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Friday, January 1, is New Year’s Day, the first day of the calendar year. People in almost every country celebrate this day as a holiday. The celebrations are both festive and serious. Many people make New Year’s resolutions to break bad habits or to start good ones. Some think about how they have lived during the past year and look forward to the next 12 months.

In a typical year, New Year’s celebrations may include visiting friends and relatives, giving gifts, and attending religious services. Celebrations usually start on New Year’s Eve, December 31. In the United States, many people go to New Year’s Eve parties. Crowds gather in Times Square in New York City, on State Street in Chicago, and in other public places. At midnight, bells ring, sirens sound, firecrackers explode, and everyone shouts, “Happy New Year!”

Of course, 2020 has not been a typical year, and 2021 New Year’s festivities are likely to look a little different. Efforts are being made to prevent the spread of the pandemic (global outbreak) of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Such efforts often include social distancing, meant to limit contact among people and thus the spread of germs. So, gone are the large crowds in Times Square. In addition, such traditional New Year’s Day celebrations as visiting friends and relatives or attending religious services might be limited to virtual events this year.

Many people may be particularly excited to say good-bye to 2020. The year was largely overshadowed by the pandemic. COVID-19 was first recognized in human beings in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. By January 30, COVID-19 had caused 170 deaths among some 8,000 confirmed cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. WHO recommended urgent containment measures as the number of cases and deaths continued to climb. On March 11, WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

As the pandemic progressed, some authorities closed schools and such businesses as restaurants, movie theaters, and barber shops and hair salons. Some officials issued stay-at-home orders. The orders forbade people from leaving their homes except for such necessary activities as working at an essential job, buying food, or seeing a doctor.

As of late December, COVID-19 has caused more than 1.7 million deaths worldwide, and more than 82.1 million cases had been confirmed. More than 185 countries have reported cases of COVID-19.

However, the new year offers hope in the form of vaccines, special medicines that can help make a person immune to a particular disease. The long-awaited V-Day, short for Vaccine Day, arrived in the United States on Monday, December 14, with the beginning of widespread vaccination against COVID-19. The first vaccine doses were given to health care workers. Next in line are frontline workers (workers likely to encounter the disease) and people who are vulnerable to the virus, including the elderly and people with such risk factors as obesity or diabetes. Some of these people have already received the vaccine, but most people may have to wait to be vaccinated until the spring of 2021.

So, it will take some time for things to return to normal. But, here’s wishing you a happier and healthier 2021!

January 1, 2016

January 1, the first day of the Gregorian calendar, is celebrated as New Year’s Day in much of the world. In most every country, New Year’s Day represents a new beginning, and almost every culture has one or more customary ways to celebrate the occasion. Many such customs involve tasks that must be taken care of before midnight on December 31. These include cleaning the house, getting rid of old furniture, and clearing all debts. The varied New Year’s customs are often steeped in superstition. Yet, these customs share the underlying theme of breaking with the old and starting the new year with a fresh, clean slate.

New Year’s Eve celebrations in the United States draw large crowds together to await the stroke of midnight. In this photograph, confetti drops on partygoers in New York City’s Times Square as a new year begins. (© Monika Graff, UPI/Landov)

In the United States and many other countries, people go to New Year’s Eve parties. At midnight, bells ring, sirens sound, firecrackers explode, and everyone shouts, “Happy New Year!” Sydney, Australia, hosts one of the most enthralling of New Year celebrations. With the arrival of the new year, the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge is lit up with fireworks. The use of noisemakers and fireworks is based on the belief that the noise will scare away any bad spirits from the past year. Other methods can be used to accomplish this task. For example, in Romania, people put on bear costumes and visit neighbors at their homes to chase evil away.

Many customs meant to bring good fortune in the new year involve eating particular foods. In the southern United States, black-eyed peas and collard greens are eaten at the New Year to bring good luck. Frederick Douglass wrote that the black-eyed peas symbolized coins and eating them insured economic prosperity for the coming year. In many countries, eating a round or ring-shaped pastry symbolizes having “come full circle” and promises good fortune for the new year. People in Ireland enjoy a round soda bread called bannock. Dutch homes serve a round fritter called olie bollen. In Denmark a tall, ringed cake called Kransekage is topped with marzipan (almond paste). In Italy, a ring-shaped pastry called chiacchiere is traditional at New Year’s. And doughnuts are served in Poland, Hungary, and many other countries in Europe. In Switzerland, it is traditional to drop a dollop of cream onto the floor. The cream symbolizes the richness of the new year and it is considered bad luck to clean it up. In Spain, Portugal, and many countries in South America, people eat 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve, one at each chime as the clock strikes midnight. Each grape is said to represent a month in the upcoming year. If a grape is sour, it indicates that month may not be so fortunate.

First footing is a tradition observed on Hogmanay, the New Year’s celebration in Scotland. It is also a custom in Canada, and similar traditions exist in Greece and the Republic of Georgia. The term refers to the first person to set foot into the house at midnight on New Year’s Eve as people visit neighbors and friends. According to tradition, if the first person to enter is a dark, handsome young man carrying a piece of coal, whiskey, and bread, people will want for nothing in the new year. But you must be careful. If the first footer is cross-eyed or has eyebrows that meet in the middle, bad luck may be in store for the next 12 months.

December 31, 2012

A cycle in the calendar used by most of the world ends today at midnight–but, happily, a new cycle will begin again immediately afterward as the date moves forward to 2013. In the United States, the slow descent of the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball in New York City will mark the final seconds of the year, as the ball has every year since 1907. Crowds will gather on State Street in Chicago and in other public places as well. Many people will go to New Year’s Eve parties. At midnight, bells will ring, sirens will sound, firecrackers will explode, and everyone will shout, “Happy New Year!” Many people will also drink a toast to the new year and sing “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish song whose title is widely mispronounced and whose meaning is generally unknown. (It is pronounced AWLD lang SYN, not OLD ang ZINE, and means old long since, or days gone by, in Scottish dialect.)

On New Year’s Day, many people in the United States will visit relatives, attend religious services, or watch football games on television. Some people will attend parades, such as the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, and the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.

The Mummers Parade features marching bands in elaborate and colorful costumes. This festive event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is held annually on New Year's Day. © Joseph Nettis, Photo Researchers

The ancient Romans were the first to use January 1 as the start of the new year. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered the adoption of a new calendar because the Roman year had gotten totally out of whack. Winter occurred in September, and autumn came in the month now called July. The Romans had usually celebrated March 1 as the first day of the new year. But Caesar, who had recently picked up a 10-year appointment as dictator of Rome, officially ordered the date moved to January 1 in 45 B.C., as part of the changes mandated by the new Julian calendar.

During the Middle Ages, from about the A.D. 400′s through the 1400′s, most European countries started the new year on March 25, a Christian holiday called Annunciation Day. By 1600, many Western nations had adopted a revised calendar called the Gregorian calendar. This calendar, the one used today, restored January 1 as New Year’s Day. Great Britain (now also called the United Kingdom) and its colonies in America adopted it in 1752.

Additional World Book articles:

• Chinese New Year
• Islam (Holidays and celebrations)
• January
• Rosh Ha-Shanah