ST. SYLVESTER'S DAY

A MESSAGE FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE

Here in the United States, we all know that today is called New Year’s Eve.  Did you know though, that in many countries of the world, it is known by the more Catholic name of St. Sylvester’s Day?  So who was this Sylvester whose feast is celebrated on the very last day of each civil year?

He is best known for being the Pope at the time of the Emperor Constantine’s famous edict in which he made Christianity legal for the first time.  As the Christians rejoiced to find themselves no longer subject to persecution at the hands of the Roman emperors, Pope Sylvester I not only baptized Constantine but urged him to promote the true faith in the city and throughout the empire.  Under his papacy, the great Lateran basilica was first constructed, the mother and head of all churches in the City of Rome and the world.  He went on to build the basilicas of St. Peter at the Vatican, and of St. Paul outside the walls, and many of the other ancient and venerable churches of Rome.  It was St. Sylvester who decreed that Holy Mass should be celebrated only on a linen corporal, a law that was followed from that time until Vatican II.

Diverse traditions are observed throughout the world on the feast of St. Sylvester:

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.  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.  If the lead forms a ball (der Ball), luck will roll one's way, while the shape of an anchor (der Anker) means help in need, and a star (die Sterne) signifies happiness.

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 year to come.

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 Pope Sylvester I.

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.

Switzerland:

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 made fun of.  Men have, for centuries, masqueraded as Silvesterklaus on Saint Sylvester's Day.