Times are finally changing, the wondrous chance of restarting is at us again and we celebrate that we lived to once more witness the birth of a new year. Fireworks explode and rain glittering colors across a black canvas of a night sky, the screams and shouts of the youth fill the air they march further and further towards a better future. All thoughts of negativity flee as though they have faded from existence, we still live after all, coming closer and closer to the light of our plotting. It seems, however, that none of us quite know where the need to celebrate first came from. Traditions always start from a time unbeknownst to ourselves, wouldn't it just be grand to know where the excitement had first originated?
Over the last four-thousand years, New Years wasn't celebrated primarily on the first of January. There was wide-spread debate on where and when and how to celebrate the day. the original celebration was called Akitu, and it was a massive Babylonian celebration. This celebration was held annually around the time of the Spring Equinox (March 20th). In forty-six B.C Julius Caesar had introduced a new calendar that had the synchronization of the sun instead of the moon. This changed the date of the celebration from the Spring Equinox to January 1st. In the Middle Ages, the christian church got rid of many of the Roman festivals because they held Pagan roots. Because they'd done that, the date once again changed, causing people to celebrate it on many different days all over medieval Europe. Then, in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII (13) decided on changing the calendar system once more, again changing the date. He came up with the Gregorian calendar, the same one of which is used today, which returned January 1st as New Years Day. We follow a Solar calendar, but to this day you can find countries that still celebrate New Years on a different date because they follow a Solar calendar. Traditions and ways to celebrate it vary depending on the Country. In Spain, they eat grapes, twelve of them in the seconds leading up to midnight. But, since 1904, millions upon billions have shown up and tuned in to New York's Times Square to watch the beloved tradition of the spectacular display of a multi-colored glittery ball descending during the final seconds of the year. The mesmerizing kaleidoscopic effect is done with over 16 million vibrant colors and billions of varying patterns.
From champagne and fireworks, to resolutions and fresh starts, New Years has always meant many things to many people. It's been the height of the old year and an annual celebration to welcome the new one.
