Unraveling the Origins of January 1st as the New Year: Who Made the Call?

The celebration of the new year has a long and diverse history across different cultures. While many people now associate the new year with January 1st, it was not always the case.

The oldest recorded new year festivities date back to ancient Mesopotamia, around 2000 B.C. This festival, called “akitu,” took place around March and lasted for up to 12 days. It marked the crowning of a new king or the reaffirmation of loyalty to the current king.

Different calendars around the world tied their new year celebrations to various significant events. For example, in China, the new year begins on the second new moon following the winter solstice, which usually falls in late January or February. In ancient Egypt, the new year started when the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, appeared around mid-July, coinciding with the flooding of the Nile.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, there was no standard calendar. However, in 638 A.D., the Islamic calendar was established, and the new year begins when the first crescent moon appears on 1 Muharram. This date was chosen to honor the day Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina, setting up the first Islamic state.

Ancient Rome had its own unique calendar system. The earliest Roman calendars began in Martius (March), coinciding with the inauguration of new consuls. However, the calendar only ran for 304 days or 10 months, with an unassigned winter period. In the 7th century B.C., the calendar was modified to add an additional 50 days to cover the winter period and divided into 12 months.

Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar in 45 B.C., based on the sun, and officially declared January 1st as the start of the civil year in Rome. This calendar also included leap years, adding an extra day every four years. However, it overestimated the length of a solar year by 11 minutes.

The Julian calendar spread throughout Europe but did not replace other new year traditions everywhere. In medieval Christian Europe, Christmas Day or the Feast of the Annunciation marked the start of the new year. The Julian calendar’s slight error accumulated over time, leading to a discrepancy of 10 days by the mid-15th century.

To address this issue, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in the 1570s. This new calendar made adjustments so that centurial years only received the extra leap day if they were divisible by 400. The Gregorian calendar also established January 1st as the start of the new year.

Although the Gregorian calendar gained widespread acceptance for its accuracy, it took some time for Great Britain and its American colonies to adopt it. Due to their refusal to recognize the authority of the Pope, they continued to use the Julian calendar. However, by 1752, the two calendars were off by 11 days, and Parliament in London decided to switch to the Gregorian calendar.

Today, the Gregorian calendar is widely used as the international-standard civil calendar for governments and businesses. While different cultural and religious calendars still hold significance in many countries, the majority of the world’s population celebrates the new year on January 1st. So when the ball drops in Times Square, people all over the world, thanks to the rich history of civilizations and the efforts of Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII, will be wishing each other a happy New Year!