Silvester
- For other uses of similar terms see Sylvester
Silvester or Sylvester (also spelled szilveszter, sylvester or sylwester) is the day of the Feast of Pope Sylvester I, a saint who served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 314 to 335 and oversaw both the First Council of Nicaea and Roman Emperor Constantine I's conversion to Christianity.[1] The feast day is held on the anniversary of Sylvester's death, 31 December, a date that, since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, has coincided with New Year's Eve. Because of this coincidence, several countries, primarily in Europe, use a variant of Silvester's name as the preferred name for the holiday; these countries include Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia.
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Eastern Orthodox [edit]
Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate his feast day on 2 January.
Israel [edit]
In Israel, Silvester is the name for New Year's Eve and is celebrated by secular Israelis similar to most of the world with drinking and parties.[2] However, the practice has been condemned as commemorating a day when pogroms were common and anti-semitic legislation went into effect.[3]
External links [edit]
Media related to Silvester at Wikimedia Commons
References [edit]
- ^ A History of New Years
- ^ "Sylvester Day". Aish.com. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
- ^ Sylvetsky, Rochel (1 January 2010). "Op-Ed: Sylvester Night is not a Holiday". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
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