Sarx

LESSED Feast to all y’all in the Eastern RIte who call this the New Year.

Apolytikion in the Second Tone
Creator of the universe, setting times and seasons by Your sole authority, bless the cycle of the year of Your grace, O Lord, guarding our rulers and Your nation in peace, at the intercession of the Theotokos, and save us.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
You who created all things in Your infinite wisdom, and set the times by Your own authority, grant Your Christian people victories. Blessing our comings and goings throughout this year, guide our works according to Your divine will.

As to why this is the New Year… read this page on the GOA’s website. It provides two version of the reason. The first few ‘graphs seem to say that Julius Caesar picked 1 September and that, after a while, the eastern church did too: the western one didn’t however. And, in the west, the First Sunday of Advent is, generally, the New Year. Later in the article the use of Caesar’s pagan holiday by the church is propped up by weak references to Judaism.

But ok.

It’s still a cool holiday!