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{{Infobox holiday
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name = Christmas<br /><small>Christmas Day</small>
|holiday_name = New Year's Day
| image = Nativity_tree2011.jpg
|type          = I
| imagesize = 300px
|longtype      =
| caption = A depiction of the Nativity of Jesus with a Christmas tree backdrop
|image        =  
| nickname = Noël, Nativity, Xmas, Yule
|caption      =  
| observedby = Christians, many non-Christians<ref name="nonXians">[http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/entertainment/scripts/multifaith_christmas.pdf Christmas as a Multi-faith Festival]—BBC News. Retrieved September 30, 2008.</ref><ref name="NonXiansUSA">{{cite web|url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/113566/us-christmas-not-just-christians.aspx|title = In the U.S., Christmas Not Just for Christians|publisher = Gallup, Inc.|date = December 24, 2008|accessdate=December 16, 2012}}</ref>
|observedby   = Users of the Gregorian calendar
| date = * December 25<br />''Western Christianity and some Eastern churches; secular world''
|duration      = 1 day
* {{OldStyleDate|January 7||December 25}}<br />''Some Eastern churches''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=RA5-PT130&dq=Christmas+date#v=onepage&q=Christmas%20date&f=false|title=Paul Gwynne, ''World Religions in Practice'' (John Wiley & Sons 2011 ISBN 978-1-44436005-9)|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781444360059|date=September 7, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jan7">{{cite web |url=http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/coptic_calendar/nativitydate.html |title=The Glorious Feast of Nativity: 7 January? 29 Kiahk? 25 December? |publisher=Coptic Orthodox Church Network |first=John |last=Ramzy |accessdate=January 17, 2011}}</ref>''
|frequency    = Annual
* January 6<br />''Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Evangelical Churches<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=EDO5bcaMvUIC&pg=PT27&dq=%22Armenian+Christians%22+Kelly#v=onepage&q=%22Armenian%20Christians%22%20Kelly&f=false|title=Joseph F. Kelly, ''The Feast of Christmas'' (Liturgical Press 2010 ISBN 978-0-81463932-0)|publisher=|isbn=9780814639320|author1=Kelly|first1=Joseph F|year=2010}}</ref>''
|scheduling    = same day each year
* {{OldStyleDate|January 19||January 6}}<br />''Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem<ref>{{cite news|last=Jansezian|first=Nicole|title=10 things to do over Christmas in the Holy Land|url=http://www.jpost.com/Travel/Around-Israel/10-things-to-do-over-Christmas-in-the-Holy-Land|work=The Jerusalem Post|quote=...the Armenians in Jerusalem – and only in Jerusalem – celebrate Christmas on January 19...}}</ref>''
|date         = January 1
| observances = Church services
|mdy          = yes
| celebrations =  social gatherings and feasting etc.
|celebrations  = Making New Year's resolutions, church services, parades, sporting events, fireworks<ref name="Mehra2006"/>
| type = Christian, cultural
|significance  = The first day of the Gregorian year
| significance = Commemoration of the birth of Jesus
|relatedto     = [[New Year's Eve]]
| relatedto = [[Christmas Eve]]
| frequency = Annual
| duration = 1 day
}}
}}
'''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>


'''Christmas''' or '''Christmas Day''' (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning " Christ's Mass") is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus,<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/christmas Christmas], ''Merriam-Webster''. Retrieved 2008-10-06.<br />[http://www.webcitation.org/5kwKlFgsB?url=http%3A%2F%2Fencarta.msn.com%2Fencnet%2Frefpages%2FRefArticle.aspx%3Frefid%3D761556859 Archived] 2009-10-31.</ref><ref name="CathChrit">Martindale, Cyril Charles.[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm "Christmas"]. ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company,  1908.</ref> observed most commonly on December 25<ref name="Jan7"/><ref name="altdays">Several branches of Eastern Christianity that use the Julian calendar also celebrate on December 25 according to that calendar, which is now January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. Armenian Churches observed the nativity on January 6 even before the Gregorian calendar originated. Most Armenian Christians use the Gregorian calendar, still celebrating Christmas Day on January 6. Some Armenian churches use the Julian calendar, thus celebrating Christmas Day on January 19 on the Gregorian calendar, with January 18 being Christmas Eve.</ref><ref name=4Dates /> as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.<ref name="NonXiansUSA" /><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-christians/|title = The Global Religious Landscape <nowiki>|</nowiki> Christians|publisher = Pew Research Center|date = December 18, 2012|accessdate = May 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Gallup122410">{{cite web|url = http://www.gallup.com/poll/145367/christmas-strongly-religious-half-celebrate.aspx|title = Christmas Strongly Religious For Half in U.S. Who Celebrate It|publisher = Gallup, Inc.|date = December 24, 2010|accessdate = December 16, 2012}}</ref> A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night;<ref name="Forbes">{{cite book|last=Forbes|first=Bruce David|title=Christmas: A Candid History|date=October 1, 2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520258020|page=27|quote=In 567 the Council of Tours proclaimed that the entire period between Christmas and Epiphany should be considered part of the celebration, creating what became known as the twelve days of Christmas, or what the English called Christmastide. On the last of the twelve days, called Twelfth Night, various cultures developed a wide range of additional special festivities. The variation extends even to the issue of how to count the days. If Christmas Day is the first of the twelve days, then Twelfth Night would be on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. If December 26, the day after Christmas, is the first day, then Twelfth Night falls on January 6, the evening of Epiphany itself. After Christmas and Epiphany were in place, on December 25 and January 6, with the twelve days of Christmas in between, Christians gradually added a period called Advent, as a time of spiritual preparation leading up to Christmas.}}<!--|accessdate=December 7, 2015--></ref> in some traditions, Christmastide includes an Octave.<ref name="Senn2012">{{cite book|last=Senn|first=Frank C.|title=Introduction to Christian Liturgy|year=2012|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=9781451424331|page=145|quote=We noted above that late medieval calendars introduced a reduced three-day octave for Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost that were retained in Roman Catholic and passed into Lutheran and Anglican calendars.}}<!--|accessdate=December 8, 2015--></ref> Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations,<ref>[http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/jfa-ha/index-eng.cfm Canadian Heritage – Public holidays] – ''Government of Canada''. Retrieved November 27, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.opm.gov/Operating_Status_Schedules/fedhol/2009.asp 2009 Federal Holidays] – ''U.S. Office of Personnel Management''. Retrieved November 27, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_073741 Bank holidays and British Summer time] – ''HM Government''. Retrieved November 27, 2009.</ref> is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people,<ref name="nonXians"/><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1100842/Why-I-celebrate-Christmas-worlds-famous-atheist.html Why I celebrate Christmas, by the world's most famous atheist] – ''Daily Mail''. December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 20, 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/lifestyles/leisure/article_9914761e-ce50-11de-98cf-001cc4c03286.html Non-Christians focus on secular side of Christmas] – ''Sioux City Journal''. Retrieved November 18, 2009.</ref> and is an integral part of the holiday season, while some Christian groups reject the celebration. In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family.
==History==
==History==
[[File:Hortus Deliciarum, Die Geburt Christi.JPG|thumb|300px|''Nativity of Christ'' – medieval illustration from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century)]]
[[Image:Menologion of Basil 047.jpg|thumb|200px|In Christendom, under which the Gregorian Calendar developed, New Year's Day traditionally marks the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, which is still observed as such by the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church.]]
The Christian ecclesiastical calendar contains many remnants of pre-Christian festivals. Although the [[Christmas#Date|dating as December 25]] predates pagan influence, the later development of Christmas as a festival includes elements of the Roman feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of Mithra as described in the Roman cult of Mithraism.<ref>"The survival of Roman religion" in the section on the history of the [http://global.britannica.com/topic/Roman-religion Roman religion] in Encyclopaedia Britannica</ref>
Mesopotamia (Iraq) instituted the concept of celebrating the new year in 2000 BC, celebrated new year around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearhistory.html |title=A History of the New Year |first=Borgna |last=Brunner |publisher=Infoplease.com |accessdate=31 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/5-ancient-new-years-celebrations |title=5 Ancient New Year’s Celebrations |first=Evan |last=Andrews |newspaper=History News |date=31 December 2012 |accessdate=31 January 2014}}</ref> The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for "seven," octo is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten.")
 
The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1 was in Rome in 153 BC (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 BC, when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls - the highest officials in the Roman republic - began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.


The Chronography of 354 AD contains early evidence of the celebration on December 25 of a Christian liturgical feast of the birth of Jesus. This was in Rome, while in Eastern Christianity the birth of Jesus was already celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=Wainwright+%22epiphany+is+older%22&btnG= |title=Geoffrey Wainwright, Karen Beth Westerfield Tucker (editors), ''The Oxford History of Christian Worship'' (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-513886-3), p. 65 |publisher=Google |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref><ref name=Roy>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Traditional_Festivals_An_Multicultur.html?id=ANxZYgEACAAJ= |title=Christian Roy, ''Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia'' (ABC-CLIO 2005 ISBN 978-1-57607-089-5) p. 146 |publisher=Google.com |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> The December 25 celebration was imported into the East later: in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the 4th century,<ref name=Roy/> probably in 388, and in Alexandria only in the following century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=Hastings+%22been+between+400+and+432%22&btnG= |title=James Hastings, John A. Selbie (editors), ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics'' (reproduction by Kessinger Publishing Company 2003 ISBN 978-0-7661-3676-2), Part 6, pp. 603–604 |publisher=Google |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> Even in the West, the January 6 celebration of the nativity of Jesus seems to have continued until after 380.<ref>Hastings and Selbie, p. 605</ref> In 245, Origen of Alexandria, writing about {{bibleverse||Leviticus|12:1–8|ESV}}, commented that Scripture mentions only sinners as ''celebrating'' their birthdays, namely Pharaoh, who then had his chief baker hanged ({{bibleverse||Genesis|40:20–22|ESV}}), and Herod, who then had John the Baptist beheaded ({{bibleverse||Mark|6:21–27|ESV}}), and mentions saints as ''cursing'' the day of their birth, namely Jeremiah ({{bibleverse||Jeremiah|20:14–15|ESV}}) and Job ({{bibleverse||Job|3:1–16|ESV}}).<ref name="Origin">Origen, "Levit., Hom. VIII"; ''Migne P.G.'', XII, 495.<br />partially quoted in "[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10709a.htm Natal Day]", ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1911.</ref> In 303, Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, a passage cited as evidence that Arnobius was unaware of any nativity celebration.<ref>McCracken, George, ''Arnobius of Sicca, the Case Against the Pagans'', Volume 2, p. 83, . "Therefore if this is a fact, how can Jupiter be god if it is agreed that god is everlasting, while the other is represented by you to have a birthday, and frightened by the new experience, to have squalled like an infant."<br />G. Brunner, "Arnobius eine Zeuge gegen das Weihnachtsfest? " JLW 13 (1936) pp. 178–181.</ref> Since Christmas does not celebrate Christ's birth "as God" but "as man", this is not evidence against Christmas being a feast at this time.<ref name="CathChrit" /> The fact the Donatists of North Africa celebrated Christmas may indicate that the feast was established by the time that church was created in 311.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7n3IqxsT0RMC&pg=PA10&dq=Donatists+Christmas&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0W65VJ3xFpLO7Qa1soG4CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Donatists%20Christmas&f=false Thomas Comerford Lawler (editor), ''Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany'' (of Saint Augustine). Paulist Press 1952 ISBN 978-0-80910137-5, p. 10]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.ie/books?id=6MXPEMbpjoAC&pg=PA169&dq=Donatists+Christmas&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0W65VJ3xFpLO7Qa1soG4CA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Donatists%20Christmas&f=false Susan K. Roll, ''Toward the Origin of Christmas'' (Peeters Publishers 1995 ISBN 978-90-3900531-6),  p. 169]</ref>
In 46 BC Julius Caesar extend year to 445 days (annus confusionis). The normal number of 355 days had already been increased by the addition of the ordinary 23 days, inserted after February 23. As many as 67 days, divided into two menses intercalares, were now interposed between November and December. This year thus consisted of 15 months. After this “year of confusion,” the new calendar really started. Since 153 BC, January 1 was the day new consuls in Rome took office and Romans had commonly used the name of the two consuls to identify a specific year in question.  Thus, by officially making January 1 start the New Year, it simply lined up with the consular year. One proposed reason for this switch is that January is thought by most to have been named after the god of transitions and beginnings, Janus, during the reign of the second King of Rome, Numa Pompilius, who lived from 753–673 BC.  Thus, it was naturally enough for the Romans to eventually decide to make the switch. However, whether this is the reason or not is very much up for debate. There is no consensus on the question.<ref>Michels, A.K. ''The Calendar of the Roman Republic'' (Princeton, 1967), p. 97-8.</ref> After Julius Caesar reformed the calendar in 46 BC as the Julian Calendar and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Senate voted to deify him on 1 January 42 BC,<ref>{{cite book |last=Warrior |first=Valerie |year=2006 |title=Roman Religion |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=110 |isbn=0-521-82511-3}}</ref> in honor of his life and his institution of the new rationalized calendar.<ref>Courtney, G. ''Et tu Judas, then fall Jesus'' (iUniverse, Inc 1992), p. 50.</ref> Dates in March, coinciding with the March Equinox, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of ''''''Jesus Christ'''''', or other Christian feasts were used throughout the Middle Ages as the first day of the new year, although their calendars nonetheless often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December.


Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus' birth, with certain elements having origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity. These elements, including the Yule log from Yule and gift giving from Saturnalia,<ref name="OriginMyth">{{cite web|url=http://www.bsu.edu/web/01bkswartz/xmaspub.html |title=The Origin of the American Christmas Myth and Customs |accessdate=2011-04-30 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430004539/http://www.bsu.edu/web/01bkswartz/xmaspub.html |archivedate=April 30, 2011 |df=mdy }} – Ball State University. Swartz Jr., BK. Archived version. Retrieved October 19, 2011.</ref> became syncretized into Christmas over the centuries. The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken, carnival-like state in the Middle Ages,<ref name="Murray">Murray, Alexander, [http://www.historytoday.com/alexander-murray/medieval-christmas "Medieval Christmas"], ''History Today'', December 1986, '''36''' (12), pp. 31 – 39.</ref> to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19th-century transformation.<ref name=standiford>Les Standiford. ''The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits'', Crown, 2008. ISBN 978-0-307-40578-4</ref><ref name=AFP>{{cite news
In 567 AD the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.
|title=Dickens' classic 'Christmas Carol' still sings to us
|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-12-17-dickens-main_N.htm
|work=USA Today
|accessdate= April 30, 2010
|first=Bob
|last=Minzesheimer
|date=December 22, 2008}}</ref> Additionally, the celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain Protestant groups, such as the Puritans, due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.<ref name="Durston">Durston, Chris, [http://www.historytoday.com/dt_main_allatonce.asp?gid=12890&aid=&tgid=&amid=12890&g12890=x&g9130=x&g30026=x&g20991=x&g21010=x&g19965=x&g19963=x "Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642–60"] {{wayback|url=http://www.historytoday.com/dt_main_allatonce.asp?gid=12890&aid=&tgid=&amid=12890&g12890=x&g9130=x&g30026=x&g20991=x&g21010=x&g19965=x&g19963=x |date=20070310013925 }}, ''History Today'', December 1985, '''35''' (12) pp. 7 – 14. {{Wayback |date=20070310013925 |url=http://www.historytoday.com/dt_main_allatonce.asp?gid=12890&aid=&tgid=&amid=12890&g12890=x&g9130=x&g30026=x&g20991=x&g21010=x&g19965=x&g19963=x |title= }}</ref><ref name="Barnett"/> Also [[Jehovas Witnesses In Zambia]] reject Christmas celebration.


[[File:ChristAsSol.jpg|thumb|right|Mosaic of Jesus as ''Christo Sole'' (Christ the Sun) in Mausoleum M in the pre-fourth-century necropolis under St Peter's Basilica in Rome.<ref>Kelly, Joseph F., ''The Origins of Christmas'', Liturgical Press, 2004, p. 67-69.</ref>]]
Among the 7th century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts on the first day of the new year. This custom was deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemish and Dutch: "(Do not) make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]."<ref>Quoting the ''Vita'' of St. Eligius written by Ouen.</ref> However, on the date that European Christians celebrated the New Year, they exchanged Christmas presents because New Years' Day fell within the twelve days of the Christmas season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar;<ref name="Forbes2008">{{cite book|last=Forbes|first=Bruce David|title=Christmas: A Candid History|date=1 October 2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520258020|page=114|quote=Some people referred to New Year's gifts as "Christmas presents" because New Year's Day fell within the twelve days of Christmas, but in spite of the name they still were gifts given on January 1.}}</ref> the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts in a Christian context is traced back to the Biblical Magi who gave gifts to the Child Jesus.<ref name="Collins2010">{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Ace|title=Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas|date=4 May 2010|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=9780310873884|page=88|quote=Most people today trace the practice of giving gifts on Christmas Day to the three gifts that the Magi gave to Jesus.}}</ref><ref name="Berking1999">{{cite book|last=Berking|first=Helmuth|title=Sociology of Giving|date=30 March 1999|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9780857026132|page=14|quote=The winter solstice was a time of festivity in every traditional culture, and the Christian Christmas probably took its place within this mythical context of the solar cult. Its core dogma of the Incarnation, however, solidly established the giving and receiving of gifts as the structural principle of that recurrent yet unique event. 'Children were given presents as the Jesus child received gifts from the magi or kings who came from afar to adore him. But in reality it was they, together with all their fellow men, who received the gift of God through man's renewed participation in the divine life' (ibid.: 61).}}</ref>


In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as New Year's Day. When the new calendar was put in use, the error accumulated in the 13 centuries since the Council of Nicaea was corrected by a deletion of 10 days. The Julian calendar day Thursday, 4 October 1582 was followed by the first day of the Gregorian calendar, Friday, 15 October 1582 (the cycle of weekdays was not affected), So January 1 is after Winter Solstice 10 days now. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still celebrated the new year in March.


===Date===
Most nations of Western Europe officially adopted 1 January as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian Calendar. In Tudor England, New Years Day, along with [[Christmas Day]] and Twelfth Night, was celebrated as one of three main festivities among the twelve days of Christmastide.<ref name="Sim2011">{{cite book|last=Sim|first=Alison|title=Pleasures and Pastimes in Tudor England|date=8 November 2011|publisher=The History Press|isbn=9780752475783|page=85|quote=Most of the twelve days of Christmas were saint's days, but the main three days for celebration were Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Epiphany, or Twelfth Night.}}</ref> There, until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, the first day of the new year was the Western Christian Feast of the Annunciation, on 25 March, also called "Lady Day". Dates predicated on the year beginning on 25 March became known as ''Annunciation Style'' dates, while dates of the Gregorian Calendar commencing on 1 January were distinguished as ''Circumcision Style'' dates,<ref name="Harris2011">{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Max|title=Sacred Folly: A New History of the Feast of Fools|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOMAn_rIUIAC&pg=PA35|accessdate=31 December 2012|date=2011-03-17|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9780801449567|page=35}}</ref> because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, the observed memorial of the eighth day of Jesus Christ's life after his birth, counted from the latter's observation on Christmas, 25 December. Pope Gregory XIII christened 1 January as the beginning of the new year according to his reform of the Catholic Liturgical Calendar.<ref name="Trawicky2000">{{cite book|last=Trawicky|first=Bernard|title=Anniversaries and Holidays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDbKexa1jfcC&pg=PA222|accessdate=31 December 2012|edition=5th|date=2000-07-01|publisher=American Library Association|isbn=9780838906958|page=222}}</ref>
Irenaeus (c. 130–202) viewed Christ's conception as March 25 in association with the Passion, with the nativity nine months after on December 25.<ref name="Anderson"/> Hippolytus of Rome (170–235) may also have identified December 25 for the birth of Jesus and March 25 for the conception.<ref name="CathChrit"/><ref name="Schmidt">T.C. Schmidt, Hippolytus of Rome: Commentary on Daniel (CreateSpace 2010 ISBN 1453795634) 4 23.3 and [http://www.chronicon.net/chroniconfiles/Hippolytus%20Commentary%20on%20Daniel%20by%20TC%20Schmidt.pdf Hippolytus of Rome: Commentary on Daniel] (Chronicron.net 1st Ed. 2010) 4.23.3. {{wayback|url=http://www.chronicon.net/chroniconfiles/Hippolytus%20Commentary%20on%20Daniel%20by%20TC%20Schmidt.pdf |date=20141221184805 }}</ref> Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160–c. 240) identified December 25, later to become the most widely accepted date of celebration, as the date of Jesus' birth in 221.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115686/Christmas | title=Christmas | work=Encyclopædia Britannica | date=December 14, 2012 | accessdate=December 16, 2012 | author=Hillerbrand, Hans J.}}</ref> The precise origin of assigning December 25 to the birth of Jesus is unclear.<ref name="Britannica"/> Various dates were speculated: May 20, April 18 or 19, March 25, January 2, November 17 or 20.<ref name="CathChrit"/><ref name=Coffman/> When celebration on a particular date began, January 6 prevailed at least in the East;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=bullard+%226+January+prevailed%22&btnG= |title=Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard (editors), ''Mercer Dictionary of the Bible'' (Mercer University Press 1990 ISBN 978-0-86554-373-7), p. 142 |publisher=Google |accessdate=December 25, 2013}}</ref> but, except among Armenians (the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church), who continue to celebrate the birth on January 6, December 25 eventually won acceptance everywhere.<ref name=Coffman>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2000/dec08.html |title=Elesha Coffman, "Why December 25?" |publisher=Christianitytoday.com |date=August 8, 2008 |accessdate=December 25, 2013}}</ref>


The New Testament Gospel of Luke may indirectly give the date as December for the birth of Jesus, with the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist cited by John Chrysostom (c. 386) as a date for the Annunciation.<ref name="CathChrit"/><ref name="Gibson"/><ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9082431/Christmas Christmas], ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.</ref> Tertullian (d. 220) did not mention Christmas as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa.<ref name="CathChrit"/> In ''Chronographai'', a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox.<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9082431/Christmas Christmas]", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.</ref><ref>Roll, p. 79, 80. Only fragments of ''Chronographai'' survive. In one fragment, Africanus referred to "Pege in Bethlehem" and "Lady Pege, Spring-bearer." See "Narrative Narrative of Events Happening in Persia on the Birth of Christ Narrative".</ref> The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December.<ref name="Bradt">Bradt, Hale, ''Astronomy Methods'', (2004), p. 69.<br />Roll p. 87.</ref>
==Traditional and modern celebrations and customs==


The belief that God came into the world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity, rather than the exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.<ref name="Joan Chittister, Phyllis Tickle">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/?id=inhMGc5732kC&pg=PT40&dq=date+of+christmas+important#v=onepage&q=date%20of%20christmas%20important&f=false| title = The Liturgical Year|publisher = Thomas Nelson|quote=Christmas is not really about the celebration of a birth date at all. It is about the celebration of a birth. The fact of the date and the fact of the birth are two different things. The calendrical verification of the feast itself is not really that important ... What is important to the understanding of a life-changing moment is that it happened, not necessarily where or when it happened. The message is clear: Christmas is not about marking the actual birth date of Jesus. It is about the Incarnation of the One who became like us in all things but sin (Heb. 4:15) and who humbled Himself "to the point of death-even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8). Christmas is a pinnacle feast, yes, but it is not the beginning of the liturgical year. It is a memorial, a remembrance, of the birth of Jesus, not really a celebration of the day itself. We remember that because the Jesus of history was born, the Resurrection of the Christ of faith could happen. |accessdate = April 2, 2009| isbn = 9781418580735| date = November 3, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Voice-Christmas">{{cite web|url = http://www.crivoice.org/cyxmas.html| title = The Christmas Season|publisher = CRI / Voice, Institute|accessdate = April 2, 2009|quote=The origins of the celebrations of Christmas and Epiphany, as well as the dates on which they are observed, are rooted deeply in the history of the early church. There has been much scholarly debate concerning the exact time of the year when Jesus was born, and even in what year he was born. Actually, we do not know either. The best estimate is that Jesus was probably born in the springtime, somewhere between the years of 6 and 4 BC, as December is in the middle of the cold rainy season in Bethlehem, when the sheep are kept inside and not on pasture as told in the Bible. The lack of a consistent system of timekeeping in the first century, mistakes in later calendars and calculations, and lack of historical details to cross reference events has led to this imprecision in fixing Jesus' birth. This suggests that the Christmas celebration is not an observance of a historical date, but a commemoration of the event in terms of worship.}}</ref><ref name="Harvard University">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/?id=x_kBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA469&dq=date+of+christmas+unimportant#v=onepage&q=date%20of%20christmas%20unimportant&f=false| title = The School Journal, Volume 49|publisher = Harvard University|quote=Throughout the Christian world the 25th of December is celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ. There was a time when the churches were not united regarding the date of the joyous event. Many Christians kept their Christmas in April, others in May, and still others at the close of September, till finally December 25 was agreed upon as the most appropriate date. The choice of that day was, of course, wholly arbitrary, for neither the exact date not the period of the year at which the birth of Christ occurred is known. For purposes of commemoration, however, it is unimportant whether the celebration shall fall or not at the precise anniversary of the joyous event.|accessdate = April 2, 2009| year = 1894}}</ref>
===New Year's Eve===
{{Main|New Year's Eve}}
[[Image:OperaSydney-Fuegos2006-342289398.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Sydney contributes to some of the major New Year celebrations each year.]]
January 1 represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of the passing year, including on radio, television, and in newspapers, which starts in early December in countries around the world. Publications have year-end articles that review the changes during the previous year. In some cases publications may set their entire year work alight in hope that the smoke emitted from the flame brings new life to the company. There are also articles on planned or expected changes in the coming year.


In the early 4th century, the church calendar in Rome contained Christmas on December 25 and other holidays placed on solar dates. According to Hijmans<ref name="Hijmans">Hijmans, S.E., ''[http://www.scribd.com/doc/33490806/Hijmans-Sol-The-Sun-in-the-Art-and-Religions-of-Rome Sol, the sun in the art and religions of Rome],'' 2009, p. 595. ISBN 978-90-367-3931-3 {{wayback|url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/33490806/Hijmans-Sol-The-Sun-in-the-Art-and-Religions-of-Rome |date=20130510231050 }}</ref> "It is cosmic symbolism ... which inspired the Church leadership in Rome to elect the southern solstice, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the northern solstice as that of John the Baptist, supplemented by the equinoxes as their respective dates of conception." Usener<ref>Hermann Usener, ''Das Weihnachtsfest'' (Part 1 of ''Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen'', Second edition 1911; Verlag von Max Cohen & Sohn, Bonn. (Note that the first edition, 1889, doesn't have the discussion of Natalis Solis Invicti); also ''Sol Invictus'' (1905).)</ref> and othersproposed that the Christians chose this day because it was the Roman feast celebrating the birthday of Sol Invictus.  Modern scholar S. E. Hijmans, however, states that "While they were aware that pagans called this day the 'birthday' of Sol Invictus, this did not concern them and it did not play any role in their choice of date for Christmas."<ref name="Hijmans" />
This day is traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has also become an occasion to celebrate the night of December 31, called New Year's Eve. There are fireworks at midnight at the moment the new year arrives (a major one is in Sydney, Australia). Watchnight services are also still observed by many.<ref name="BOW">{{cite web|url=http://www.interpretermagazine.org/interior.asp?ptid=43&mid=11612| title = Watch Night services provide spiritual way to bring in New Year|publisher = The United Methodist Church|accessdate = 28 December 2011|quote=The service is loosely constructed with singing, spontaneous prayers and testimonials, and readings, including the Covenant Renewal service from The United Methodist Book of Worship (pp. 288-294).}}</ref>


Around the year 386 John Chrysostom delivered a sermon in Antioch in favour of adopting December 25 celebration also in the East, since, he said, the conception of Jesus ({{bibleverse||Luke|1:26|31}}) had been announced during the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist ({{bibleverse||Luke|1:10–13|31}}), which he dated from the duties Zacharias performed on the Day of Atonement during the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar Ethanim or Tishri ({{bibleverse||Leviticus|16:29|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Kings|8:2|31}}) which falls from late September to early October.<ref name="CathChrit"/> That shepherds watched the flocks by night in the fields in the winter time is supported by the phrase "frost by night" in {{bibleverse||Genesis|31:38–40|31}}. A special group known as the shepherds of Migdal Eder ({{bibleverse||Genesis|35:19–21|31}}, {{bibleverse||Micah|4:8|31}}) watched the flocks by night year round pastured for Temple Sacrifice near Bethlehem.<ref name="Gibson">Gibson, David J. (October – December 1965).[http://nabataea.net/birthdate.html The Date of Christ's Birth]. Bible League Quarterly.</ref><ref name="Edersheim">Edersheim, Alfred (1883). The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Book II Chapter 6, p. 131.</ref>
==New Year's Days in Zambia==
In cultures which traditionally or currently use calendars other than the Gregorian, New Year's Day is often also an important celebration. Zambia concurrently use the Gregorian and another calendar. New Year's Day in the alternative calendar attracts alternative celebrations of that new year:


In the early 18th century, some scholars proposed alternative explanations. Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas, celebrating the birth of him whom Christians consider to be the "Sun of righteousness" prophesied in {{bibleverse||Malachi|4:2|31}},was selected to correspond with the southern solstice, which the Romans called ''bruma'', celebrated on December 25.<ref name="SolsticeDate">"[http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/SF/WinSol.html Bruma]", ''Seasonal Festivals of the Greeks and Romans''<br />Pliny the Elder, Natural History, [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137&query=head%3D%231117 18:59]</ref> In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday ''Dies Natalis Solis Invicti'' and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church. It has been argued that, on the contrary, the Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the ''Dies Natalis Solis Invicti'', did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome. In 1889, Louis Duchesne proposed that the date of Christmas was calculated as nine months after the Annunciation, the traditional date of the conception of Jesus.<ref name="Roll87">Roll, pp. 88–90.<br />Duchesne, Louis, ''Les Origines du Culte Chrétien,'' Paris, 1902, 262 ff.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}


==Notes==
==External links==
{{notelist}}
* [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]]''


==References==
[[Category:New Year celebrations]]
{{Reflist|40em}}
[[Category:January observances]]
[[Category:Annual events]]

Latest revision as of 11:20, 18 November 2016

New Year's Day
Observed byUsers of the Gregorian calendar
SignificanceThe first day of the Gregorian year
CelebrationsMaking New Year's resolutions, church services, parades, sporting events, fireworks[1]
DateJanuary 1
Next timeJanuary 1, 2025 (2025-01-01)
FrequencyAnnual
Related toNew Year's Eve

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.[2][3] 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.[1]


History

In Christendom, under which the Gregorian Calendar developed, New Year's Day traditionally marks the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, which is still observed as such by the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church.

Mesopotamia (Iraq) instituted the concept of celebrating the new year in 2000 BC, celebrated new year around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March.[4][5] The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for "seven," octo is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten.")

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1 was in Rome in 153 BC (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 BC, when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls - the highest officials in the Roman republic - began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.

In 46 BC Julius Caesar extend year to 445 days (annus confusionis). The normal number of 355 days had already been increased by the addition of the ordinary 23 days, inserted after February 23. As many as 67 days, divided into two menses intercalares, were now interposed between November and December. This year thus consisted of 15 months. After this “year of confusion,” the new calendar really started. Since 153 BC, January 1 was the day new consuls in Rome took office and Romans had commonly used the name of the two consuls to identify a specific year in question. Thus, by officially making January 1 start the New Year, it simply lined up with the consular year. One proposed reason for this switch is that January is thought by most to have been named after the god of transitions and beginnings, Janus, during the reign of the second King of Rome, Numa Pompilius, who lived from 753–673 BC. Thus, it was naturally enough for the Romans to eventually decide to make the switch. However, whether this is the reason or not is very much up for debate. There is no consensus on the question.[6] After Julius Caesar reformed the calendar in 46 BC as the Julian Calendar and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Senate voted to deify him on 1 January 42 BC,[7] in honor of his life and his institution of the new rationalized calendar.[8] Dates in March, coinciding with the March Equinox, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of 'Jesus Christ', or other Christian feasts were used throughout the Middle Ages as the first day of the new year, although their calendars nonetheless often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December.

In 567 AD the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.

Among the 7th century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts on the first day of the new year. This custom was deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemish and Dutch: "(Do not) make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]."[9] However, on the date that European Christians celebrated the New Year, they exchanged Christmas presents because New Years' Day fell within the twelve days of the Christmas season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar;[10] the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts in a Christian context is traced back to the Biblical Magi who gave gifts to the Child Jesus.[11][12]

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as New Year's Day. When the new calendar was put in use, the error accumulated in the 13 centuries since the Council of Nicaea was corrected by a deletion of 10 days. The Julian calendar day Thursday, 4 October 1582 was followed by the first day of the Gregorian calendar, Friday, 15 October 1582 (the cycle of weekdays was not affected), So January 1 is after Winter Solstice 10 days now. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still celebrated the new year in March.

Most nations of Western Europe officially adopted 1 January as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian Calendar. In Tudor England, New Years Day, along with Christmas Day and Twelfth Night, was celebrated as one of three main festivities among the twelve days of Christmastide.[13] There, until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, the first day of the new year was the Western Christian Feast of the Annunciation, on 25 March, also called "Lady Day". Dates predicated on the year beginning on 25 March became known as Annunciation Style dates, while dates of the Gregorian Calendar commencing on 1 January were distinguished as Circumcision Style dates,[14] because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, the observed memorial of the eighth day of Jesus Christ's life after his birth, counted from the latter's observation on Christmas, 25 December. Pope Gregory XIII christened 1 January as the beginning of the new year according to his reform of the Catholic Liturgical Calendar.[15]

Traditional and modern celebrations and customs

New Year's Eve

Main article: New Year's Eve
Sydney contributes to some of the major New Year celebrations each year.

January 1 represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of the passing year, including on radio, television, and in newspapers, which starts in early December in countries around the world. Publications have year-end articles that review the changes during the previous year. In some cases publications may set their entire year work alight in hope that the smoke emitted from the flame brings new life to the company. There are also articles on planned or expected changes in the coming year.

This day is traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has also become an occasion to celebrate the night of December 31, called New Year's Eve. There are fireworks at midnight at the moment the new year arrives (a major one is in Sydney, Australia). Watchnight services are also still observed by many.[16]

New Year's Days in Zambia

In cultures which traditionally or currently use calendars other than the Gregorian, New Year's Day is often also an important celebration. Zambia concurrently use the Gregorian and another calendar. New Year's Day in the alternative calendar attracts alternative celebrations of that new year:

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  2. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  3. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  4. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  5. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  6. ↑ Michels, A.K. The Calendar of the Roman Republic (Princeton, 1967), p. 97-8.
  7. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  8. ↑ Courtney, G. Et tu Judas, then fall Jesus (iUniverse, Inc 1992), p. 50.
  9. ↑ Quoting the Vita of St. Eligius written by Ouen.
  10. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  11. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  12. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  13. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  14. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  15. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  16. ↑ Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).

External links

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