ORIGIN OF THE NEW YEAR | NEW YEAR'S EVE 2018

The New Year's Day , also called the day of New Year's Eve, is the first day of the year. On our calendar it is January 1st. 

On the evening of December 31, everyone meets with family or friends to celebrate the new year that begins. When the twelve strokes of midnight resound, on the night of December 31 to January 1, everyone wishes "Happy New Year and good health!" 

Since the world is divided into different time zones, not all countries enter the new year at the same time! Because if it is midnight and a minute in Paris, it is only 18h and a minute in New York in the United States. The people of New York are still in the old year! So every hour, it is necessarily midnight somewhere on earth!

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WAS NOT ALWAYS JANUARY 1ST?

In 46 BC, the Roman emperor Julius Caesar decided that January 1st would be New Year's Day. The Romans dedicated this day to Janus, the god of gates and beginnings. Besides, the month of January owes its name to the god Janus. It had two faces, one facing forward (the future) and the other backward (the past).

Under Charlemagne, the year began at Christmas, December 25th. In the days of the Capetian kings, the year began on Easter. It is only since 1622, that the new year is fixed again on January 1st. A measure taken by the Pope which mainly makes it possible to simplify the calendar of religious festivals.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW THAT IN OTHER COUNTRIES THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR DOES NOT START ON JANUARY 1ST?

For example, the Chinese celebrate the new year between January 20 and February 18. To learn more, discover our mini-dossier on the Chinese New Year  . For Tibetans, the New Year is celebrated, for the year 2009 for example, on February 25. But the date varies every year. In the Jewish religion, the new year "Roch Hana" is celebrated in September-October.

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