New Year's Day
This article is about January 1 in the Gregorian calendar. For all other New Year celebrations, see New Year.For information on the movie, "New Year's Day", see New Year's Day (film). For the U2 song, see New Year's Day (song).For information on the movie, "Happy New Year directed by Farah Khan, see Happy New Year (film).
For information on the album, "Happy New Year" by
Oneida, see ''
Happy New Year (album).
New Year's Day is the first day of the
year, in the
Gregorian calendar. In modern times, it is
January 1. 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 14 of the Gregorian calendar due to differences between the two calendars.
January 1 marks the end of a period of remembrance of the passing year, especially on
radio,
television, and in
newspapers, which usually starts right after
Christmas Day. Publications often have year-end articles that review the changes during the past year. Common topics include
politics,
natural disasters,
music and
the arts, and the listing of significant individuals who
died during the past year. Often there are also articles on planned or expected changes in the coming year, such as the description of new laws that often take effect on
January 1.
This day is traditionally a
religious feast, but since the
1900s, has become an occasion for celebration the night of
December 31, 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 an occasion to make
New Year 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. For many of those countries, if
January 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the Friday before or the Monday after will be a public holiday. The official reason that it is not a public holiday in Israel is due to the day's historic origins as a Christian religious holiday, although many other nations with non-Christian majorities have a public
January 1 holiday.
Originally observed on
March 1 in the old
Roman Calendar, New Year's Day first came to be fixed at
January 1 in
153 BC, when the two
consuls, after whom years were named, began to be chosen on that date. However in AD
525,
Dionysius Exiguus set the start of the
Julian calendar at
March 25 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.
Among the
7th century druidic pagans of
Flanders and
the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year, a pagan custom deplored by
Saint Eligius (died
659 or
660), who warned the Flemings and Dutchmen, "[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]." The quote is from the
vita of Eligius written by his companion Ouen.
Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted
January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the
Gregorian calendar (See
Julian start of the year for details.) This is sometimes called
Circumcision Style, because this was the date of the
Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day counting from
25 December.
New Year's Day
* In Britain an extra round of football fixtures is played.
* In
Pasadena, California,
United States, the
Tournament of Roses is held, with revelers viewing the
parade from the streets and watching on television, followed by the
Rose Bowl football game.
* The aforementioned
Rose Bowl football game is one of several postseason
bowl games played in
college football in the
United States (though in recent years it has not always fallen on New Year's Day)
*
Vienna New Year Concert, in Austria.
*
Polar Bear Clubs: in many northern hemisphere cities near bodies of water, they will have a tradition of people plunging into the cold water on New Year's Day. The
Coney Island Polar Bears Club in
New York is the oldest cold-water swimming club in the United States. They have had groups of people enter the chilly surf since
1903.
*In
Philadelphia, the
Mummers Parade is held on Broad Street.
New Year's Eve
* In
New York City, the world famous 1,070-pound, 6-foot-diameter
Waterford crystal ball located high above
Times Square is lowered starting at 11:59:00 p.m., or the last minute of the year, and reaches the bottom of its tower at the stroke of
midnight. It is sometimes referred to as "the big apple" like the city itself; the custom derives from the time signal that used to be given at
noon in harbors.
* Other Ball Drops occur in
Copacabana beach in
Rio de Janeiro and
Sydney Harbour* In
The Netherlands and other
European countries, the New Year is greeted with massive private
fireworks. This day is also the occasion to make bonfires of discarded
Christmas trees in some countries.
* In South Korea, the most popular way of celebrating New Year's Day is to travel to Jung dong jin, the place on the peninsula where the sun can first be seen each day.
*
Junkanoo parade, in
Nassau, Bahamas* Some mayors in North America hold
New Year levees* In
Scotland, there are many special customs associated with the New Year. For more information, see
Hogmanay, the
Scots name for the New Year celebration.
*
Japanese New Year in
Japan* The
Peach Drop in
Underground Atlanta,
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
* In
Davos,
Switzerland, the final match of the
Spengler Cup Ice Hockey Tournament is usually held on this day by tradition.
*In Australia, parties are had around the nation, esspecially in capital cities such as Sydney, where the world's largest fireworks display draws 1-1.5 million people to the harbour.
In the
United States, a common image used 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.
People born on New Year's Day are commonly called
New Year Babies. Many hospitals give out prizes to the first baby born in that hospital in the new year. These prizes are often donated by local businesses. Prizes may include various baby related items such as
baby formula,
baby blankets,
gift certificates to stores which specialize in baby related merchandise, and
diapers.
*
New Year*
New Year's Eve*
Norouz*
Enkutatash
