In the northern hemisphere this culmination of the Pleiades has the same relation to the autumnal equinox, which would never be taken as the commencement of the year; and we must therefore look to the southern hemisphere for the origin of the custom; especially as we find the very Pleiades themselves called _Vergiliae_, or stars of spring. Of course we might suppose that the rising of the constellation in the _morning_ had been observed in the northern hemisphere, which would certainly have taken place in the beginning of spring some 5,000 years ago; but this seems improbable, first, because it is unlikely that different phenomena of the Pleiades should have been most noticed, and secondly, because neither April nor May are among any nations connected with this constellation by name. Whereas in India the year commenced in the month they called _Cartiguey_, which means the Pleiades. Among the ancient Egyptians we find the same connection between _Athar-aye_, the name of the Pleiades, with the Chaldeans and Hebrews, and _Athor_ in the Egyptian name of November. The Arabs also call the constellation _Atauria_. We shall have more to say on this etymology presently, but in the meantime we learn that it was the phenomenon connected with the Pleiades at or about November that was noticed by all ancient nations, from which we must conclude that the origin of the new-year's spring festival came from the southern hemisphere. There is some corroboration of this in the ancient traditions as to the stars having changed their courses. In the southern hemisphere a man standing facing the position of the sun at noon would see the stars rise on his right hand and move towards his left. In the northern hemisphere, if he also looked in the direction of the sun at noon, he would see them rise on his left hand. Now one of a race migrating from one side to the other of the equator would take his position from the sun, and fancy he was facing the same way when he looked at it at noon, and so would think the motion of the stars to have altered, instead of his having turned round. Such a tradition, then, seems to have arisen from such a migration, the fact of which seems to be confirmed by the calling the Pleiades stars of spring, and commencing the year with their culmination at midnight. In order to trace this new-year's festival into other countries, and by this means to show its connection with the Pleiades, we must remark that every festival has its peculiar features and rites, and it is by these that we must recognise it, where the actual date of its occurrence has slightly changed; bearing, of course, in mind that the actual change of date must not be too great to be accounted for by the precession of the equinoxes, or about seventy-one years for each day of change, since the institution of the festival, and that the change is in the right direction.