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Happy New YearsHistory of New Years

"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 North 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.

ChampagneThe 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.

The Church's View of New Year Celebrations

NoisemakerAlthough in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.

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Gift Baskets to bring in the New Year:

New Years Gift Baskets Australia AU - Australian Capital Territory ACT New South Wales NSW Norfolk Island NI Northern Territory NT Queensland QLD Southern Australia SA Tasmania TAS Victoria VIC Western Australia WA

New Years Gift Baskets Canada CA - Alberta AB British Columbia BC Manitoba MB New Brunswick NB Newfoundland/Labrador NL Northwest Territories NT NWT Nova Scotia NS Nunavut NU Ontario ON Prince Edward Island PE PEI Quebec QC PQ Saskatchewan SK Yukon Territory YT

New Years Gift Baskets Europe - Austria AU Belgium BE Bulgaria BU Czech Republic CZ Denmark DE Finland FI France FR Germany GE Greece GR Hungary HU Italy IT Luxembourg LU The Netherlands NE Norway NO Poland PL Portugal PO Republic of Ireland IR Romania RO Slovakia SK Bratislava Spain SP Sweden SW Switzerland SZ

New Years Gift Baskets Middle East - Egypt, EG Iran, IR Israel, IL Jordan, JO Kuwait, KW Lebanon, LB Oman, OM Qatar, QA Saudi Arabia, SA Syria, SY Turkey, TR United Arab Emirates, AE Yemen, YE

New Years Gift Baskets New Zealand NZ - Auckland AU Bay of Plenty BP Gisborne GI Hawke's Bay HB Manawatu-Wanganui MW Northland NL Taranaki TA Waikato WA Wellington WE Canterbury CB Marlborough MB Nelson NS Otago OT Southland SL Tasman TS West Coast WC

New Years Gift Baskets Puerto Rico PRGift Baskets Puerto Rico PR

New Years Gift Baskets Republic of Ireland Gift Baskets Republic of Ireland

New Years Gift Baskets South Africa SAGift Baskets South Africa

New Years Gift Baskets Southeast Asia - Bangladesh China India Indonesia Japan Macau Malaysia Philippines Singapore South Korea Taiwan Thailand Vietnam

New Years Gift Baskets United Kingdom UK - England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

New Years Gift Baskets United States US USA - Alabama AL Alaska AK Arizona AZ Arkansas AR California CA Colorado CO Connecticut CT Delaware DE District of Columbia DC Florida FL Georgia GA Hawaii HI Idaho ID Illinois IL Indiana IN Iowa IA Kansas KS Kentucky KY Louisiana LA Maine ME Maryland MD Massachusetts MA Michigan MI Minnesota MN Mississippi MS Missouri MO Montana MT Nebraska NE Nevada NV New Hampshire NH New Jersey NJ New Mexico NM New York NY North Carolina NC North Dakota ND Ohio OH Oklahoma OK Oregon OR Pennsylvania PA Rhode Island RI South Carolina SC South Dakota SD Tennessee TN Texas TX Utah UT Vermont VT Virginia VA Washington WA West Virginia WV Wisconsin WI Wyoming WY

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