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Quick Facts : New Year's Day
| Date: 1st January |
Type: National |
Also Called:
Happy New Year |
| Celebrations:
Fireworks, Gift Exchange, Late Night
parties |
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New Year’s Day is celebrated on 1st January
in most of the countries around the world,
as most countries follow the Gregorian
calendar. However, in some countries like
China, New Year’s Day, or the first day of
the New Year, is celebrated according to
their own calendar rather than the Gregorian
calendar. However, most of the countries in
the world today observe the New Year’s Day
on January 1 every year.
This day is believed to have a Romanian
origin. Janus, the God of beginnings after
whom the month January was named, was the
one to whom the day was dedicated. Janus had
two faces- one at the front and the other at
the back. Thus, the tradition of celebrating
New Year’s Day came to be associated with
paganism.
In some cultures, New Year’s Day coincided
with the Annunciation of Jesus. However, the
tradition was condemned by various religious
leaders. It is believed that the current
tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year’s
Day originated in the 7th century when
people of Netherlands and Flanders
celebrated the day. Most of the Western
world adopted January 1 as the New Year’s
Day, also called the Circumcision Day, even
before they adopted the Gregorian calendar.
The Circumcision Day is associated with
Jesus Christ.
Different countries celebrate the New Year’s
Day differently, but almost all the
celebrations start from December 31st
itself, beckoning the New Year with a
fervent countdown. In countries like the US,
Australia, Malaysia and other European and
Western cultures, people congregate at a
place to watch fireworks as the New Year’s
Day descends.
In many parts of the world, music concerts
are arranged to celebrate the going of the
old year and the beginning of the New Year.
In countries like the UK and Netherlands,
people often run into water, also known as
Polar Bear Plunges, to celebrate New Year’s
Day. Certain parts of the world have
specific traditions associated with the day.
For example, in Scotland, the street party
on this day is very famous. In Switzerland,
there is the tradition of organizing the
finals of Spengler Cup Ice Hockey Tournament
on New Year’s Day.
The eve of the day sees people reveling in
music, enjoying liquor and food and dancing
till the wee hours of the morning. Radio
shows and TV shows are organized
specifically to remember the year gone by
and to beckon the New Year.
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Other holidays celebrated in United States
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