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 favor 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.
Happy New Year!
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Pollinator Week
-
Just a couple of yellow-billed hornbills
-
Falling for Tennessee
-
International Day for Biosphere Reserves
-
50 years of World Heritage Sites
-
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
-
National Park Service Founders Day
-
Mount Sopris, Colorado
-
Sunburst at Angkor
-
Cloudy with a chance of enlightenment
-
Arbor Day
-
Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
-
Composite image of a lunar eclipse
-
Indigenous Peoples Day
-
Hello, spring!
-
Venice Skatepark, Los Angeles, California
-
Happy Holi!
-
The old guard at Old San Juan
-
The Monastery of Roussanou, Greece
-
World Octopus Day
-
Feeling lazy? Today s your day.
-
Dolomites
-
Hues of Hokkaido
-
Celebrating Panama s independence
-
Sitting down and taking a stand
-
Native American Heritage Month
-
Bonifacio on the island of Corsica, France
-
A lush, green escape
-
Bản Giốc–Detian Falls, Vietnam
-
Indigenous Peoples Day