A civil observance on January 1 marking the first day of the Gregorian calendar year, celebrated across cultures worldwide.
“Rome moved its civil year to January 1 in 153 BCE; Caesar's Julian calendar fixed the date in 45 BCE.
January 1 was named for Janus, the two-faced Roman god of beginnings. Rome moved the start of its civil year to January 1 in 153 BCE so new consuls could take office, and Julius Caesar's Julian calendar reform fixed the date when it took effect in 45 BCE. Medieval Christian Europe later displaced it before Pope Gregory XIII's 1582 reform restored it.
We treat January 1 as the natural, obvious start of the year. For most of recorded history, it was anything but settled.
The date was adopted, dropped, and reinstated for more than two thousand years. After Rome made it the start of the civil year, much of medieval Christian Europe walked away from it, opening the year instead on March 25 or December 25.
England held out the longest. Its legal year began on March 25 until 1752, which left the year 1751 just 282 days long, running from late March to the end of December. The clean January 1 we count on is younger, and stranger, than it looks.
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New Year’s Day ran on January 1. Here’s who celebrated with offers this year.
The calendar Rome inherited did not begin in January at all. The early Roman year opened in March and ran only ten months, which is why September through December still carry the Latin words for seventh through tenth.
January arrived with a god of thresholds. The month took its name from Janus, the Roman deity of doorways and beginnings, shown with two faces: one looking back, one looking ahead. A god of the in-between was a fitting patron for the hinge of the year.
The shift was practical before it was ceremonial. In 153 BCE, Rome moved the start of its civil year from March to January 1 so newly elected consuls could take office on that day. The new year became a matter of state scheduling.
A century later, the calendar itself was broken and drifting from the seasons. Julius Caesar imposed a fix. His Julian calendar took effect on January 1, 45 BCE, the first time the date was widely locked in as the year's opening. To realign everything first, Caesar had stretched the previous year to an unwieldy length later nicknamed the year of confusion.
The date did not stay fixed. After Rome fell, Christian Europe pulled the new year toward its own holy days. Many places opened the year on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, or on December 25. For centuries, when a year began depended on where you stood.
England clung to March 25 the longest. Its legal year did not return to a January 1 start until 1752, when Britain and its colonies finally adopted the Gregorian calendar and dropped eleven days to catch up.
The restoration traces to Rome again, this time the Vatican. Pope Gregory XIII's 1582 reform repaired the drifting calendar and put January 1 back as the start of the year. That calendar is now the world's civil standard, which is why the date a Roman consul once used to take office is the one most of the planet counts down to.
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WHY THIS DAY MATTERS
Resolutions are older than the date itself.
The Romans made promises of good conduct to Janus once January 1 became their new year, a documented forerunner of the modern resolution. Even earlier, Babylonians reportedly vowed to pay debts and return borrowed objects at their own new year.
In the United States, New Year's Day is a legal public holiday named in federal statute, 5 U.S.C. 6103. As the Gregorian civil calendar's first day, it is observed across much of the world.
At the stroke of twelve, much of the English-speaking world sings Auld Lang Syne, with words written down by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. A single old Scots lyric became the planet's most recognizable farewell to the year.
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GOOD TO KNOW
September through December come from the Latin for seventh through tenth, left over from a Roman year that began in March.
Babylonians reportedly promised their gods to pay debts and return borrowed objects, though their new year fell in mid-March, not January.
The first Times Square ball dropped on the night of December 31, 1907 to welcome 1908, so both years name the same single event.
Built of iron and wood and five feet across, the first Times Square ball carried 100 light bulbs when publisher Adolph Ochs sent it down in 1907.
Auld Lang Syne, sung at midnight worldwide, uses words written down by Robert Burns and tied to Scotland's Hogmanay New Year celebration.
Test your knowledge
New Year's Day falls on January 1, the first day of the Gregorian calendar year.
COLOPHON
Ring in the New Year with family and friends - enjoy festive feasts, decorations, and a sparkling countdown to an amazing year!
A heritage observance on March 25 marking the Feast of the Annunciation, the historical English legal new year, spring renewal, and the start of the agricultural season.
Say goodbye to New Year's resolutions and hello to a fresh start on No Longer New Year's Day - the perfect day for second chances and new beginnings!
Ready to kick off the new year with a bang? Join us for New Year's Resolutions Week and start making positive changes in your life!
