Historical dates for the new year The ancient Roman calendar had only ten months and started the year on 1 March, which is still reflected in the names of some months which derive from Latin: September (seventh), October (eighth), November (ninth), December (tenth). Around 713 BC the months of January and February were added to the year, traditionally by the second king, Numa Pompilius, along with the leap month Intercalaris. The year used in dates was the consular year, which began on the day when consuls first entered office — fixed by law at 15 March in 222 BC, but this event was moved to 1 January in 153 BC. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, dropping Intercalaris; however, 1 January continued to be the first day of the new year. In the Middle Ages in Europe a number of significant feast days in the ecclesiastical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church came to be used as the beginning of the Julian year: In Christmas Style dating the new year started on 25 December. This was used in Germany and England until the thirteenth century, and in Spain from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. In Annunciation Style dating the new year started on 25 March, the feast of the Annunciation. This was used in many parts of Europe in the Middle Ages, and was the style introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525. Annunciation Style continued to be used in the Kingdom of Great Britain until January 1, 1752, except Scotland which changed to Circumcision Style dating on 1 January 1600. The rest of Great Britain changed to Circumcision Style on the 1 January preceding the conversion in Great Britain from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar on 3/14 September 1752. The UK tax year still starts on 6 April which is 25 March + 12 days, eleven for the conversion from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar plus a dropped leap day in 1900. In Easter Style dating, the new year started on Easter Saturday (or sometimes on Good Friday). This was used in France from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. A disadvantage of this system was that because Easter was a movable feast the same date could occur twice in a year; the two occurrences were distinguished as "before Easter" and "after Easter". In Circumcision Style dating, the new year started on 1 January, the Feast of the Circumcision (of Jesus). |
Adoption of 1 January as New Year It took quite a long time before the adoption of the 1st of January as the start of the year became widespread. The years of adoption are as follows - 1522 Venice 1544 Holy Roman Empire. The area covered included Germany, Austria and their future territories. 1556 Spain, Portugal, Roman Catholic (southern) Netherlands. This extended to all Spanish and Portuguese territories and outposts in the Americas and around the world. 1559 Prussia, Denmark, Sweden 1564 France. The dating applied to all subsequently acquired French territories. 1579 Lorraine 1583 Protestant (northern) Netherlands 1600 Scotland 1725 Russia, and its future territories. 1721 Tuscany 1752 Britain and its colonies. This included the east coast of what would become the United States and Canada. Also as each part of the world came within the sway of English law, the English style dates applied. Over time that would include large swathes of Africa, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc. When the Gregorian calendar started to be adopted, at different times in different countries, after 1582, the new year's day was again unaligned, with the countries still using the Julian calendar being 10 days behind those that adopted the Gregorian calendar. The discrepancy increased to 11 days in 1700, 12 days in 1800, and 13 days in 1900 The ancient Roman New Year of 1 March was used in the Republic of Venice until its destruction in 1797, and in Russia from 988 until 1492 (AM 7000). 1 September was used in Russia from 1492 until the adoption of the Christian era in 1700 via a December 1699 decree of Tsar Peter I (previously, Russia had counted years since the creation of the world—Anno Mundi). Since the 17th century, the Roman Catholic ecclesiastic year has started on the first day of Advent, the Sunday nearest to St. Andrew's Day (30 November). Autumnal equinox day (usually 22 September) was "New Year's Day" in the French Republican Calendar, which was in use from 1793 to 1805. This was primidi Vendemière, the first day of the first month. |
Time Zones Because of the division of the globe into time zones, the new year moves progressively around the globe as the start of the day ushers in the New Year. The first time zone to usher in the New Year is just west of the International Date Line. At that time the time zone to the east of the Date Line is 23 hours behind, still in the previous day. The residents on the central Pacific Ocean island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island), the eastern-most island in the island nation of Kiribati claims to be the first to usher in the New Year. |
The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations. |
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