New Year's Day

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New Year's Day
Times Square New Year’s celebration in New York City features the famous ball drop and fireworks and confetti
Observed by	Users of the Gregorian calendar
Type
Significance	The first day of the Gregorian year
Date	1 January
Celebrations	Making New Year's resolutions, church services, parades, sporting events, fireworks
Related to	New Year's Eve, Christmastide

New Year's Day, also simply called New Year or New Year's, is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar.

In pre-Christian Rome under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings, for whom January is also named. As a date in the Gregorian calendar of Christendom, New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus, which is still observed as such in the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church.

In present day, with most countries now using the Gregorian calendar as their de facto calendar, New Year's Day is probably the most celebrated public holiday^{[citation needed]}, often observed with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts in each time zone. Other global New Year's Day traditions include making New Year's resolutions and calling one's friends and family.

Fireworks in London on New Year's Day at the stroke of midnight.

History

In Christendom, under which the Gregorian Calendar developed, New Year's Day traditionally marks the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, which is still observed as such by the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church.

Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) instituted the concept of celebrating the new year in 2000 BC and celebrated new year around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the first day of the year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months. (Septem is Latin for "seven"; octo, "eight"; novem, "nine"; and decem, "ten".) Roman legend usually credited their second king Numa with the establishment of the months of Ianuarius and Februarius. These were first placed at the end of the year, but at some point came to be considered the first two months instead.

The January Kalends (Latin: Kalendae Ianuariae) came to be celebrated as the new year at some point after it became the day for the inaugurating new consuls in 153 BC. Romans had long dated their years by these consulships, rather than sequentially, and making the kalends of January start the new year aligned this dating. Still, private and religious celebrations around the March new year continued for some time and there is no consensus on the question of the timing for January 1's new status. Once it became the new year, however, it became a time for family gatherings and celebrations. A series of disasters, notably including the failed rebellion of M. Aemilius Lepidus in 78 BC, established a superstition against allowing Rome's market days to fall on the kalends of 2 January and the pontiffs employed intercalation to avoid its occurrence.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfn |bracket_year_left = ( |bracket_year_right = ) |template=sfnp }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Sfnp with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ignore-err | loc | p | page | pages | postscript | pp | ps | ref | Ref }}

In 567 AD, the Council of Tours formally abolished 1 January as the beginning of the year.^{[citation needed]} At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on 25 December in honor of the birth of Jesus; 1 March in the old Roman style; 25 March in honor of Lady Day and the Feast of the Annunciation; and on the movable feast of Easter. These days were also astronomically and astrologically significant since, at the time of the Julian reform, March 25 had been understood as the spring equinox and 25 December as the winter solstice. (The Julian calendar's small disagreement with the solar year, however, shifted these days earlier before the Council of Nicaea which formed the basis of the calculations used during the Gregorian reform of the calendar.^{[citation needed]}) Medieval calendars nonetheless often continued to display the months running from January to December, despite their readers reckoning the transition from one year to the next on a different day.^{[citation needed]}

Among the 7th-century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts on the first day of the new year. This custom was deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemish and Dutch: "(Do not) make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]." However, on the date that European Christians celebrated the New Year, they exchanged Christmas presents because New Year's Day fell within the twelve days of the Christmas season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar; the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts in a Christian context is traced back to the Biblical Magi who gave gifts to the Child Jesus.

Because of the leap year error in the Julian calendar, the date of Easter had drifted backward since the First Council of Nicaea decided the computation of the date of Easter in 325. By the sixteenth century, the drift from the observed equinox had become unacceptable. In 2 June 1582, Pope Gregory XIII declared the Gregorian calendar widely used today, correcting the error by a deletion of 10 days. The Gregorian calendar reform also (in effect) restored 1 January as New Year's Day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 2 June. Until then, the British Empire  – and its American colonies  – still celebrated the new year on 25 March.

Most nations of Western Europe officially adopted 1 January as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian Calendar. In Tudor England, New Year's Day, along with Christmas Day and Twelfth Night, was celebrated as one of three main festivities among the twelve days of Christmastide. There, until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 2 June, the first day of the new year was the Western Christian Feast of the Annunciation, on 25 March, also called "Lady Day". Dates predicated on the year beginning on 25 March became known as Annunciation Style dates, while dates of the Gregorian Calendar commencing on 1 January were distinguished as Circumcision Style dates, because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, the observed memorial of the eighth day of Jesus Christ's life after his birth, counted from the latter's observation on Christmas, 25 December. Pope Gregory acknowledged 1 January as the beginning of the new year according to his reform of the Catholic Liturgical Calendar.

Traditional and modern celebrations and customs

New Year's Eve

Sydney contributes to some of the major New Year celebrations each year.

January 1 represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of the passing year, including on radio, television, and in newspapers, which starts in early December in countries around the world. Publications have year-end articles that review the changes during the previous year. In some cases, publications may set their entire year work alight in the hope that the smoke emitted from the flame brings new life to the company. There are also articles on planned or expected changes in the coming year.

This day is traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has also become an occasion to celebrate the night of December 31, called New Year's Eve. There are fireworks at midnight at the moment the new year arrives (a major one is in Sydney, Australia). Watchnight services are also still observed by many.

Regional celebrations

• In Europe countries, the New Year is greeted with private fireworks.
• On New Year's Day, people in certain countries gather on beaches and run into the water to celebrate the new year. In Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands this is very popular. These events are sometimes known as polar bear plunges, and are sometimes organized by groups to raise money for charity. Polar Bear Clubs in many Northern Hemisphere cities near bodies of water, have a tradition of holding organized plunges on New Year's Day.

National celebrations

File:Happy Christmas and New Year.jpg

Happy Christmas and New Year card

• Throughout Great Britain there are many celebrations across the island, particularly in Scotland.
  • In London, thousands gather along the Embankment on the River Thames to watch the fireworks around the London Eye. The New Year officially starts when Big Ben strikes twelve.
  • In Scotland, there are many unique customs associated with the New Year. These form the Scottish celebration HogmanayTemplate:Mdashthe Scots name for New Year's Eve. The street party in Princes Street in Edinburgh is one famous example.
  • In Wales, Calennig is celebrated, with celebrations attracting thousands of people to the capital, Cardiff.
• In Greece and Cyprus, families and relatives switch off the lights at midnight, then celebrate by cutting the vasilopita (Basil's pie) which usually contains one coin or equivalent. Whoever wins expects luck for the whole year. After the pie, a traditional game of cards called triantaena (31) follows.
• In Nassau, Bahamas, the Junkanoo parade takes place.
• In the Philippines, New Year's is considered part of the Christmas holiday. Noise is made on New Year's Eve with firecrackers and horns (amongst other methods) to dispel evil spirits and to prevent them from bringing bad luck to the coming new year. Tables are laden with food for the Media Noche (midnight meal), and a basket of twelve, different round fruits is displayed to symbolize prosperity in each of the coming twelve months. Public New Year's parties are organised by city governments, and are very well-attended.
• In Russia and the other 14 former republics of the Soviet Union, the celebration of Novi God is greeted by fireworks and drinking champagne. Because religion was suppressed in the Soviet Union the New Year holiday took on many attributes associated with Christmas in other countries, including Christmas trees, Ded Moroz (a variant of Santa Claus) and family celebrations with lavish food and gifts. In Moscow, the president of Russia counts down the final seconds of the "old year". The Kremlin's landmark Spassky Clock Tower chimes in the new year and then the anthem starts. It is customary to make a wish while the Clock chimes. The Old New Year is celebrated on January 13 (equivalent to January 1 in the "old style" Julian calendar). Although not an official holiday, it marks the end of the holiday season and is usually when people take down trees and other decorations.
• In Davos, Switzerland, the final match of the Spengler Cup ice hockey Tournament is usually held on this day by tradition.
• In the United States, it is traditional to spend this occasion together with loved ones. A toast is made to the new year, with kisses, fireworks, and parties among the customs. It is popular to make a New Year's resolution, although that is optional. In the country's most famous New Year celebration in New York City, the 11,875-pound (5,386-kg), 12-foot-diameter (3.7-m) Times Square Ball located high above One Times Square is lowered starting at 11:59 pm, with a countdown from sixty seconds until one second, when it reaches the bottom of its tower. The arrival of the new year is announced at the stroke of midnight with fireworks, music and a live celebration that is broadcast worldwide. (Hundreds of local imitations of the ball drop also occur throughout the United States.)
• In France, some regard the weather as the prediction of that year: wind blowing east, fruit will yield; wind blowing west, fish, and livestock will be bumper; wind blowing south, there will be good weather all year round and wind blowing north, there will be crop failure. People would like to toast for the new year.
• In Spain, it is customary to have 12 grapes at hand when the clock strikes 12 at midnight. One grape is eaten on each stroke. If all the grapes are eaten within the period of the strikes, it means good luck in the new year.

New Year's Day

The Annual Stoats Loony Dook held in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 1st January.

The celebrations and activities held worldwide on January 1 as part of New Year's Day commonly include the following:

• Parades
• American football: In the United States, January 1 is the traditional date for many post-season college football bowl games including the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California which are usually accompanied by parades like the Tournament of Roses Parade and other activities to celebrate the events
• Beginning in the 2010s, it is also the day that First Day Hikes takes place in the fifty state park systems of the United States.
• Football: In England, a full-fixture programme {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=

{{#invoke:Category handler|main}}{{#invoke:Category handler|main}} }} is usually played throughout the Premier League

• Ice hockey, most famously the NHL Winter Classic in the United States, a National Hockey League game that is played outdoors
• Concerts
• Entertainment - usually enjoyed from the comfort of home
• Family time
• Local walks
• Traditional meals
• Church services
• An annual dip in ice-cold water by hearty individuals, most famously by members of the Polar Bear Club
• in the Southern United States traditional New Year's Day menu includes ham, blackeyed peas or Hoppin' John, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and cornbread.
• There is horse racing at Cheltenham.

Music

Music associated with New Year's Day comes in both classical and popular genres, and there is also Christmas song focus on the arrival of a new year during the Christmas and holiday season.

• Johann Sebastian Bach, in the Orgelbüchlein, composed three chorale preludes for the new year: Helft mir Gotts Güte preisen ["Help me to praise God's goodness"] (BWV 613); Das alte Jahr vergangen ist ["The old year has passed"] (BWV 614); and In dir ist freude ["In you is joy"] (BWV 615).
• The year is gone, beyond recall is a traditional Christian hymn to give thanks for the new year, dating back to 2 June.
• Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns.

The annual Vienna New Year's Concert, primarily featuring music composed by the Strauss family, is broadcast around the world.

New Year's babies

A common image used, often as an editorial cartoon, is that of an incarnation of Father Time (or the "Old Year") wearing a sash across his chest with the previous year printed on it passing on his duties to the Baby New Year (or the "New Year"), an infant wearing a sash with the new year printed on it.

Babies born on New Year's Day are commonly called New Year babies. Hospitals often give out gifts to the first baby born in that hospital in the new year, and media coverage is also common.

Other celebrations on January 1

The Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on January 1, based on the belief that if Jesus was born on December 25, then according to Hebrew tradition, his circumcision would have taken place on the eighth day of his life (January 1). The Roman Catholic Church celebrates on this day the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, which is also a Holy Day of Obligation.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Birx, H. James (ed.). Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture. SAGE Publications, 2009. ISBN 978-1412941648
• Stinson, Russell. Bach: The Orgelbüchlein. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0193862142

• Macrobius, Saturnaliorum Libri VII . (Latin)
• Macrobius (2011), in Kaster, Robert A., Saturnalia, Vol. I, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 9780674996496 . (English) & (Latin)

External links

• New Year's Around the World – slideshow by Life magazine
• Template:Cite NIE

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