The Janus face of change

Janus is a Roman god greatly misunderstood.

He is known by many names. The god of gates, the titan of transitions, the deity of doorways and dualities—characteristics worthy of celebration yet unfortunately preceded by a reputation kindred with the duplicitous and deceitful.

Janus gets his bad rep from the fact that he is most often depicted as a man with two faces; with a Quirrellian countenance found on either side of his skull, a la “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” (To recall, underneath Professor Quirinus Quirrell’s turban hid the face of “He Who Must Not Be Named”!) Perhaps it is for this reason that the name “Janus” is most associated with the term “Janus-faced,” which we, in turn, use with negative connotation to describe the two-faced friend or foe we unfortunately find in life in instances more than one.

But unbeknownst to many of us, the god Janus inescapably finds his place in our lives in a much more common way. Not only in colloquy, but in the calendars hanging on our bedroom wall or loaded into our smartphones. Indeed, with the turn of the year, we welcomed him.

For all our Christianism in the Philippines, during the holiday season we actually celebrate the coming of two gods from two different religions. On the 25th, we celebrate the Christ Jesus’ birth and, six days later, we celebrate the month of Janus, that is, Ianuarius—the month of January.

Janus—the god of change—is thus the eponym of the month we’ve entered, and I could not think of a better personification of what the new year brings. Because like Janus, the new year is about the hope—the promise—of change.

Around the world, we honor that tradition in our own little ways. Historically, knights in medieval times took their voeux du paon—their peacock vow—at the end of the year to reaffirm their commitment to chivalry. Just a few days ago, Pope Francis’ New Year prayer was one of thanksgiving for the blessings past and a call for effecting future change. You, I, and friends far and wide may have made perhaps a new year’s resolution or two to drop bad habits and create new ones this 2023; from losing some holiday weight, to bagging that next promotion, or perhaps to simply enjoying some more time to ourselves. The common thread that runs from the medieval through the banal is the recognition that the new year brings new aspirations.

But the Janiform concept of change is far from one-directional. Indeed, it is two-faced! With one face looking backward into the past and the other looking ahead into the future, Janus gives us a much-needed reminder: That moving forward does not mean leaving history behind us.

Let 2023 be a year of Janian change. Thus, we, too, must be Janus-faced. Not in its duplicitous meaning, but in the sense that we must look to the past as we do to the future. May we keep in mind through the next 360 days that, to make history, we must remember it, too.

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