New Year's Day: Difference between revisions

|relatedto    = [[New Year's Eve]]

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'''New Year's Day''', also called simply '''New Year's''' or '''[[New Year]]''', is observed on [[January 1]], the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar. In pre-Christian Rome under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings, for whom [[January]] is also named. As a date in the Gregorian calendar of Christendom, New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus, which is still observed as such in the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church.<ref>{{cite book|last=McKim|first=Donald K.|title=Dictionary of Theological Terms|year=1996|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=0664255116|pages=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hobart|first=John Henry|title=A Companion for the festivals and fasts of the Protestant Episcopal Church|year=1840|publisher=Stanford & Co.|page=284}}</ref> In present day, with most countries now using the Gregorian calendar as their de facto calendar, New Year's Day is probably the most celebrated public holiday, often observed with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts in each time zone. Other global New Years' Day traditions include making New Year's resolutions and calling one's friends and family.<ref name="Mehra2006">{{cite book|last=Mehra|first=Komal|title=Festivals Of The World|date=2006|publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=9781845575748|page=69|quote=In many European countries like Italy, Portugal and Netherlands, families start the new year by attending church services and then calling on friends and relatives. Italian children receive gifts or money on New Year's Day. People in the United States go to church, give parties and enjoy other forms of entertainment.}}</ref>

==References==

==External links==

* [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/53581/new-years-around-the-world#index/0 New Year's Around the World ] - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

[[Category:New Year celebrations]]

[[Category:January observances]]

[[Category:Annual events]]