The celebration of New Year's Day is one of the oldest holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon 4000 years ago. Around 2000 BC it was celebrated on March 23rd as a sign of spring and harvest.
In 153 BC the Roman Senate changed New Year's Day to January 1st but various emperors continually tampered with their calendar until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian calendar. It again established January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.
The Ancient Babylonians originated the idea of New Year's resolutions, although their most popular resolution was returning their neighbors' farming tools.
The Chinese New Year Yuan Tan takes place between January 21 and February 20.
Muharram is the first month of the Muslim year. Its first day is celebrated as New Year’s Day.
The Jewish New Year Festival is called Rosh Hashanah. The date varies each year, as they have their own calendar which is lunisolar in nature.
The people of Cambodia use the Indian Calendar to calculate the start of the New Year festival. The festival starts on the 12, 13 or 14 April according to the Gregorian calendar and lasts for three days.
The Hindu New Year is celebrated differently in the different parts of the country. The customs of the New Year vary from region to region. There is the Tamil New Year, Bengali New Year, Maharashtra New Year and the Diwalian New Year.
