People all over the world celebrate New Year’s in their fashion. There are interesting facts about New Year’s eve. It starts with more promises and resolutions than the preceding year. The calendar we are following is the Gregorian calendar. People often begin the new year by praying to god and expressing gratitude for all the good things in their life. Let’s go into history to trace the genealogy of the New Year.
The Babylonians conducted festivities for 4000 years. They believed that the New Year followed the phases of the moon. They followed the vernal equinox. They also religiously conducted Akitu, a religious ritual spanning 11 days
The Egyptian civilization marked the beginning of the new year by marking the flooded Nile river and also the star Sirius. The Chinese civilization marked the second new moon after the winter Solstice. We owe the present calendar to Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 who aligned the calendar with the earth’s rotation/revolution around the Sun.
When it comes to India New Year’s advent is celebrated in the culture according to its time-honored tradition.
Different ways of celebrating New Year in the World:-
Marathi year:- Marathi New year is celebrated as Gudi Padwa. It generally occurs on the same day as Ugadi. Green and yellow flags are hoisted as on this day which is also celebrated as Chatrapathi Shivaji’s victory over his enemies.
Punjabi year:-Baisakhi: It is a harvesting festival. It generally occurs on the 13th or 14th of April. This also denotes the Khalsa festival when Guru Gobind Singh initiated it. Punjabis dance and sing on this auspicious day.
Puthandu- Tamil festival- On this day Tamil celebrate 1st day of the year. The Tamilians greet each other by calling’ Puthanka Vazthukal”. It means Happy new year. A variety of dishes mark this festivities.
Bengali festival:-Pohela Boishakh:- Many festivities take place this time in Bengal. It is also considered to be an ideal time to marry.
Assamese new year: Bohag Bihu:-The festival is celebrated with lots of fun, frolic, and gaiety. Assamese’s New Year falls in mid-April.