antarmike Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 We may be gaining an extra second this year to put the clocks right, but that is nothing! New Year's Day is celebrated on January 1 for the first time in 45 BC, when Roman dictator Julius Caesar establishes the Julian calendar. On the advice of the astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar added 67 days to the year 46 BC in order to repair the damage done to the imperfect Roman calendar by the passage of time. Celebration of New Year's Day in January fell out of practice during the Middle Ages, but after the adoption of the Gregorian - or modern - calendar in 1582, New Year's was again observed on the first day of January. Since then, people around the world have gathered en masse in cities and towns to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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