New Year’s Eve is named “Sylvester’s Day” in some countries, Israel included. The reason has to do with Pope Sylvester I who presumably died in December 31, almost two millennia ago.

According to one legend, it appears that Mr. Sylvester was not so kind to the Jews. The contemporary outcome is a major ban by religiously-oriented people on New Year’s Eve celebrations in Israel… or at least an excuse for such a ban, derived from the existence of a Jewish calendar which should be used instead, you know.

In the realm of logic fallacies, this is something between “argumentum ad hominem” and “affirmation of the consequent”. It uses both a personal attack on the celebrators, as well as reversing the order of a proof. What if Sylvester was born in Passover? Would it be a good enough reason to stop celebrating this as well?

Celebrations or not, this is yet another example of the infinite elasticity of religious logic.