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  • The start of each new year has been celebrated for at least 4,000 years, going back to ancient Babylon. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer: Dec. 31, 2010, New York Times Square)
  • In ancient Babylon, the new year was marked by the first new moon following the vernal equinox -- the day in late March when there is an equal amount of sunlight and darkness. (Photo: Public domain/Wikipedia Commons)
  • The ancient Babylonian new year's festival of Akitua -- which is a Sumerian reference to the barley that was harvested at that time of the year -- lasted 11 days, each with its own ritual. (Photo: USDA)
  • One tradition of the Babylonian new year was a celebration of the mythical victory of the sky god Marduk over the evil sea goddess Tiamat. The tradition was part of a political process that ended with the renewed recognition of the current king or his replacement with a new one. (Photo by Georgelazenby/Wikipedia Commons: Black and white crop of full plate scan, from Austen Henry Layard's 'Monuments of Nineveh, Second Series' plate 19/83, London, J. Murray, 1853.)
  • Ancient civilizations developed more sophisticated calendars eventually, often deciding the first day of the year based on agricultural or astronomical events. The ancient Egyptian new year started with the annual flooding of the Nile, which was in sync with the rising of the star Sirius. (Photo: Cristóbal Alvarado Minic/Wikipedia Commons)
  • The Chinese new year was pinned to the second new moon after the winter solstice.
  • For most people today, New Year's Eve is Dec. 31, based on the Gregorian calendar. And New Year's Day is, of course, Jan. 1. (Photo: Wikipedia/Ruessbr)
  • The early Roman calendar was made up of 10 months and 304 days. The new year began at the vernal equinox. That system was believed to have been created by the founder of Rome, Romulus, in the 8th century B.C. Later, King Numa Pompilius added the months of Januarius and Februarius. (Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikipedia Commons: Romulus and Remus fed by a she-wolf in a panel at the National Museum of Rome)
  • After centuries, the new Roman calendar no longer matched up with the movement of the sun, & in 46 B.C. the emperor Julius Caesar consulted with astronomers & mathematicians to come up with the Julian calendar, which is closest to the more modern Gregorian calendar used in most countries around the world. (Photo: Louis Calhern as Julius Caesar in the 1953 film by Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
  • The Julian calendar named January 1 as the first day of the year. This honored Janus (for which the month was named), the Roman god of beginnings His two faces gave him the power to look into the past and the future. On their new year, the Romans offered sacrifices to Janus, decorated their homes with laurel branches, exchanged gifts and had wild parties. (Photo by Fubar Obfusco/Wikipedia: Statue at Vatican museum)
  • Christian leaders in medieval Europe replaced Jan. 1 as the first of the year with days that had more religious significance; Dec. 25 & March 25 (Feast of the Annunciation). Pope Gregory XIII changed it back to Jan. 1 in 1582. (Photo by Valantis Antoniades/Wikipedia: Panagia Angeloktisti Church, Cyprus)
  • Today, New Year's celebrations begin on the evening of December 31 and continue into the early hours of January 1. (Photo: Moet & Chandon)
  • At midnight in Spain and some other Spanish-speaking countries, it's traditional to swallow a dozen grapes to symbolize their hopes for the months ahead. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)
  • Traditional New Year's dishes feature legumes in many countries. Legumes supposedly resemble coins and herald future financial success. In Italy, the legumes are lentils. In the southern United States, black-eyed peas do the job.
  • Pigs represent prosperity in many countries, so pork is part of the traditional meal in Cuba, Austria, Hungarya and Portugal. (Photo: honeybaked.com)
  • Cakes and pastries in the shape of rings are a sign in other countries that the year has come full circle. Ringed pastries are part of the traditional feast in the Netherlands, Mexico, Greece and elsewhere. (Photo: wholefoodsmarket.com)
  • In Scandinavia, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is on the New Year's Eve menu. Whoever finds the nut will supposedly have 12 months of good luck.
  • Other customs around the world include fireworks and songs, like
  • New Year's resolutions were started, it's believed, by the ancient Babylonians. They made promises -- for instance, paying off debts or returning borrowed farm equipment -- for luck in the new year. (Photo: Shutterstock)
  • In the United States, the most well known New Year's tradition is dropping a giant ball in New York City's Times Square at the stroke of midnight. The tradition started in 1907 with a 700-pound iron and wood orb. Today, the New Year's ball is a brightly patterned globe that's 12 feet in diameter and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds. Some small American towns have their own versions of the Times Square ball drop. In Dillsburg, Penn., they drop pickles. In Tallapoosa, Ga., and some other small southern towns, it's traditional to drop possums at midnight!. (Photo: Timessquareball.net)
 
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