New Year’s Eve, which is the last day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, is a time to have social gatherings, eat special New Year’s food, drink champagne, watch or light fireworks, wear white, make new year's resolutions and exchange good wishes for a “Happy New Year”.
The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. More information about Early New Year's Celebrations is available at History USA.
"The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun." To solve the problem in 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, which was a vast improvement of the ancient Roman calendar, and instituted January 1st as the first day of the year, partly to honor Janus, the Roman god of beginnings.
In medieval Europe however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1st as the first day of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25th, the birth of Jesus and March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reestablished January 1st as New Year’s Day.
Today January 1st is internationally accepted as the beginning of the New Year even though many parts of the world have their separate New Year celebrations in different times of the year.
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