
New Year History
The New Year is one of the oldest festivals of the world, dating back to the pre historic era. The New Year History itself forms an extensive area of study. The history of New Year has undergone a series of changes over the ages to achieve its global form. The urge of celebrating New Year as a vibrant festivity emerged at the dawn of civilization. At present, New Year is celebrated on January 1 and it had been an essential part of the cultural and traditional practices of the different communities inhabiting the world. This had been the practice for the last few centuries but the New Year History had its root to yet far off times. Therefore, this is the principal reason that the New Year traditions vary from country to country. The earliest instance of New Year is found in Mesopotamian culture. It was about 2000 BC, when the people of Babylon used to observe New Year celebrations on the day of the Vernal Equinox that is during the middle of March. It was the Romans, who recognized March 1 as New Year Day in their calendar. At that time there were only ten calendar months beginning from March. The relevance of this fact can still be seen in the names of some months, which were been set according to their respective sequences in the calendar. As in the calendar of the present time the months from September to December are placed as the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth months respectively, previously they were positioned as the seventh, eighth, ninth and the tenth months. In Latin, ‘Septem’ means, seven, ‘Octo’ means, eight, ‘Novem’ means, ninth and ‘Decem’ means ten. The Roman calendar also passed through an array of rectifications. The calendar was attributed with the months of January and February in 153 BC, by Numa Pontilius, the second Roman king. Thus the festival of New Year got shifted to the month of January for the first time, although people carried on
observing New Year on March 1 for quite a long time after that.
This is still not the end of the New Year History. Several new calendars were been devised. Julius Caesar implemented the Julian calendar which was created based on the solar system whereas the previous calendar were based on the lunar cycle. The Christianity has added up new meaning to the New Year Celebration by lionizing the Christmas Day, the Annunciation Day and The Easter as New Year Day at various times. There had also been times when January 1 had been abolished to be celebrated as New Year altogether. It was in the Gregorian calendar established by Pope Gregory XII , New Year was firmly positioned on January 1. It was readily accepted by the Catholics and then by the Protestants and soon became a holiday recognized by the entire world slowly and steadily.
New Year Tradition in Italy
New Year is the time of joy and merriment in Italy. It is one of the main festivals in the country and is celebrated by millions of people. The country is known for rich culture and tradition and lots of New Year traditions in Italy bring out the rich culture that is associated with various festivals in the country. Italians are holy people and known for piousness towards their religion. Thousands of people gather at the churches and cathedrals to attend the midnight mass to welcome the year ahead. This is considered to be one of the main New Year traditions in Italy. Thousands of people also attend at Vatican City. Lighting fireworks also ranks among the important New Year traditions in Italy. The night sky is lit with beautiful fireworks of various types. Major fireworks competitions are also held in the major cities like Rome, Milan, and Florence and so on. The best display of fireworks during New Year takes place in the city of Naples. Fire crackers in Italy are known as petards. The fire works are considered auspicious as they drive out the evil forces of the previous year and welcome the year ahead with lights.
Italians love dancing and as such it is one of the major New Year traditions in Italy. Thousands of people come out in the streets and indulge in dancing and merrymaking. The nightclubs and the bars are flooded with people. Young people and women dress themselves in bright colors and take part in the dancing celebrations. Another well known New Year tradition in Italy is that people throw old materials like old utensils, furniture and
clothes out of the window. This is supposed to bring good luck for the coming year and throw out the misfortunes of the previous year. Another important ritual is to burn the Yule Log, which is lit all through the night till the coming of the New Year. Various functions and cultural and recreational activities are also held during New Year celebrations in Italy. The theaters and movie halls are flooded with people. In the towns, villages and rural areas, traditional music and dance performances are also held. Overall, the New Year traditions in Italy bring out the charm and vibrancy of the festival.

This is still not the end of the New Year History. Several new calendars were been devised. Julius Caesar implemented the Julian calendar which was created based on the solar system whereas the previous calendar were based on the lunar cycle. The Christianity has added up new meaning to the New Year Celebration by lionizing the Christmas Day, the Annunciation Day and The Easter as New Year Day at various times. There had also been times when January 1 had been abolished to be celebrated as New Year altogether. It was in the Gregorian calendar established by Pope Gregory XII , New Year was firmly positioned on January 1. It was readily accepted by the Catholics and then by the Protestants and soon became a holiday recognized by the entire world slowly and steadily.
New Year Tradition in Italy

New Year is the time of joy and merriment in Italy. It is one of the main festivals in the country and is celebrated by millions of people. The country is known for rich culture and tradition and lots of New Year traditions in Italy bring out the rich culture that is associated with various festivals in the country. Italians are holy people and known for piousness towards their religion. Thousands of people gather at the churches and cathedrals to attend the midnight mass to welcome the year ahead. This is considered to be one of the main New Year traditions in Italy. Thousands of people also attend at Vatican City. Lighting fireworks also ranks among the important New Year traditions in Italy. The night sky is lit with beautiful fireworks of various types. Major fireworks competitions are also held in the major cities like Rome, Milan, and Florence and so on. The best display of fireworks during New Year takes place in the city of Naples. Fire crackers in Italy are known as petards. The fire works are considered auspicious as they drive out the evil forces of the previous year and welcome the year ahead with lights.
Italians love dancing and as such it is one of the major New Year traditions in Italy. Thousands of people come out in the streets and indulge in dancing and merrymaking. The nightclubs and the bars are flooded with people. Young people and women dress themselves in bright colors and take part in the dancing celebrations. Another well known New Year tradition in Italy is that people throw old materials like old utensils, furniture and

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