We have also asked this on other Posts today, Is it OK for us to ask..
Where Oh Where Did Year 2024 Disappear To?
Ready Or Not!
Like It Or Not!
Tomorrow Year 2025 arrives.
On New Year’s Eve, you either breathe a sigh of relief that the year is over or marvel at how it went by in a flash. There are many ways in which people spend this day. Some people stay in and view New Year’s Eve fireworks on their television screens, while others head out and party the night away or enjoy the grand celebrations. Whichever side you are on, one thing is for sure — there is excitement in the air. There are some annual traditions that everyone is especially enthusiastic about, such as the grand celebration and Ball Drop at Times Square in New York, which officially heralds the New Year. And some traditions around the world are believed to bring luck in the New Year, such as toasting a glass of champagne at midnight or eating 365 black-eyed peas for good luck on the first day of the New Year.
Most of us give little thought as to why we ceremoniously say goodbye to one year and hello to a new one on December 31. Even those who don’t make special plans to greet the arrival of a new year at the stroke of midnight on December 31 pay homage to the rite with thoughts of the year gone by and hopes for the year to come.
Why do we end each year on December 31 and begin a new one on January 1 anyway?
New Year’s Eve on December 31 marks the final day of what is known as a Gregorian calendar year. Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar as the global standard, most of the ancient world ran on many different and diverse calendar systems to track the passage of time.
The Gregorian calendar we use today was introduced by the Vatican in Rome under Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582. The Gregorian calendar is based on the solar year and replaced an ancient Roman calendar that was based on the lunar cycle of the earth’s moon. The Gregorian calendar is a modified version of the Julian calendar that was introduced by Roman Emperor Julius Caesar during his reign around 44 B.C., at the suggestion of Greek astronomer and mathematician Sosigenes of Alexandria.
The transition from a lunar cycle calendar to a solar year calendar on October 4, 1582, necessitated that a few days be eliminated. The day after October 4, 1582, was therefore declared by Pope Gregory to be October 15, 1582. Don’t ask us what happened to all the poor souls whose birthdays were on October 5 to 14.
Along with the implementation of a new calendar on October 4, 1582, the pope also decreed that each year would officially begin on January 1 instead of April 1 as had been the custom under the old lunar calendar system. This decision had no actual astronomical basis and was influenced by the ancient feast celebrating the Roman god Janus, the god of doorways and beginnings. The first of January seemed like a good starting-over point on a new calendar.
Oh by the way.. NATIONAL TODAY / NATIONAL DAY CALENDAR.. Are the sources of most, but not 100%, of the information on our various “Days” such as today.
Get it? Got it? Good!
Patti and I wish you all a happy, safe, and relaxed New Year's Eve 2024.
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