Ten things about New Year 1. They celebrated the vernal equinox
in the northern hemisphere, when day and night are equal, which
the Babylonians' regarded as the beginning of the new year. They
marked the celebration with a 11-day festival called Akitu,
derived from the harvesting of barley in spring, with a
different ritual on each day. 2. In countries where Eastern
Orthodox Christianity is the predominant religion, New Year is
celebrated according to the Julian calendar – it falls on
January 14 in the Gregorian calendar and is a religious holiday
dubbed Old New Year. January 1 is treated simply as a civic
holiday. The orthodox churches of Georgia, Russia, Serbia, the
Republic of Macedonia and Jerusalem still commemorate the new
year in this way. 3. The year 2013 is the first year since 1987
to be made up of four different digits. 4. In Spain and several
other Spanish-speaking countries, people eat a dozen grapes,
each one representing their hopes for the months ahead. 5. The
month of January gets its name fr