5 Fascinating Facts for the New Year

Since the New Year is approaching and I think everyone wants 2020 to be over with, I thought it would be good to dive into some facts about celebrating the New Year.

Below are 5 facts in regards to New Years Eve and a New Years Day.

1. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and celebrated around the vernal equinox, in mid-March. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice. The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls, began their one-year tenure. In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1st as the beginning of the year. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 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 1752. Until then, the British Empire still celebrated the new year in March.
2. Despite the Gregorian calendar being globally recognized, many countries follow different timetables. So some cultures observe New Year’s on a different day! As weird as it may sound, there’s some debate as to which is the first country to celebrate the New Year. While January first is certainly celebrated there, the New Year celebration in India actually has many different dates. Rongali Bihu is celebrated in mid-April, on the first day of the Hindu solar calendar. But the specific day of celebration changes from region to region.
3. In Egypt, the New Year’s Day celebration changes according to the moon. But, unlike other countries that go the lunar route, here the festivities do not begin until a crescent moon is sighted!
4. Another country that celebrates a New Year in April, Cambodia has a 3-day long holiday that is dictated by the end of their harvest season. It follows the same lunar calendar as India, in which the New Year begins when the sun enters the sign of Aries.
5. One of Colombians’ favorite ways to celebrate the New Year is to carry an empty suitcase around the block. The tradition is meant to bring celebrants a year of travel (which hopefully will involve a little more packing).

Photo by Julia Larson from Pexels