New Year

From Free net encyclopedia

This page deals with the annual event. For the band, see The New Year

The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations.

1 Modern new year celebrations
2 Historical dates for the new year
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

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Modern new year celebrations

For further information, see New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

The most common modern celebrations are:

1 January : The first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most developed countries.

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew for 'head of the year') is a celebration that occurs 163 days following Pesach (Passover). In the Gregorian calendar at present, Rosh Hashanah cannot occur before 5 September, when it occurred in 1899 and will occur again in 2013. After the year 2089, the differences between the Hebrew Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar will force Rosh Hashanah to be not earlier than 6 September. Rosh Hashanah cannot occur later than 5 October, when it occurred in 1967 and will again occur in 2043. See Hebrew Calendar.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the New Year (also celebrating the infant Jesus' circumcision) is on 14 January (1 January in the Julian Calendar). Many in the countries where Eastern Orthodoxy predominates celebrate both the Gregorian and Julian New Year holiday with the Gregorian day celebrated as a civic holiday and the Julian date as a religious holiday.

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year at a new moon during the winter. The exact date can fall anytime between 21 January and 21 February inclusive, on the Gregorian Calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is astronomically defined, unlike the Gregorian Calendar, the drift of the seasons will change the range. Each year is symbolized by one of 12 animals and one of five elements, with the combinations of animals and elements (or stems) cycling every 60 years. It is perhaps the most important Chinese holiday. The Chinese New Year is generally celebrated with firecrackers, and in some places with a parade.

The Vietnamese New Year is the Tết Nguyên Đán which is for most times the same day as the Chinese New Year.

The Tibetan New Year is Losar and falls from January through March.

The Iranian New Year, called Norouz, is the day containing the exact moment of the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring season.

The Tamil New Year and Vishu are celebrated on the same day respectively in the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They generally fall on 13 April or 14 April. The first month of the Tamil New Year is called Chithrai. Every year in the month of Chithrai, in the temple city of Madurai, the Chithrai Thiruvizha is celebrated in the Meenakshi Temple. A huge exhibition is also held, called Chithrai Porutkaatchi. In some parts of Southern Tamil Nadu, it is also called Chithrai Vishu. The day is marked with a feast in Hindu homes and the entrance to the houses are decorated elaborately with kolams.

The Telugu New Year generally falls in the months of March or April. The people of Andhra Pradesh, India celebrate the advent of Lunar year this day.

The Thai New Year is celebrated from 13 April to 15 April by throwing water.

The Cambodian New Year and Lao New Year are celebrated from 13 April to 15 April.

The Bengali New Year Poila Baisakh is celebrated on 14 April or 15 April in a festive manner in both Bangladesh and West Bengal.

The Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash, is celebrated on 11 September. It is currently 1998 on the Ethiopian calendar.

Some neo-pagans celebrate Samhain (a festival of the ancient Celts, held around November 1) as a new year's day representing the new cycle of the Wheel of the Year, although they do not use a different calendar that starts on this day.

The Gujarati New Year is celebrated usually two days after the festival of Diwali (held in mid-November).

The Islamic New Year occurs on 1 Muharram. Since the Muslim calendar is based on 12 lunar months amounting to about 354 days, the Gregorian date of this is about eleven days earlier each year. 2008 will see two Muslim New Years.

The Assyrian New Year, called Rish Nissanu, occurs on the vernal equinox, 21 March, commencing the start of the spring.

In the Bahá'í calendar, the new year occurs on the vernal equinox on 21 March, and is called Naw-Rúz.

The Punjabi new year Vaisakhi is celebrated on 13 April and celebrates the harvest.

Hola Mohalla, New Year's Day in the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar is on March 14.

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Historical dates for the new year

The ancient Roman calendar had only ten months and started the year on 1 March, which is still reflected in the names of some months which derive from Latin: September (Seventh), October (Eighth), November (Ninth), December (Tenth). Around 700 BC the months of January and February were added to the year. The leap month Intercalaris may have been added two centuries later. About this time, 1 January became the first day of the calendar year (January to December), but it did not become the first day of the consular year (the year used in dates) until 153 BC when consuls first entered office on 1 January (before 153 BC, consuls entered office later in the calendar year). In 45 BC Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, dropping Intercalaris—1 January continued to be the first day of the dating year.

In the Middle Ages in Europe a number of significant feast days in the ecclesiastical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church came to be used as the beginning of the Julian year:

In Christmas Style dating the new year started on 25 December. This was used in Germany and England until the 13th century, and in Spain from the 14th to the 16th century.

In Annunciation Style dating the new year started on 25 March, the feast of the Annunciation. This was used in many parts of Europe in the Middle Ages. Annunciation Style continued to be used in the Kingdom of Great Britain until January 1 1752, except Scotland which changed to Circumcision Style dating on 1 January 1600. The rest of Great Britain changed to Circumcision Style on the 1 January preceding the conversion in Great Britain from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar on 3/14 September 1752. The UK tax year still starts on 6 April which is 25 March + 12 days, eleven for the conversion from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar plus a dropped leap day in 1900.

In Easter Style dating, the new year started on Easter Saturday (or sometimes on Good Friday). This was used in France from the 11th to the 16th century. A disadvantage of this system was that because Easter was a movable feast the same date could occur twice in a year; the two occurrences were distinguished as "before Easter" and "after Easter".

In Circumcision Style dating, the new year started on 1 January, the Feast of the Circumcision (of Jesus).

The ancient Roman new year of 1 March was used in the Republic of Venice until its destruction in 1797, and in Russia from 988 until the end of the 15th century. 1 September was used in Russia from the end of the 15th century until the adoption of the Christian era in 1700 (previously, Russia had counted years since the creation of the world).

Since the 17th century, the Roman Catholic ecclesiastic year has started on the first day of Advent, the Sunday nearest to St. Andrew's Day (30 November).

Autumnal equinox day (usually 22 September) is "New Year's Day" in the French Republican Calendar, which was in use from 1793 to 1805. This was primidi Vendemière, the first day of the first month.

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Trivia

April Fool's Day probably has its origin with a pre-Gregorian new year celebration which went from the spring equinox to April 1st. When the new calendar, starting on January 1st, replaced it, people who continued to celebrate the traditional New Year were, apparently, mocked and teased, the subject of various humorous harassment.

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