Happy New Year 2025!
As 2024 is getting near an end, many will travel to special places to celebrate the New Year in style. Today’s blog discusses New Year Day’s origins, traditions, nice hotels where to celebrate and more. Have fun !
New Year’s Day
How did January 1st become New Year’s Day? According to tradition, during his reign, king Numa Pompilius revised the roman calendar so that January replaced March as the first month of the year. January was named after Janus, the Roman god of doors and gates, who had two faces, one looking forward and one backward. Caesar felt that a month named after this god would be good to ring in the new year while saying goodbye to the old one.
In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar introduced more changes, though he kept January 1st as the year’s opening date. With the expansion of the Roman Empire, the use of the Julian calendar also spread. However, following the fall of Rome in the 5th century, many Christian countries altered the calendar so that it was more reflective of their religion and, March 25th (the Feast of the Annunciation) and December 25th (Christmas) became common New Year’s Days.