What are New Year festivals?

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New Year festivals include all of the many observances worldwide that celebrate the beginning of a new year. They do not take place simultaneously, as different calendar systems, such as the Gregorian calendar, ancient Greek lunar calendar, and Jewish religious calendar, all mark the new year on different dates. Many New Year festival traditions are centered on New Year’s Eve, which is December 31.

Why does the new year begin on January 1?

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The Roman republican calendar and the Julian calendar both recognized January 1 as the beginning of the New Year. The date was chosen partly in honor of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and the month’s namesake. Though medieval Christians attempted to replace January 1 with more religiously significant dates, Pope Gregory XIII created a revised calendar that officially established January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1582. That date was gradually adopted in Europe and beyond; it subsequently spread to countries without dominant Christian traditions.