Who Invented New Year's Eve?

New Year's Eve—a time for revelry, resolutions, and the occasional regrettable dance move. But have you ever paused mid-champagne to ponder who we have to thank for this annual excuse to don silly hats and sing "Auld Lang Syne"?

Well now that New Year's Eve is behind us and we're looking ahead to a brand new year let's embark on a journey through time to uncover the origins of New Year's Eve celebrations.

Ancient Beginnings: The Babylonians' New Year Bash

The Babylonians were among the first to introduce the concept of celebrating the new year, although their timeline for ringing it in might seem a bit peculiar to us. Their New Year’s festival, known as Akitu, didn’t occur in the winter but was held during the vernal equinox, around late March. This timing was no accident—it aligned with the season’s agricultural significance. The equinox, a time when day and night were of equal length, symbolised balance and renewal, a fitting metaphor for a new year.

Akitu wasn’t just a quick evening gathering; it was a sprawling 11-day festival filled with rituals, processions, and even theatrical performances. Central to the celebrations was the reaffirmation of the Babylonian king’s divine mandate. If the gods were displeased with the ruler’s performance, this period offered a chance to reset the cosmic order.

The Babylonian gods played leading roles in these proceedings, especially Marduk, the chief deity. The priests would enact a dramatic retelling of Marduk’s triumph over Tiamat, a chaos goddess, symbolising the victory of order over disorder—an apt theme for starting anew.

Roman Rescheduling: Enter Janus

While the Babylonians celebrated the new year in spring, the ancient Romans initially stuck with March 1st. This date coincided with the start of their military campaigning season, a practical decision for a culture heavily focused on conquest and expansion. However, things changed in 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar decided that Rome’s chaotic lunar calendar was overdue for a makeover.

Caesar, taking advice from Egyptian astronomers, introduced the Julian calendar, which aligned with the solar year. He declared January 1st as the start of the new year, a decision steeped in both symbolic and political meaning. January was named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, endings, and transitions. Janus, depicted with two faces, one looking forward and the other backward, perfectly embodied the spirit of reflection and anticipation that marks the new year.

On the first of January, Romans engaged in rituals to honour Janus, making sacrifices and exchanging gifts as tokens of goodwill. These practices symbolised starting the year on the right foot—literally, as stepping out of bed with the "correct" foot was believed to set the tone for the months ahead.

Medieval Interruptions: A Temporary Pause

The rise of Christianity brought significant changes to how the new year was observed. Early Church leaders, keen to distance their followers from pagan traditions, began to discourage celebrations tied to January 1st. The Church instead shifted the focus to dates with religious significance, such as December 25th, marking the birth of Christ, or March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation, which commemorated the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary.

This ecclesiastical reorganisation of the calendar lasted for centuries, particularly in Europe, where Christian festivals often absorbed or replaced older pagan customs. During this time, the new year became a quieter, more introspective event, far removed from the revelry of earlier Roman celebrations.

The Gregorian Calendar: Back to January 1st

The eventual reinstatement of January 1st as New Year’s Day came with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, a reform introduced by Pope Gregory XIII to correct inaccuracies in the Julian system.

By the 16th century, the Julian calendar had become a bit of a timekeeping disaster. The year was too long by 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Over centuries, this seemingly minor error caused Christian festivals like Easter to drift out of sync with their intended seasons. To remedy this, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, which trimmed the year down to a more precise 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds.

With the new calendar came the reinstatement of January 1st as the official start of the year. This decision wasn’t just about tidy bookkeeping; it also reaffirmed the symbolic importance of Janus, the two-faced Roman god who looked both to the past and the future. The Gregorian calendar aligned civil timekeeping with celestial phenomena, and January 1st provided a fitting moment for reflection and resolution.

However, not everyone was thrilled about the papal intervention. Protestant nations, wary of Catholic reforms, resisted adopting the Gregorian system. England and its colonies, for instance, held onto the Julian calendar until 1752, meaning that while most of Europe had long been toasting to the new year on January 1st, the British were still lagging behind. To complicate matters, this resistance created situations where different parts of Europe celebrated the new year on entirely different dates. 

Catholic countries such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal embraced the change immediately, their clocks ticking happily into a more precise future. 

England and its colonies stuck stubbornly to the Julian calendar. For nearly two centuries, English merchants wishing their continental counterparts a happy new year were often days—or weeks—late. Meanwhile, countries like Sweden attempted their own awkward transition in the early 18th century, briefly creating a unique Swedish calendar that left citizens in a kind of calendrical limbo.

In Scotland, which adopted the Gregorian calendar slightly earlier than England, New Year’s traditions like Hogmanay thrived. Long before January 1st was officially re-cemented as the new year, Scots were already marking the occasion with bonfires, feasting, and first-footing—a custom where the first visitor to cross your threshold after midnight is meant to bring good fortune.

Orthodox Christian countries, such as Russia and Greece, held out even longer, clinging to the Julian calendar well into the 20th century. This means that while much of Europe was ringing in the new year on January 1st, these regions were still marking it according to "Old New Year" (January 14th by the Gregorian calendar).

Modern Celebrations: From Times Square to Televisions

Fast forward to the 20th century, and New Year’s Eve has become a global affair, blending ancient customs with modern festivities. While the Gregorian calendar has standardised January 1st as New Year’s Day, the way people celebrate continues to evolve.

One of the most iconic modern traditions began in 1907 when the first Times Square Ball Drop lit up the New York City skyline. Created to draw crowds to the bustling square, the illuminated ball—originally made of iron and wood—descended from a flagpole to mark the start of the new year. Today, this event is watched by millions around the world, cementing its place as a global symbol of New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Meanwhile, in the UK, traditions like the singing of Auld Lang Syne, based on a 1788 poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns, became a staple of New Year’s Eve gatherings. Whether bellowed in pubs or crooned in living rooms, the song is a reminder to cherish old friends while looking forward to new beginnings.

Television also revolutionised how we celebrate. From live fireworks displays in cities like London and Sydney to star-studded countdown shows, New Year’s Eve has became an occasion not just to gather but to tune in. As a result, millions now celebrate from the comfort of their sofas, toasting with Prosecco while watching pyrotechnics erupt across some of the world's most iconic locations.

So, Who Invented New Year’s Eve?

Pinpointing who invented New Year’s Eve is a bit like trying to name the genius who first thought of putting chips in a sandwich—it’s an idea that evolved over centuries. The Babylonians were the first to formalise the idea of marking a new year, albeit in spring, while the Romans, under Julius Caesar, anchored the concept to January 1st.

The Church temporarily disrupted the party in medieval Europe, but the Gregorian calendar restored January 1st to its rightful place. Modern celebrations have since layered ancient traditions with contemporary flair.

So, while no single person can claim credit for inventing New Year’s Eve, humanity’s innate desire to reflect on the past, embrace the future, and indulge in a bit of revelry has kept this tradition alive for millennia.

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