New Year's Day

New Year's Day
January 1, celebrated as a holiday in many countries.
[1150-1200; ME]

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First day of the new year, celebrated with religious, cultural, and social observances around the world.

It is usually marked by rites and ceremonies that symbolize casting off the old year and rejoicing in the new. Most of the world recognizes January 1 as the start of a new year because the Gregorian calendar, from its papal origin in 1582, has become the international reference for treaties, corporate contracts, and other legal documents. Nevertheless, numerous religious and national calendars have been retained. For example, in the Persian calendar (used in Iran and Afghanistan) New Year's Day falls on the spring equinox (March 20 or 21 in the Gregorian calendar). The more widely employed Islamic (Hijrī) calendar is based on 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days; thus, the Islamic New Year's Day gradually regresses through the longer Gregorian calendar. The Hindu new year starts on the day following the first new moon on or after the spring equinox. The Chinese new year begins at sunset on the new moon in the sign of Aquarius (late January or early February). The Hebrew calendar is based on 12 lunar months (13 in certain years) of 29 or 30 days; the Jewish New Year's Day, or Rosh Hashanah, can fall anytime from September 6 to October 5 in the Gregorian calendar.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • New Year's Day — • Since there was no necessary starting point in the circle of the year, we find among different nations, and among the same at different epochs of their history, a great variety of dates with which the new year began. . . Catholic Encyclopedia.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • New Year's Day — «New Year s Day» Сингл U2 …   Википедия

  • New Year's Day — the first day of a calendar year; the first day of January. Often colloquially abbreviated to {New year s} or {new year}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • New Year's (Day) — or New Year s n. Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday * * * …   Universalium

  • New Year's (Day) — or New Year s n. Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday …   English World dictionary

  • New Year's (Day) — or New Year s n. Jan. 1, the first day of a calendar year, usually celebrated as a legal holiday …   English World dictionary

  • New Year's Day — n [singular, U] 1st January, the first day of the year …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • New Year's Day — noun count ** January 1st, the first day of the year, usually celebrated as a public holiday …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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  • New Year's Day — New′ Year s Day′ n. January 1, celebrated as a holiday in many countries • Etymology: 1150–1200 …   From formal English to slang

  • New Year's Day — ► NOUN ▪ 1 January …   English terms dictionary

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