Why do we celebrate the New Year?

For at least 4,000 years, people around the world have celebrated the start of the new year, making it one of the oldest holidays.

The New Year celebration is important to people around the world celebrating another year of their lives. About 1 million people gather in New York City’s Times Square to watch the ball drop!

While today, most New Year’s celebrations begin Dec. 31, that wasn’t always the case. The earliest festivities in ancient Babylon — now present-day Iraq — began their new year in what we now call March, according to the Britannica. People back then celebrated for 11 days the upcoming planting season and arrival of spring.

Today, Western cultures of Europe, North America, South America and Australia celebrate the new year using the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted 400 years ago by Pope Gregory XIII in Rome.

Other places and cultures observe the new year at other times based on their calendars. Some calendars are based on the movement of the moon, others on the position of the sun. Other cultures also used the autumn equinox or the winter solstice to mark the New Year.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated for up to 16 days based on the lunar calendar. It will always fall some time between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20.

Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year and falls between late summer and early fall, based on the Hebrew calendar. On this day, people eat sweet honey for a sweet year ahead.

In Iran, New Year’s Day is in on the first day of spring in March.

Common Year Year’s Eve traditions are attending parties, eating special foods, making resolutions and staying up late to count down the seconds until midnight. This might not be possible for kids who need to go to bed earlier than adults.

One way to celebrate is to “ring in the noon year,” according to PBS. Celebrate at 12 hours early by ringing in the year at noon on Dec. 31, with sparking apple cider, noise makers and food. Another way some families might celebrate the New Year is traveling time zones since it’s always midnight somewhere in the world.

Traditions to bring in the New Year Dec. 31, differ around the world.

In Greece, a gold or silver join is baked in to a cake called a vasilopita. If you receive this piece of cake with the coin inside, it is believed you will have good luck the rest of the year.

In Spain, people eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve, which is believed to bring 12 months of happiness.

At midnight on New Year’s Eve in Japan, bells and gongs sound to scare away bad spirits.

The the Netherlands, the Dutch make bonfires in the street using Christmas trees and eat doughnuts for good luck, according to Britannica Kids.

Portuguese children go door to door singing songs for neighbors and can receive sweet treats and coins in return — kind of like trick-or-treating in December!

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