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.
Happy New Year!
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Christmas Eve
-
International Moon Day
-
International Day of Yoga
-
Natural History Museum, London, England
-
Traditional red fishermens cabins, Reine, Norway
-
World Donkey Day
-
Butterfly, fly away
-
World Population Day
-
Lighting the world
-
Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
-
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States
-
Where the rainbow ends
-
A black heron canopy hunting in Botswana
-
Marseille welcomes to Olympic torch
-
Munnar, Kerala
-
Sand dunes in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan
-
How’s the air up there?
-
Val Brandet, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
-
Moon Day
-
A vibrant, sun-drenched island
-
Nature, art, and...math?
-
Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
-
World Otter Day
-
Mount Segla, Senja Island, Norway
-
Wahclella Falls, Oregon, USA
-
Crystal River, Three Sisters Spring, Florida, USA
-
Kings Mountain, Chugach Mountains, Alaska, United States
-
Giants of the Southern Ocean
-
Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria
-
West Cornwall Covered Bridge, Connecticut, USA
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

