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:
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Boreal owl
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Barracudas at Shark Reef, Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
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Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, United States
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Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
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Discover National Parks Fortnight
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Gateway to Iberia
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Tibetan New Year
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The dog days of summer
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Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
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International Cheetah Day
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Blue hour in Trondheim, Norway
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Happy Easter!
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Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil
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International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
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Serra de Tramuntana, Balearic Islands, Majorca, Spain
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Tolkien Reading Day
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When life imitates art
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Peña Roya beech forest, Moncayo Natural Park, Aragon, Spain
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Where are these spectacular peaks?
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Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
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Pacific Rim Whale Festival
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A future built on the past
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Chinese New Year
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Snow glow
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Northern hawk-owl
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Zebras enjoying their day
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Celebrating the tropics
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266 years of the British Museum
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Who uses this grassy bridge?
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World Environment Day
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

