Ah, New Years’ Eve – a night for squabbling over where to go until taxi prices rise and you resign yourself to the Hootenanny. Thankfully for them, Ancient Egyptians celebrated a little bit differently.

During the first month in the ancient Egyptian calendar, the Wepet-Renpet Festival was held to celebrate “The Opening of the Year.” Instead of the classic countdown, they would observe the sky and look for the brightest star, “Sirius”, and with its return, the festivities would begin.

But it didn’t end in the early hours of the morning – instead, the feasting and drinking would go on for days. Solemn rituals relating to the death of Osiris were observed as well as singing and dancing to celebrate his rebirth.

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