Happy New Year! Jan. 1, 2025

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year"s Day! Humans have celebrated the new year since at least 2000 BCE, but various cultures have chosen different days coinciding with equinoxes or lunar cycles. The Romans established January 1 as the beginning of the year in 153 BCE, but this fell out of favour throughout Europe during the medieval era. Since 1582 and the widespread adoption of the Gregorian calendar, however, much of the world now celebrates the new year today. In addition to watching fireworks, drinking champagne and making resolutions in the wee hours of the morning, other global traditions include making noise, eating lucky foods and giving gifts.

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Today in History

Napping near the North Pole
Jan. 1, 2024Happy New Year!
Jan. 1, 2026Happy New Year!

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Apr. 20, 2025Happy Easter!
Jan. 6, 2026Nuuk, Greenland
Oct. 1, 2023Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, British Columbia
An island made from a vow
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Jan. 23, 2025Sundance Film Festival
Apr. 11, 2025Tulips, Netherlands
Feb. 6, 2025Waitangi Day in New Zealand
Aug. 5, 2024Lavender field, Hertfordshire, England
Jan. 31, 2026International Zebra Day
Oct. 19, 2023Mekong River Delta, Long An, Vietnam
Feb. 7, 2024St. James Tidal Pool, Cape Town, South Africa
Mar. 25, 2025Tolkien Reading Day
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Sep. 18, 2024Gujō Hachiman Castle, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Nov. 8, 2025Bandon Beach in Bandon, Oregon, United States
Jun. 21, 2024National Indigenous Peoples Day
Feb. 25, 2024Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island
A mountaintop cultural wonder
Apr. 10, 2025Siblings Day
Oct. 23, 2023Corn maze in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
Jul. 13, 2025International Rock Day
Dec. 16, 2025Handmade gnomes at a Christmas market
Feb. 18, 2025The Great Blue Hole, Belize
Desert daggers?
Jan. 2, 2025Ardez village, Graubunden, Switzerland
Straight out of a fairytale
Boardwalk nostalgia
Sep. 4, 2023Camels in the desert, United Arab Emirates
Dec. 16, 2024Salzburg, Austria