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    A History of The New Year

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    A History of The New Year

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    A History Of the New Year

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    29 views2 pages

    A History of The New Year

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    K

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    A History of the New Year

    by Borgna Brunner

    From ancient celebrations in Mesopotamia to modern day


    traditions, read this article to learn about the history of the New
    Year.

    A Move from March to January


    The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to
    have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated
    around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. A variety of
    other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient
    cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their
    new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on
    the winter solstice.

    Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year


    The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new 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 is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten."

    January Joins the Calendar


    The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in
    Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist
    until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa
    Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) 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-the highest officials in the Roman republic-began
    their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always
    strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still
    sometimes celebrated on March 1.

    Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the


    New Year
    In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar
    that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar,
    which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over
    the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would
    occur with January 1, and within the Roman world, January 1
    became the consistently observed start of the new year.

    Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished


    In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the
    new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567
    the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the
    year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval
    Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the
    birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation;
    and Easter.

    Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored


    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 -and their American colonies- still celebrated the new year
    in March.

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