JERUSALEM — Many Israelis will celebrate the secular New Year tonight, only they will call it “Sylvester.” Here, according to a Jewish website that does not cite a source for the Pope’s alleged actions, is why:
The Israeli term for New Year’s night celebrations, “Sylvester,” was the name of the “Saint” and Roman Pope who reigned during the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.). The year before the Council of Nicaea convened, Sylvester convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem. At the Council of Nicaea, Sylvester arranged for the passage of a host of viciously anti-Semitic legislation. All Catholic “Saints” are awarded a day on which Christians celebrate and pay tribute to that Saint’s memory. December 31 is Saint Sylvester Day — hence celebrations on the night of December 31 are dedicated to Sylvester’s memory.
Hanan Cohen addresses why Israelis would celebrate such a holiday with Roman Catholic overtones:
It’s just because Israel is a Jewish state. The [Jewish] new year holiday is celebrated on the eve of Tishrei 1st [early fall]. People who immigrated to Israel from western countries still wanted to celebrate the “old” new year, like at home, but could not say that they were celebrating the new year so they used instead the Catholic name of the day, Sylvester. That’s why the Jews in Israel celebrate the event using a name of a Catholic saint.
Israelity, Jewlicious, and Ynet look at the holiday as well, each in its own, different way. As the Wikipedia article on Sylvester I notes, information on him is scarce, and I can find nothing scholarly on his alleged actions against Jews in Europe. (Although it does seem fairly common for people in some countries in Europe to call New Year’s Eve “Sylvester” today. When I see the advertisements that Google provides on this page, they are hotel specials for the holiday in Germany and Denmark.)
Still, Sylvester’s purported anti-Semitism is part of Israelis’ historical memory (which is different from historical fact). This religious website in Hebrew warns Jews not to celebrate Sylvester and reminds people of his alleged misdeeds. (Here is an English translation from Google.)
Secular Israelis, however, always look for an excuse to throw a party, and as I noted in a prior post on “Christmas” celebrations in Israel, they are also influenced by Western holidays from their exposure to television and movies. Religious Jews, however, are less likely to celebrate the secular New Year.
This is just a guess on my part, but I bet those Israelis, whether secular or religious, who do have a party on New Year’s do so subconsciously, at least in part, as a “victory” celebration over Sylvester. After all, most Jewish holidays have this general theme: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!”
Related: War on Christmas (in Israel).
