Why We Celebrate New Year on January 1 – And the Many Other Ways the World Rings in the Year

We mostly celebrate the new year on January 1, but have you ever stopped to wonder why?

The year AD 1 – the foundation of the modern calendar – was not recognised as such by anyone living at the time. There was no year zero, and people in what we now call AD 1 dated events according to the reigns of emperors, local rulers or religious calendars.

The designation AD (Anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord”) was introduced more than five centuries later, in AD 525, by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus. His aim was not to reset history, but to standardise the calculation of Easter. In doing so, he attempted to calculate the year of Jesus Christ’s birth – a calculation modern historians believe was off by several years, likely placing the birth of Jesus between 4 and 6 BC.

At the time, AD 1 carried no significance. Its importance is entirely retrospective.

The choice of 1 January as New Year’s Day also predates Christianity. Early Roman calendars began the year in March, which is why the names September through December still reflect their original numerical positions. In 153 BC, however, Rome moved the start of the year to 1 January so newly elected consuls could assume office earlier. The month was named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god of beginnings and endings.

That date was cemented in 45 BC when Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar. Although early Christians were uneasy with the pagan associations of January, the date gradually reasserted itself across Europe.

The Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 finally standardised 1 January as the start of the year, a system that remains in use today.

The modern New Year is not a biblical invention, but a Roman administrative one – later refined by astronomy, science and international agreement.

While the date may be fixed, New Year traditions vary widely across cultures:

Japan marks the New Year with temple bells rung 108 times, symbolising the cleansing of human sins.

Scotland’s Hogmanay features fire festivals and the tradition of 'first footing' – the first visitor to a home brings luck.

In Spain and parts of Latin America, people eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each month ahead.

China and much of East Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year, based on the moon cycle, with fireworks, red decorations and family reunions.

Many cultures base New Year on the moon or seasons, not the solar Gregorian calendar:

• Chinese New Year – first day of the first lunar month, usually late January or February.
• Islamic New Year – 1 Muharram on the lunar Hijri calendar, shifting roughly 11 days earlier each solar year.
• Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) – falls in September or October, marking the creation of the world according to the Hebrew calendar.
• Thai / Cambodian / Lao / Burmese New Year – celebrated in mid-April as part of traditional solar-lunar calendars.
• Some African societies traditionally marked New Year with agricultural cycles: harvests, rains, and planting seasons were more meaningful than January dates.
• Today, these traditional dates still exist alongside the Gregorian New Year, blending ritual, music, and family celebrations.
• Across cultures, the impulse is the same: to mark time, to hope for renewal, and to believe — however briefly – that a fresh start is possible.

DAILY NEWS