer — Athenian New Year, grain offerings
Autumn Equinox — Eleusian Mysteries
Mid-Autumn — plowing and sowing, gathering autumn fruit
Winter Solstice — Saturnalia, relaxing of rules and giving of gifts
Mid-Winter — purification time
Note:
1 [There are several web pages claiming and/or assigning credit for this statement, citing a variety of sources. One such page is at http://skepdic.com/maya.html, crediting the statement to Carlos Barrios. —Ed.]
