CommonSenz

Every community has its share of festivals. People belonging to different faiths celebrate their religious festivals in keeping with their culture and traditions. However, the New Year festival of celebrating the first day of the year is perhaps the most widely celebrated festival. Historical records reveal that the earliest instance of  New Year celebration happened in Mesopotamia in 2000 BCE. Here, in Babylonia, the new year Akitu was ushered in with the graceful new moon, right after the spring equinox (mid-March). Different civilizations celebrated the new year on different dates. Autumn Equinox (September 21) was the new year day for the Persians, Egyptians, and the Phoenicians. The Greeks chose to start their year with the winter solstice (December 21). The Roman republican calendar initially began on 1 st March, however, after 153 BCE, the date was set back to 1 st of January and this continued till 46 BCE. The modern day custom of celebrating 1 st Ja

This year Santa Clause has done his homework well. He has decided to include adults in the list of gift recipients along with children. Having taken notice of the fact that things like recession, inflation, price rise, job cuts take up our time and energy during most of the year, he has vowed to drive away worry, despair and stress from the lives of people. Santa Clause has chosen this Christmas to change the mood and replace pessimism with waves of unadulterated optimism. Dressed in his red cloak, sporting a snow-white beard,  this grand old man is set to deliver a financial bonanza to his numerous adult fans. While people have various expectations, Santa Clause has carefully researched and drawn up plans based on his assessment of an individual’s financial need. The mundane lives of his followers can be brightened if people can live well in the present and also plan a reasonable future. The sled is laden with the bounties which include Mutual Fund certificates among other t