How many days until New Year?

Why the year starts on January 1

January 1 has been New Year's Day in the Roman calendar since 153 BC, when Roman consuls began taking office on that date, and Julius Caesar's calendar reform in 46 BC kept it. During the Middle Ages, many Christian countries started the year on other dates, such as March 25 or Easter. The Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582, restored January 1, and countries gradually adopted it; Britain and its American colonies only switched to January 1 as the start of the legal year in 1752.

How the world celebrates

Because of time zones, New Year arrives first in the Pacific: the island nation of Kiribati (UTC+14) is among the first places to celebrate, and American Samoa and uninhabited Baker Island are among the last, more than a full day later. Famous celebrations include:

• the fireworks over Sydney Harbour, among the first big displays of the night;
• the ball drop in New York's Times Square, a tradition since 1907;
• Hogmanay in Scotland, with "first-footing" visits after midnight;
• in Spain, eating twelve grapes at the twelve strokes of midnight for luck;
• in Japan, temple bells rung 108 times on New Year's Eve, and family visits to shrines.

Resolutions and fresh starts

Making promises at the start of a new year goes back thousands of years; ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at their spring new year festival. Today, common resolutions include exercise, healthier eating, saving money and learning new skills. Research on goal-setting suggests resolutions are more likely to stick when they are specific, measurable and broken into small steps, which is where a countdown or a weekly plan can help.

Other new years

Not every culture starts the year on January 1. Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20; Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls in September or early October; and the Islamic New Year moves through the seasons with the lunar calendar. Many fiscal and academic years start on other dates too.

New Year's Day as a holiday

January 1 is a public holiday in most countries. When it falls on a weekend, many countries give a substitute day off on the following Monday. In the US, if January 1 falls on a Saturday, the federal holiday is observed on Friday, December 31.