As 2014 draws to a close, many people like to reflect on the past 365 days and look forward to the incoming year.
New Year’s is the time when a new calendar begins and many cultures celebrate this event. With the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western or Christian calendar, this day falls on January first, as it was with the Roman calendar and Julian calendar that came before it.
New Year’s is a national holiday in many countries including Italy, Spain, the UK and the United States. However, there are other countries, such as China, that recognize different dates as the new year based on other various calendars.
Contrary to popular belief, New Years is not an Orthodox Christian holiday; the Eastern calendar does not observe the New Year. January first is a holiday according to these Christian calendars, but that is because it is the feast of the circumcision of Christ and a commemoration of saints. Some of these Orthodox nations follow a revised Julian calendar that sometimes synchronizes dates with the Gregorian calendar; they include Turkey, Egypt and Greece. However, even though New Years is not considered a religious holiday there, many people still celebrate it alongside the religious holidays.
Here in the United States, we celebrate with famous countdowns to midnight and parties that go all night long. Americans tend to create resolutions that aim to improve their everyday lives in the year to come; some of these resolutions can include losing weight or focusing more in school or work. However, rarely are these resolutions actually accomplished.
The New Year offers opportunity for change, a breath of fresh air, and a clean slate. It is up to us if we make a change or if we stay the same. Whatever you do this New Years, make it count. If you make a resolution, go through with it. Only you can make it happen.