Why is January 1st the new year?

Question

March 21st is the first day of the Aries sign, the first day of Spring, the first day of the New Year... what is Jan. 1st? other than a random day?

Answer 1

You're right, it's arbitrary...

It doesn't line up with either the Solstices, or the Equinoxes!

The Christmas holidays were actually a marketing invention to give the economy a boost during the usual mid-winter slump...

Prior to about 2,000 years ago, and going back into pre-history, the calendar of choice was the Lunar calendar, which repeated its cycle every 28+/- days, totalling 13-months per year...

The Mayans believe that at the end of 2012, we should revert back to a Lunar calendar, in order to bring about a harmony between Mankind and Nature...

Answer 2

I don't know the answer for sure. I do know that the Roman calender ended on Dec 25, because all their months had the same number of days. And the number each month ended on was an even number. This meant that the new year for them started on Jan 1. They also observed a major Holiday on Dec 25 because it was the end of the year, called the Saturnalia (not sure about spelling). This is where Christmas originated too. The minority Christians  wanted to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but didn't want to stand out from the rest of the population by announcing their own, and separate Holiday, which might draw negative attention. Although Jesus was actually born in the early fall sometime (no one is sure), the Christians made it Dec 25 as his birthday. The Roman calender had seven days unaccounted for at the end of the year, but they made it work, with Jan 1 as the start of the year.

Answer 3

Blame the Romans. Many cultures celebrated the start of a new years in the Spring. That makes sense; fresh growth, life coming back, things starting and so on. However:

"The 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. "

http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm

Answer 4

january first isnt random since it is the new year.. its the first of a month when it is part cold part warm.. and a lot of people have their birthdays on that day.

Answer 5

Because December 22 is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.  After that, "a new year" begins, the days getting longer until June 24, the summer solstice, and longest day of the year.

But since December has 31 days, it was decided to wait until the end of the month to celebrate the beginning of the new year.