The New Year is the day that marks the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented

NEW YEAR

The New Year is the day that marks the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. In many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner.

The New Year of the Gregorian calendar, today in worldwide use, falls on 1 January, continuing the practice of the Roman calendar. There are numerous calendars that remain in regional use that calculate the New Year individually.

Gregorian new year
Main articles: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

In countries, which use the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is usually celebrated on 1 January.

The order of months in the Roman calendar has been January to December since King Numa Pompilius in about 700 BC, according to Plutarch and Macrobius. However, Roman writers identified years by naming the year's consuls, who did not enter office on 1 January until 153 BC. Since then 1 January has been the first day of the year, except during the Middle Ages when several other days were the first (1 March, 25 March, Easter, 1 September, 25 December).[citation needed]

With the expansion of Western culture to the rest of the world during the twentieth century, the 1 January date became global, even in countries with their own New Year celebrations on other days (e.g., China and India).

At present, the celebration of the New Year is a major event worldwide. Many large-scale events are held in major cities around the world, with many large fireworks events on New Year's Eve (31 December).

Gregorian New Year celebration in 2006 in New York City.

Sydney launched over 80,000 fireworks at midnight, and had more than one and a half million attendees; it was also the most-watched event on television worldwide in 2009. In Valparaiso upwards of two million visitors witnessed the largest fireworks display in a natural setting; a total of more than 21 kilometers of fireworks on the bay, from the commercial port city of Valparaiso to Concon, Chile, all in 25 minutes of entertainment. London's New Year celebrations centre around the London Eye, with an impressive fireworks display while Big Ben strikes midnight. In New York, the celebration is focused around a large crystal ball that descends in a one minute countdown in Times Square. Edinburgh plays host to one of the world's largest Hogmanay events. The celebrations last for four days and attract visitors from around the globe to take part in street parties and attend concerts. In Rio de Janeiro every year around two million people get together in the sands of the famous Copacabana Beach to watch a fifteen-minute fireworks display.

In the culture of Latin America there are a variety of traditions and superstitions surrounding these dates as omens for the coming year. January remains a symbol of the New Year's celebration.

According to the Christian tradition, 1 January coincides with the circumcision of Christ (eight days after birth), when the name of Jesus was given to him (Luke 2: 21).

Other new year celebrations
Taipei 101 New Year's fireworks in Taipei, Taiwan in 2008.

The most common modern dates of celebration are listed below, ordered and grouped by their appearance relative to the conventional Western calendar.

Many cities across the world celebrate the New Year. The celebrations usually include a firework's display, and other festivities. London, for example, has a major fireworks display along the River Thames, followed by a parade on New Year's Day.

The Gregorian calendar is now used by many countries as the official calendar. This has meant that celebrations for the New Year have become much larger than before. Some countries[which?] even consider 1 January to be a national holiday.

January
Baby New Year 1905 chases old 1904 into the history books in this cartoon by John T. McCutcheon.
1 January: The first official day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries. Eight of the twelve biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches which have adopted the Revised Julian calendar - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Syria and Turkey - also celebrate 1 January as the New Year.
New Year in France is one of the most traditional and oldest celebrations, but in fact they do not have any "rule" as on what to wear. New year in France is also known as Jour des Étrennes. This celebration starts on January 1 when the people start wishing each other Bonne année, which is the same as happy new year, and ends at 6 January. They have a great show with fire works shot near the Eiffel tower. French people call New Year's Eve la Saint-Sylvestre. On this day they have a special feast called le Réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre in which they have nice dishes like pancakes and flavoured duck or goose. They drink champagne, a white sparkling wine produced in the Champagne Region of France. They also drink vin chaud (hot wine), but sparkling cider is also common. They also have a festival cake called galette des rois which has sometimes a little king figure baked inside. They believe, like several other countries, that this nice dinner brings a nice year to the family.
The Tamil Nadu Tamil New Year (Declaration Bill 2008) was introduced in the House by the Tamil Nadu DMK Government on 29 January 2008. According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Tamil Nadu Tamil New Year (Declaration) Act 2008, the Governor in his address to the House had announced that in view of the consensus amongst some Tamil scholars that the first day of the month of Thai is the first day of the Tamil year, the Government had decided to declare the first day of Thai as the Tamil Nadu Tamil New Year Day. This legislative enactment of the DMK government was not without controversy. It abolished the Tamil calendar for purportedly secular reasons and reaffirmed the use of the Tiruvalluvar era created in the 20th century as the official calendar. The order abolishes the use of traditional Tamil Years in the 60 year cycle. It proposes that 14 January of every year be celebrated as Tamil New Year in addition to the famous harvest/farmer festival Pongal[3]. But the said resolution has been met with resistance. and has been challenged in court .The opposition AIADMK and MDMK in Tamil Nadu condemned the decision of the DMK Government in that state and urged their supporters to continue celebrating the traditional date in mid-April[10]. Tamils in Sri Lanka and in other diaspora communities worldwide continue to observe the new year in mid-April. as they are outside of the jurisdiction of the Tamil Nadu State of India.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the civil New Year falls on Gregorian 14 January (1 January in the Julian calendar). Many in the countries where Eastern Orthodoxy predominates celebrate both the Gregorian and Julian New Year holidays, with the Gregorian day celebrated as a civic holiday, and the Julian date as the "Old New Year", a religious holiday. The orthodox churches of Georgia, Jerusalem, Russia, the Republic of Macedonia and Serbia still use the Julian Calendar.

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, about four to eight weeks before spring (Lichun). The exact date can fall anytime between 21 January and 21 February (inclusive) of the Gregorian Calendar. Traditionally, years were marked by one of twelve Earthly Branches, represented by an animal, and one of ten Heavenly Stems, which correspond to the five elements. This combination cycles every 60 years. It is the most important Chinese celebration of the year.
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.
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March
Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox. Ancient celebrations lasted for eleven days.[13]
Nava (new) Varsha (year) is celebrated in India in various regions in March–April.
New Year's Day in the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar is on 14 March.
The Iranian New Year, called Nowruz, is the day containing the exact moment of the vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 20 or 21 March, commencing the start of the spring season. The Zoroastrian New Year coincides with the Iranian New Year of Nowruz, and is celebrated by the Parsis in India and by Zoroastrians and Persians across the world. In the Bahá'í calendar, the new year occurs on the vernal equinox on 21 March, and is called Naw-Rúz. The Iranian tradition was also passed on to Central Asian countries, including Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Uighurs, and there is known as Nauryz. It is usually celebrated on 22 March.
The Balinese New Year, based on the Saka Calendar (Balinese-Javanese Calendar), is called Nyepi, and it falls on Bali's Lunar New Year (26 March in 2009). It is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation: observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. Although Nyepi is a primarily Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents of Bali observe the day of silence as well, out of respect for their fellow citizens. Even tourists are not exempt; although free to do as they wish inside their hotels, no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and the only airport in Bali remains closed for the entire day. The only exceptions granted are for emergency vehicles carrying those with life-threatening conditions and women about to give birth.
The Telugu New Year generally falls in the months of March or April. The people of Andhra Pradesh, India celebrate the advent of New Year's Day in these months. This day is celebrated across entire Andhra Pradesh as UGADI (meaning the start of a new Year). The first month is Chaitra Masam. Masam means month.
Kashmiri Calendar, Navreh (New Year): 5083 Saptarshi/2064 Vikrami/2007–08 AD, 19 March.
Gudi Padwa is celebrated as the first day of the Hindu year by the people of Maharashtra, India. This day falls in March or April and coincides with Ugadi. (see: Deccan)
Ugadi, the Kannada New Year is celebrated by the people of Karnataka, India as the beginning of a new year according to the Hindu Calendar. The first month of the New Year is Chaitra.
Sindhi festival of Cheti Chand is celebrated on the same day as Ugadi/Gudi Padwa to mark the celebration of the Sindhi New Year.
The Thelemic New Year on 20 March is usually celebrated with an invocation to Ra-Hoor-Khuit, commemorating the beginning of the New Aeon in 1904. It also marks the start of the twenty-two day Thelemic holy season, which ends at the third day of the writing of The Book of the Law. This date is also known as The Feast of the Supreme Ritual. There are some that believe the Thelemic New Year falls on either 19, 20 or 21 March, depending on the vernal equinox, this is The Feast for the Equinox of the Gods which is held on the vernal equinox of each year to commemorate the founding of Thelema in 1904. In 1904 the vernal equinox was on a 21st and it was the day after Aleister Crowley ended his Horus Invocation that brought on the new Æon and Thelemic New Year.
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April