The history of New Year’s Day
New Year‘s marks the conclusion of a cycle and the beginning of a new one: for this reason, it originated several traditions meant to attract happiness, good luck, wealth, and love. The first New Year’s celebrations date back to thousands of years ago, when Mesopotamian, Egptian, and Roman civilisations marked the passage from one cycle to the other with rituals related to the stages of nature and farming, in the hope of a prosperous future. Many cultures associated the beginning of the new year to lunar or solar cycles, and celebrated the winter solstice or the spring equinox as moments of rebirth and regeneration.
In 46 BCE, Roman Emperor Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, establishing the first of January as the first day of the year. The date was dedicated to the god Janus, Roman deity of beginnings and guardian of “passages” – both material and symbolic – and who gave his name to the month of January.
With the adoption of the gregorian calendar in the XVI century, the first of January was universally recognised as New Year’s Day in most of the world.
Good luck traditions for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
New Year’s traditions vary depending on the country, but the common element is the conviction that following specific rites may bring good luck and prosperity for the new year. Such traditions, often linked to ancient beliefs, reflect the hope of starting the new year with luck and positivity, leaving past hardships behind.
Let’s discover some of these traditions together:
- In Italy, the most popular tradition is wearing a red accessory or item of clothing (often underwear) received as a gift. Red is associated with strength, wealth, energy, and luck: all positive ideas for the new year.
- Spanish people eat twelve grapes at midnight, one for each strike of the clock of Puerta del Sol in Madrid. This custom seems to date back to 1909, when farmers in Alicante had to get rid of excess harvest.
- In the US, it is tradition to kiss one’s partner, or the closest person, at the stroke of midnight. Since 1907, the new year in New York is celebrated with the famous “Ball Drop“. A few minutes before midnight, a huge sparkly sphere descends on Time Square, marking the countdown to midnight.
- In London, UK, the new year is welcomed by the famous fireworks show that lights up the ferris wheel, accompanied by the chimes of Big Ben.
- Chile has two traditions: sleeping in the cemetery to spend New Year’s Eve with the deceased, and deep-cleaning the house to get rid of negative energy.
- Brazilian people wear white clothes, symbol of peace, and flood the streets to celebrate. The new year begins with offerings to Yemanja, the mermaid goddess of the sea: small rafts with candles on top are crafted and pushed out to sea in her honour.
Symbolic New Year’s foods
To welcome the new year, it is tradition for tables all around the world to be filled with gastronomic specialities. Amongst the foods that are a must on the table, there are:
- Cotechino and lentils (in Italy): they symbolise abundance and wealth.
- Grapes: symbol of prosperity.
- Pomegranate: its red seeds are a symbol of good luck.
- Nuts and dried fruit: hazelnuts, peanuts, raisins, dates, and figs are considered auspicious.
- The midnight toast: sparkling wine is a must to drive away bad luck.
New Year’s Day around the world: when is it celebrated?
In most countries, New Year’s celebrations happen on 31st December, but there are some that don’t follow the gregorian calendar and celebrate it in different periods.
- In China, Vietnam, and Korea, New Year’s falls between 21st January and 20th February, according to the lunar calendar. The precise date changes every year because it is based on the second new moon after the winter solstice.
- The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) is in autumn – usually between September and October, following the Jewish lunisolar calendar – and it marks the beginning of the new calendar and religious year.
- The Islamic New Year (1st Muharram) is based on the Islamic lunar calendar, and therefore the date changes every year depending on the new moon.
- In India, Diwali (the festival of lights) is celebrated in autumn and symbolises the victory of good over evil. During this holiday, Hindu people express the wish to meet again the following year to renew the same wish over and over.
- Some Orthodox countries, such as Russia, Greece, and Serbia, celebrate New Year’s on 14th January, as per the Julian calendar.
Other New Year’s Day customs around the world
- In Bangladesh, weddings are celebrated on New Year’s Eve, which is also the day of lovers.
- In Singapore, New Year’s wishes are written on white balloons that are released on Marina Bay at midnight, creating a magical sight.
- In Argentina, ripping up old documents and throwing them out of the window like confetti symbolises the will to turn the page and move on from the past.
New Year’s Eve surely is one of the most celebrated holidays in the world, full of dinners, concerts, balls, and parties to welcome the arrival of the new year with hope and joy.
