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Why does the year start on january?
The first thanks for asking.
As we embrace resolutions and light up the skies with fireworks, it's time to mark the arrival of the new year.
All of us on the Do You Really Know?
Team hope you soaked in the holiday vibes and send you our warm wishes for a splendid 2024.
Today sees planet Earth set off on another full orbit around the Sun.
A journey which will span 365 days until we hit the reset button again next year.
And that's why we now refer to January the 1st as New Year's Day.
But bear in mind that wasn't always the case.
Well, we can trace back our calendar routes to the Romans and their initial 355 day calendar.
That's right, 355 and not the 365 we're used to these days.
That lunar-based system was credited to Numa Pompilius, the legendary second king of Rome who succeeded Romulus.
And it saw the new year kick off in March.
A nod to Mars, the Roman god of war.
Now here's a fun fact.
Our current calendar still carries echoes of this, with September October, November and December hanging on to their original numerical names.
However the order doesn't quite match up anymore.
Well, in the year 46 AD, Julius Caesar declared January 1st as the first day of the year.
The adopted Julian calendar was based on the solar cycle, meaning a year was now 365 days long.
The first day of the year, and indeed the entire month of January, honored Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings choices, passages and doors.
He was depicted with two faces, one looking ahead and the other back. adding a touch of symbolism.
Despite Caesar's decree, the date on which people actually celebrated the new year still varied.
Some chose December the 25th or stuck with March the 1st.
Then in 352 AD, the church stepped in, appropriating January the 1st.
That corresponded to the date on which Jesus Christ would have been circumcised, eight days after his birth wasn't until the year 582 that we saw the widespread adoption of january, the first in catholic europe, with the appearance of the gregorian calendar, which is used to this day.
This new calendar corrected the lag that the julian calendar had on the solar cycle.
That's how leap years came into existence, with one occurring every four years.
Across the globe, New Year's is celebrated differently.
It varies based on cultures, religions and regions.
One of the most well-known variations is the Chinese New Year.
The date is never the same from one year to the next, as it depends on the lunar cycle, but it always falls between January 21st and February 19th, and celebrations last for 15 days.
The Hebrew New Year, Rok Hakana, corresponds to what is called the Day of Sounding in the Bible.
Its date also varies, but falls between September and October.
Finally, in Islam, the New Year is celebrated simultaneously with the Hijra, which commemorates the Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in the 7th century.
Festivities span three days, with the date changing annually.
There you have it.
Now you know why the year starts on January 1st.
In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines.
Listen along and you will really know for sure.
