St Sylvester's Day (Western Christianity)
December 31 · Level 9 · #304 of 2238
This is the feast of Pope Sylvester I, who led the Church in the fourth century, in the first decades after the persecution of Christians ended.
How it is celebrated: believers remember the saint at church services, while in everyday life the date has become a New Year's Eve party with dinner, fireworks and midnight toasts.
Sylvester I died on 31 December 335, which is why New Year's Eve carries his name in many countries: Silvester in Germany and Austria, Silvestr in Czechia and Sylwester in Poland.