Old Year Be Gone

​This is a postcard with an allegorical representation of the past year and the upcoming new year. The past year is depicted as an old bearded man in a yarmulke, drowning in the sea. An inscription written above his head in Yiddish identifies him as the “Old Year.” The “New Year,” identified by an inscription in Yiddish, is represented by a young woman with flowers in her hair and more flowers in her hands. She is standing on the rocky coast and pointing to the old man in the sea. A Yiddish poem is written on the postcard asking the old year, with all of “sorrow and misfortune,” to sink and be gone. A new year, it states, is coming and bringing with it “new luck and joy,” a new year that will “free the world.” The card refers to cycle of the year and may also reflect the artist’s attitude towards the past and tradition in contrast to modernity and the future. Although not dated, the postcard is thought to be from the beginning of the twentieth century.

Observation

• What type of card is this?
• What is the setting of the picture?
• Describe the two people in the picture.
  What do they look like?
  What are they doing?
• What language is the postcard written in?
• Summarize the poem that appears on the postcard.

Reading Between the Lines

• What are the two figures named?
  What do they represent?
• Read the translation of the poem.
  What thoughts and emotions are expressed in the poem?
• This picture is an allegory.
  Look up the definition of allegory. How do you know that this is an allegory?
• What interpretation could you give to the picture and the poem?
  What message might the artist be conveying about old and new traditions or ways of life?
• What was going on in the world at the time when this card was created – probably the beginning of the twentieth century – that might have inspired the artist to make this card?
• Why do you think the poem was written in Yiddish?
  Who would have understood this then and who would understand this today?

Connections

• Do you think the message of the card is optimistic or pessimistic? Explain your answer.
• Have you ever had a year that you were happy to see come to an end?
  Can you relate to the message of this Shana Tova card?
  How did the idea of starting a new year make you feel?
• Do you like allegories? Can you think of any movies or books that are allegories? What was their message? What did you like about the story?

Creative Ideas

• Who do you think would have sent this card?
  Write a short story or journal entry about the sender.
• Draw a different picture to express the same idea as this Shana Tova card.
• Write a poem to accompany the picture on this Shana Tova card.

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