The New Year is the time or day at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar’s year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on January 1 (New Year’s Day, preceded by New Year’s Eve). This was also the first day of the year in the original Julian calendar and the Roman calendar (after 153 BC).
Other cultures observe their traditional or religious New Year’s Day according to their own customs, typically (though not invariably) because they use a lunar calendar or a lunisolar calendar. Chinese New Year, the Islamic New Year, Tamil New Year (Puthandu), and the Jewish New Year are among well-known examples. India, Nepal, and other countries also celebrate New Year on dates according to their own calendars that are movable in the Gregorian calendar.
During the Middle Ages in Western Europe, while the Julian calendar was still in use, authorities moved New Year’s Day, depending upon locale, to one of several other days, including March 1, March 25, Easter, September 1, and December 25. Since then, many national civil calendars in the Western World and beyond have changed to using one fixed date for New Year’s Day, January 1—most doing so when they adopted the Gregorian calendar.
This is how they came up with the birth and resurrection of Jesus. They stole the stories from the pagans who had been celebrating the rebirth of nature for thousands of years.
The solstices are the only dates that actually make much sense to me as the start of the new year (I’m discounting ap- and perihelion as requiring some actual science).
It’s funny how we even celebrate our dog’s “birthday” when they have NO concept of how many times the earth has gone around the sun… and we aren’t particularly precise about THAT even… which is why we have leap years…
March 25th was the Christian New Year’s Day until just a couple hundred years ago.Not to mention, the 1st day of the 7th month (theirs not Christian) is the Jewish new year. The Chinese also have a new year’s day that is on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025.There are a dozen or more other New Year’s Days every year.
Well, I’ll tell ya why it’s January. Janus was the Roman god of two faces, always looking both ways. Very appropriate for the new year month. His particular interest was beginnings and ending of conflicts. Roman armies leaving for war marched under his arch. The doors they passed through were kept open in time of war and closed in times of peace. They mostly stayed open. His main interest was beginnings. There were Janus rites for the beginning of the month and the start of the day.
You would have to ask Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII. They are they ones, with their minions of course, who are responsible for our current calendar.
King Aragorn II Elessar declared that the New Year would henceforth begin on March 25th, the date of the destruction of Sauron’s One Ring. He also declared that the destruction of the Ring concluded the Third Age, and that the Fourth Age — the Age of Men — also began on March 25th. Tolkien implied that this date for the New Year was passed down through thousands of years until it was picked up by the Romans. (In actuality, March 25th was a traditional Anglo-Saxon date for Christ’s crucifixion.)
Yakety Sax 5 days ago
The New Year is the time or day at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar’s year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on January 1 (New Year’s Day, preceded by New Year’s Eve). This was also the first day of the year in the original Julian calendar and the Roman calendar (after 153 BC).
Other cultures observe their traditional or religious New Year’s Day according to their own customs, typically (though not invariably) because they use a lunar calendar or a lunisolar calendar. Chinese New Year, the Islamic New Year, Tamil New Year (Puthandu), and the Jewish New Year are among well-known examples. India, Nepal, and other countries also celebrate New Year on dates according to their own calendars that are movable in the Gregorian calendar.
During the Middle Ages in Western Europe, while the Julian calendar was still in use, authorities moved New Year’s Day, depending upon locale, to one of several other days, including March 1, March 25, Easter, September 1, and December 25. Since then, many national civil calendars in the Western World and beyond have changed to using one fixed date for New Year’s Day, January 1—most doing so when they adopted the Gregorian calendar.
cracker65 5 days ago
This is how they came up with the birth and resurrection of Jesus. They stole the stories from the pagans who had been celebrating the rebirth of nature for thousands of years.
fredd13 5 days ago
The solstices are the only dates that actually make much sense to me as the start of the new year (I’m discounting ap- and perihelion as requiring some actual science).
So – “Happy January 9th 2025, all…!”
Gizmo Cat 4 days ago
I wish January would start with a fresh, clean world. Instead, there’s usually a lot of rubbish on the streets from all the fireworks they blasted.
suelou 4 days ago
It’s funny how we even celebrate our dog’s “birthday” when they have NO concept of how many times the earth has gone around the sun… and we aren’t particularly precise about THAT even… which is why we have leap years…
Alicia1955 4 days ago
March 25th was the Christian New Year’s Day until just a couple hundred years ago.Not to mention, the 1st day of the 7th month (theirs not Christian) is the Jewish new year. The Chinese also have a new year’s day that is on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025.There are a dozen or more other New Year’s Days every year.
Gameguy49 Premium Member 4 days ago
2024 was a great year and all indications point to 2025 being even better. That’s the news from our house anyway.
Skeptical Meg 4 days ago
When I lived on Long Island, I’d take off on the first day of spring and go to the beach. That was my New Year’s tradition.
MeGoNow Premium Member 4 days ago
Well, I’ll tell ya why it’s January. Janus was the Roman god of two faces, always looking both ways. Very appropriate for the new year month. His particular interest was beginnings and ending of conflicts. Roman armies leaving for war marched under his arch. The doors they passed through were kept open in time of war and closed in times of peace. They mostly stayed open. His main interest was beginnings. There were Janus rites for the beginning of the month and the start of the day.
Hammurabi.Wolfe 4 days ago
You would have to ask Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII. They are they ones, with their minions of course, who are responsible for our current calendar.
cuzinron47 4 days ago
We could do with a reset every so often.
Claymore Premium Member 4 days ago
King Aragorn II Elessar declared that the New Year would henceforth begin on March 25th, the date of the destruction of Sauron’s One Ring. He also declared that the destruction of the Ring concluded the Third Age, and that the Fourth Age — the Age of Men — also began on March 25th. Tolkien implied that this date for the New Year was passed down through thousands of years until it was picked up by the Romans. (In actuality, March 25th was a traditional Anglo-Saxon date for Christ’s crucifixion.)