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uary 1 as the first day of the year, part-
ly to honour the month’s namesake:
Janus, the Roman god of change and
beginnings, whose two faces allowed
him to look back into the past and for-
ward into the future. This idea became
tied to the concept of transition from
one year to the next.
Romans would celebrate January 1st
by offering sacrifices to Janus in the
hope of gaining good fortune for the
New Year, decorating their homes with
laurel branches and attending raucous
parties. This day was seen as setting
the stage for the next twelve months,
and it was common for friends and
neighbours to make a positive start
to the year by exchanging well wish-
es and gifts of figs and honey with one
another.
Middle Ages: January 1st Abol-
ished
In medieval Europe, however, the
celebrations accompanying the New
Year were considered pagan and un-
christian-like, and in 567 AD the Coun-
cil of Tours abolished January 1st as
the beginning of the year, replacing it
with days carrying more religious sig-
nificance, such as December 25th or
March 25 th, the Feast of the Annunci-
ation, also called “Lady Day”.
The date of January 1 st was also giv-
en Christian significance
and became known as the
Feast of the Circumcision,
considered to be the eighth
day of Christ’s life counting
from December 25th and
following the Jewish tradi-
tion of circumcision eight
days after birth on which
the child is formally given
his or her name. However,
the date of December 25 th
for the birth of Jesus is de-
batable .
Gregorian Calendar:
January 1st Restored
In 1582, after reform of the
Gregorian calendar, Pope
Gregory XIII re-established
January 1 st as New Year’s
Day. Although most Cath-
olic countries adopted the
Gregorian calendar almost
immediately, it was only
gradually adopted among
Protestant countries. The
British, for example, did not
adopt the reformed calen-
dar until 1752. Until then,
the British Empire, and their
American colonies, still cel-
ebrated the New Year in
March.