Indigenous communities have kept alive some of the world’s oldest traditions for ringing in a new year. In Hawai‘i, there’s the months-long new year celebration known as Makahiki, which begins in November when the constellation Makaliʻi first appears in the night sky. For the Hopi, there’s the 16-day Soyal Ceremony, where ritual dances revive the sun from its winter sleep. For Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese people, the new year, Avurudu, in mid-April, begins with the lighting of the hearth and the eating of traditional foods. What unites all these traditions, though,…
