Silvester: How a Pope Became Europe's New Year's Icon

In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and much of Eastern Europe, New Year's Eve bears the name "Silvester," honoring Pope Sylvester I who died on December 31, 335 CE. His name, from Latin "silva" (forest) and "-ester" (belonging to), means "woodland man."

Sylvester was ordained as a priest in 284 CE, then became Bishop of Rome in 314 CE, right when Christianity was transforming from a persecuted faith into an imperial religion. During his leadership, Rome’s skyline began to change with ambitious church-building projects. The original St. Peter’s Basilica, San Giovanni in Laterano, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme were all built under his watch, planting Christianity firmly in the city’s architectural landscape.

During his pontificate, new church designs emerged near martyrs' graves, like ambulatory basilicas - 4th-century structures with circular central naves encircled by side aisles. Churches like Santi Marcellino e Pietro and San Sebastiano fuori le mura showcased these Roman Christian innovations, which influenced church architecture for centuries. When Sylvester I led the Church, these innovative architectural forms featured continuous side aisles around rounded central naves, establishing a distinctly Roman Christian architectural style that would shape church design for generations.

During Sylvester’s pontificate, Christianity also underwent a watershed moment at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, where key beliefs were formalized, including the Nicene Creed still recited today. Although Sylvester did not attend in person, he sent representatives Victor and Vincentius. The council’s outcome symbolized Christianity’s move from a persecuted minority to an officially recognized imperial religion.

The Constantine Connection and the Great Forgery

Around 750–800 CE, a document known as the “Donation of Constantine” appeared, claiming that Emperor Constantine had given Sylvester and subsequent popes authority over Rome and the western Roman Empire. This was supposedly in gratitude for Sylvester curing Constantine of leprosy through baptism. Though it turned out to be a forgery, it provided justification for the papacy’s temporal power and the establishment of the Papal States—allowing popes to wear imperial regalia and assert supremacy over all Christian churches.

The “Donation” held sway until the Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla exposed it in 1439–1440. He pointed out the anachronistic Latin and historical inconsistencies that proved it was fake. Even so, the document had already left a lasting mark on medieval politics, influencing church-state relations and papal authority.

When Did “Silvester” Begin?

The custom of calling December 31 “Silvester” dates back to the Catholic tradition of celebrating his feast day on the day of his death, December 31, 335 CE. As Christianity spread through Europe in the early Middle Ages, local calendars and liturgies began referring to December 31 simply by the saint’s name. Over time, this usage caught on in German-speaking regions (and parts of Eastern Europe), so that the last day of the year came to be universally known as “Silvester.”

Different Christian traditions honor Sylvester on different dates—January 2 for Greek and Bulgarian Orthodox, and January 15 for Russian Orthodox. Sylvester is also considered a patron saint of domestic animals, so farmers invoke him for fruitful harvests and flourishing livestock.

image source: Peter1936F, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons