In short
New Year's Day is an international awareness or commemorative observance and is optional in the calendar.
The story
New Year’s Day on 1 January is the civil new year in countries that use the Gregorian calendar. The date has roots in the Roman calendar. January was named for Janus, the Roman deity associated with beginnings, transitions and doorways, and Julius Caesar’s calendar reform made 1 January the formal start of the year in the Julian calendar from 45 BCE. The Gregorian reform introduced in 1582 corrected the calendar’s drift while retaining 1 January as New Year’s Day, and its use gradually spread across much of the world through civil administration and international practice. The day is commonly marked by midnight celebrations, greetings, family gatherings and resolutions for the coming year. It is important to distinguish the civil date from religious and traditional new years: many cultures, including Hindu, Jewish, Islamic, Chinese and other traditions, begin their ritual or cultural year on different dates.
Why it matters
New Year's Day is intended to build public awareness and encourage attention to its associated global issue.
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