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New Year's Celebrations

"Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple 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.

ANCIENT NEW YEARS The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

Source:http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm

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Author of the Week

The World Almanac

Buy World Almanac's here:http://experiencedbooks.com/web/abr/?asa=

The World Almanac and Book of Facts is an American-published reference work and is the bestselling[1] almanac which conveys information to the general public about such subjects as world changes, tragedies, sports feats, etc. The almanac can be found in homes, libraries, schools, businesses, and media outlets throughout the United States and to a more limited degree in other parts of the world.

It has been published yearly since 1886. The 2008 edition has over 1,000 pages.

The first edition of The World Almanac was published by The New York World newspaper in 1868 three years after the end of the Civil War and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. In 1876 publication stopped but resumed in 1886. In 1894 the name changed to The World Almanac and Encyclopedia. In 1923, the name changed to its current name, The World Almanac and Book of Facts.

From the late 19th Century to 1934, the New York World Building was prominently featured on the cover of the almanac.

Calvin Coolidge's father read from The World Almanac when he swore his son into office. Since then, photos have shown that Presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton have also used The World Almanac as a resource.

The World Almanac For Kids has been published annually since 1995.

The World Almanac is now produced by the World Almanac Education Group, which is owned by The Reader's Digest Association. The World Almanac is distributed by Simon and Schuster.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Almanac

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That's it for this week!