New Year 2009: Celebrating with Details

Are you ready to celebrating New Year? The New Year is an event that happens when we celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations. The most common modern dates of celebration are listed below, ordered and grouped by their appearance relative to the conventional Western calendar. "Happy New Year!" Those words will be said and heard for at least the first of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America was not always January 1. Also it is different in all over the world. Takes a look:

January

• 1st January is the first official day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries in world.
• The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, about four to eight weeks before spring (Lichun). The exact date can fall anytime between 21 January and 21 February (inclusive) of the Gregorian calendar. Because the lunisolar Chinese calendar is astronomically defined, unlike the Gregorian calendar, the drift of the seasons will change the range. Each year is symbolized by one of 12 animals and one of five elements, with the combinations of animals and elements (or stems) cycling every 60 years. It is the most important Chinese holiday of the year.

• In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the civil New Year falls on 14 January (1 January in the Julian calendar). Many in the countries where Eastern Orthodoxy predominates celebrate both the Gregorian and Julian New Year holidays, with the Gregorian day celebrated as a civic holiday, and the Julian date as the "Old New Year", a religious holiday. The Church's own liturgical calendar begins on September 1, thereby proceeding annually from the celebration of Jesus' birth in the winter (Christmas). Through his death and resurrection in the spring (Pascha / Easter), to his Ascension in the summer, and the assumption of his mother (Dormition of the Theotokos / Virgin Mary) in the fall.

• The Vietnamese New Year is the Tết Nguyên Đán which is for most times the same day as the Chinese New Year.
• The Khmer, Thai, Laotian and Burmese New Year is called the SangKran and falls from 13th to 15th of April. The Tibetan New Year is Losar and falls from January through March.

March

• The Telugu New Year generally falls in the months of March or April. The people of Andhra Pradesh, India celebrate the advent of Lunar year this day. This day is celebrated across entire Andhra Pradesh as UGADI(Meaning the Start of a new Year.).The first month is Chaitra Masam. Masam means month.
• Gudi Padwa is celebrated as the first day of the Hindu year by the people of Maharashtra, India. This day falls in March or April and coincides with Ugadi. (see: Deccan)
• Hola Mohalla, New Year's Day in the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar is on March 14.

• The Iranian New Year, called Norouz, is the day containing the exact moment of the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring season. In 2007 this falls on 20 March.

• The Zoroastrian New Year coincides with the Iranian New Year of Norouz. It is celebrated by the Parsis in India and by Zoroastrians and Persians across the world.

• In the Bahá'í calendar, the new year occurs on the vernal equinox on 21 March, and is called Naw-Rúz.

• In the Saka Calendar (Balinese-Javanese Calendar) the celebration of new year falls on 30rd of March in this year. the celebration gather of Nyepi, Balinese Hindu holiday.

• The Kannada New Year or Ugadi is celebrated by the people of Karnataka, India as the beginning of a new year according to the Hindu Calendar. The first month of the new Year is Chaitra.

• Sindhi festival of Cheti Chand is celebrated on the same day as Ugadi/Gudi Padwa to mark the celebration of the Sindhi New Year.

April

• In India, the Tamil New Year and Vishu are celebrated on the same day respectively in the Southern Indian Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They generally fall on 13 April or 14 April. The first month of the Tamil New Year is called Chithrai. Every year in the month of Chithrai, in the temple city of Madurai, the Chithrai Thiruvizha is celebrated in the Meenakshi Temple. A huge exhibition is also held, called Chithrai Porutkaatchi. The day is marked with a feast in Hindu homes and the entrance to the houses is decorated elaborately with kolams.
• 1 April in the Assyrian New Year, called Rish Nissanu.

• On 13 April the Punjabi New Year Vaisakhi is celebrated and celebrates the harvest.

• The Nepali New Year is celebrated in spring, on the first day of the lunar month Baisakh. In the English calender, it usually between 12 - 15 April.

• The Thai and Lao New Year are celebrated from 13 April to 15 April by splashing water.

• The Cambodian New Year and Lao New Year are celebrated from 13 April to 15 April.

• The Bengali New Year Pohela Baisakh is celebrated on 14 April or 15 April in a festive manner in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.

• The Sinhalese New Year falls in April when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) Sri Lankans begin celebrating their National New Year "Aluth Avurudhu" in Sinhala and "Puththandu" in Tamil. Unlike the usual practice where the new year begins at midnight, the National New Year begins at the time determined by the astrologers. Not the beginning of the New Year but the conclusion of the old year also specified by the astrologers and unlike the customary ending and beginning of new year, there is a period of a few hours in between the conclusion of the Old Year and the commencement of the New Year , which is called the "nona gathe" (neutral period). During this time one is expected to keep off from all types of work and engage solely in religious activities.

Northern Fall

• The Gujarati New Year is usually celebrated the day after the festival of Diwali (which occurs in mid-fall - either October or November, depending on the Lunar calendar). The Gujarati New Year is synonymous with sud ekam of the Kartik month - the first day of the first month of Gujarati lunar calendar. Most other Hindus celebrate the New Year in early spring, but the Gujarati farming community celebrates the New Year after Diwali to mark the beginning of a new fiscal year.
• Rosh Hashanah is a holiday commemorating the culmination of the six days of Creation, and marking God's yearly renewal of His world. The day has elements of festivity and introspection, as God is traditionally believed to be assessing His creation and determining the fate of all men and creatures for the coming year.

• In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the New Year, called Neyrouz, coincides with 11 September in the Gregorian calendar between 1900 and 2099, with the exception of the year before Gregorian leap years, when Neyrouz occurs on 12 September). The Coptic year 1723 began in September 2005. The Ethiopian Orthodox New Year, called Enkutatash, falls on the same date as Neyrouz; the Ethiopian calendar year 1999 thus began on September 11, 2006.

• The Marwari New Year is celebrated on the day of the festival of Diwali

• Some neo-pagans celebrate Samhain (a festival of the ancient Celts, held around November 1) as a new year's day representing the new cycle of the Wheel of the Year, although they do not use a different calendar that starts on this day.

Variable Conditions

• The Islamic New Year occurs on 1 Muharram. Since the Muslim calendar is based on 12 lunar months amounting to about 354 days, the Gregorian date of this is about eleven days earlier each year. 2008 see two Muslim New Years.

• The Thelemic new year is usually celebrated with an invocation to Ra-Hoor-Khuit, commemorating the beginning of the New Aeon in 1904. It also marks the start of the twenty two day Thelemic holy season.

History of New Year

The ancient Roman calendar had only 10 months and first day of year is 1 March, which is still reflected in the names of some months which derive from Latin: September (seventh), October (eighth), November (ninth), and December (tenth). Around 713 BC the months of January and February were added to the year, traditionally by the second king, Numa Pompilius, along with the leap month Intercalaris. The year used in dates was the consular year, which began on the day when consuls first entered office — fixed by law at 15 March in 222 BC, but this event was moved to 1 January in 153 BC. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, dropping Intercalaris; however, 1 January continued to be the first day of the new year.

In the middle Ages in Europe a number of significant feast days in the ecclesiastical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church came to be used as the beginning of the Julian year.

• In Annunciation Style dating the new year started on 25 March, the feast of the Annunciation. This was used in many parts of Europe in the Middle Ages, and was the style introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525. Annunciation Style continued to be used in the Kingdom of Great Britain until January 1, 1752, except Scotland which changed to Circumcision Style dating on 1 January 1600. The rest of Great Britain changed to Circumcision Style on the 1 January preceding the conversion in Great Britain from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar on 3/14 September 1752. The UK tax year still starts on 6 April which is 25 March + 12 days, eleven for the conversion from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar plus a dropped leap day in 1900.
• In Christmas Style dating the New Year started on 25 December. This was used in Germany and England until the thirteenth century and in Spain from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century.
• In Easter Style dating, the New Year started on Easter Saturday (or sometimes on Good Friday). This was used in France from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. A disadvantage of this system was that because Easter was a movable feast the same date could occur twice in a year; the two occurrences were distinguished as "before Easter" and "after Easter".
• In Circumcision Style dating, the new year started on 1 January, the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus.

Adoption of 1 January as New Year

The years of adoption of 1 Jan are as follows:

• 1522 Venice
• 1544 Holy Roman Empire. The area covered included Germany, Austria and their future territories.
• 1556 Spain, Portugal, Roman Catholic (southern) Netherlands. This extended to all Spanish and Portuguese territories and outposts in the Americas and around the world.
• 1559 Prussia, Denmark, Sweden
• 1564 France. The dating applied to all subsequently acquired French territories.
• 1579 Lorraine
• 1583 Protestant (northern) Netherlands
• 1600 Scotland
• 1725 Russia, and its future territories.
• 1721 Tuscany
• 1752 Britain and its colonies.

This included the east coast of what would become the United States and Canada. Also as each part of the world came within the sway of English law, the English style dates applied. Over time that would include large swathes of Africa, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

The Gregorian calendar started to be adopted, at different times in different countries, after 1592, the New Year’s Day was again unaligned, with the countries still using the Julian calendar being 10 days ahead of those that adopted the Gregorian calendar.

The discrepancy increased to 11 days in 1600, and 12 in 2000. The ancient Roman New Year of 1 March was used in the Republic of Venice until its destruction in 1797, and in Russia from 988 until the end of the 15th century.

1 September was used in Russia from the end of the 15th century until the adoption of the Christian era in 1700. Since the 17th century, the Roman Catholic ecclesiastic year has started on the first day of Advent, the Sunday nearest to St. Andrew's Day 30 November. Autumnal equinox day usually 22 September was "New Year's Day" in the French Republican Calendar, which was in use from 1793 to 1805. This was called primidi Vendemière, the first day of the first month.

New Year Traditions
Like other traditions include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

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