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New Year Day : Why?
New Year's Day is the first day of the year, in the Gregorian calendar.In modern times, it is January 1st. In most countries, it is a holiday. It is a holy day to many of those who still use the Julian calendar, which includes followers of some of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and is celebrated on January 14th of the Gregorian calendar due to differences between the two calendars.
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New Year’s Day, first day of the year, January 1 in the Gregorian calendar. In the Middle Ages most European countries used the Julian calendar and observed New Year's Day on March 25, called Annunciation Day and celebrated as the occasion on which it was revealed to Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God. With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, Roman Catholic countries began to celebrate New Year's Day on January 1. Scotland accepted the Gregorian calendar in 1600; Germany, Denmark, and Sweden about 1700; and England in 1752. Traditionally the day has been observed as a religious feast, but in modern times the arrival of the New Year has also become an occasion for spirited celebration and the making of personal resolutions. The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, and is prescribed by the Old Testament as a holy Sabbath. It is celebrated (generally in September) on the first and second days of Tishri. The Chinese celebrate New Year’s Day sometime between January 21 and February 19 of the Gregorian calendar. It is their most important holiday.
The Babylonian year began with the first sighting of the crescent moon - the new moon - following the vernal (spring) equinox. In ancient cultures, spring is the herald of new beginnings for it epitomizes the cycle of birth. Farmers sow the seeds, new crops are planted and flowers bloom. January 1, on the other hand, bears no such connotation.
Ever since the inception of the Christian era, the Romans continued to observe New Year in late March. However, subsequently the monarchy intervened in the making of the calendar, which was designed so as to synchronize with the sun. In 153 BC, the Roman Capitol declared the date as January 1. That year, in order to coordinate the almanac with the sun, Caesar had to allow the previous year to go on for 445 days.
Originally observed on March 15th in the old Roman Calendar, New Year's Day first came to be fixed at January 1st in 153 BC, when the two Roman consuls, after whom - in the Roman calendar - years were named and numbered, began to be chosen on that date, for military reasons. However in AD 525, Dionysius Exiguus set the start of the Julian calendar at March 25th to commemorate the Annunciation of Jesus; a variety of Christian feast dates were used throughout the Middle Ages to mark the New Year, while calendars often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December in the Roman fashion.
Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1st as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. This is sometimes called Circumcision Style, because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day counting from December 25th.
This day is traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has become an occasion for celebration the night of December 31st, called New Year's Eve. There are often fireworks at midnight. Depending on the country, individuals may be allowed to burn fireworks, even if it is forbidden the rest of the year.
It is also a memorable occasion to make New Year's resolutions, which they hope to fulfill in the coming year; the most popular ones in the western world include to stop tobacco smoking or drinking, or to lose weight or get physically fit.
In all countries that use the Gregorian calendar, with the exception of Israel, New Year's Day is a public holiday.
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