New Year is the time at which people will follow the new calendar. Many cultures celebrate this event in different styles and the first day of the New Year i.e., 1st January is often marked as a national holiday. The first day of the civil year in the Gregorian calendar was used by most of the countries. Contrary to the common belief in the west side, the civil New Year of Jan.1 is not an orthodox Christian religious holiday.
New Year day is celebrated for the first time in 45B.C. After becoming the dictator Julius took a decision to reform the Roman calendar which is introduced around 7th century B.C as the calendar follows the lunar cycle. So he took the decision of an astronomer of Alexandria, he advised the Julius to do away with lunar cycle completely and follow the solar year which is followed by Egyptians.
The designed calendar was calculated as the year contains 365 and ¼ days and Caesar added 67 days to 45B.C making 46 B.C which begins on January 1 rather than in March. He declared that for every four years a day is added in the month of February. Before his assassination, he changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius i.e. July after him. Later the moth of Sextilis was changing to Augustus which is August after his successor.
But there is an error which is not recognized by Caesar and Sosigenes failed to calculate the value for the solar year as 365.242199 days and not 365.25days. So, therefore, an 11 minute a year error added seven days by the year 1000 and 10 by the mid-15th century.
By the Middle Ages people used to celebrate the New Year in March. From 16th Century onwards a movement was developed to restore that January 1st as New Year’s Date by following the Gregorian calendar as the year begins on the 1st of January.
In 1570s Pope Gregory X111 rectified the error by calling the Jesuit astronomer Christopher Clavius. He came with a new calendar by omitting 10days for that year and announced the new rule that only one of every four years should be a leap year.
From then onwards people used to gather and started celebrating the day on January 1 on the occasion of the precise arrival of the New Year.