The first time that January 1 was considered the beginning of the new year was in 45 BC. The Roman calendar prior to that began in the month of March and consisted of 355 days. Sometimes an additional intercalary month of 27 or 28 days is inserted between February and March.
It was the Roman dictator Julius Caesar who reformed the calendar shortly after coming to power in the late 1st century BC. But even as the Julian calendar gained popularity, much of Europe did not accept it until well into the mid-16th century. With the advent of Christianity, January 1 as the beginning of a new year was considered pagan, while December 25, with its religious connotations about the birth of Jesus, was considered more acceptable.
There was also the problem of miscalculation on Caesar’s part due to the fact that New Year’s Day often changed. It was only after Pope Gregory reformed the Julian calendar and standardized January 1 as the first day of a new year that it slowly acquired currency around the world.
Calendar drawn up by Julius Caesar
The early Roman calendar was conceived by Romulus, the founder of Rome in the 8th century BC. C. Numa Pompilius, who came to power a year later, made it a 12-month year by adding the months of Januarius and Februarius.
But this calendar, which followed the lunar cycle, was often out of sync with the seasons. Furthermore, the pontiffs, or the member of the council of priests assigned with the duty of overseeing the calendar, were often accused of adding days to interfere with election dates or extend a political term.
Sculpture of Caesar made during his life. (Wikimedia Commons)
After Julius Caesar came to power in 46 BC. C., tried to reform the calendar for which it followed the advice of the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenus. Sosigenus suggested eliminating the lunar cycle and following the sun, as the Egyptians did. Consequently, the year was calculated as 365 and ¼ days.
Interestingly, Caesar added 67 days to the year 46 BC. C. for the new year in 45 a. C. could start on January 1. The date was chosen to honor the early Roman god, Janus, who is believed to have two faces, one looking back to the past and the other to the future. From then on, the ancient Romans celebrated the day by offering sacrifices to Janus and exchanging gifts with each other.
However, with the spread of Christianity, the celebration of a Roman god was considered a pagan ritual in many parts of Europe. Consequently, in medieval Europe Christian leaders tried to celebrate the beginning of a new year on a day with more religious significance, such as December 25 (Christmas) or March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation).
There was also an error on the part of Caesar and Sosigenus when calculating the number of days in a solar year. The actual number of days in a solar calendar is 365.24199 compared to the 365.25 that Caesar had calculated. Consequently, there was an interval of 11 minutes each year, which added up to approximately 11 days for the year 1582. “This defect was of primary concern to the Pope; had the Julian calendar continued in service, Easter would eventually have been celebrated in the summer, “writes historian Gordon Moyer, in his article, ‘The Gregorian Calendar.’ From then on began the effort to standardize a calendar, more appropriate to the Christian life of the Middle Ages.
The calendar drawn up by Pope Gregory XIII
The reform was not easy. Pope Gregory assembled an eminent body of astronomers, mathematicians, and clergymen for this purpose. The main challenge he faced was one that affects almost all civil calendars, that of dealing with a fraction of a slope at the end of the year.
To correct the miscalculation of the Julian calendar, Aloysius Lilius, the Italian scientist who worked on the Gregorian calendar, devised a new system according to which every fourth year would be a leap year, but century years that were not divisible by 400 were exempted. For example, the 1600s and 2000s were leap years, but not 1700, 1800, and 1900. These revisions were formally instituted by the papal bull of February 24, 1582, sparking a furious debate among religious leaders and scholars.
Portrait of Pope Gregory XIII (Wikimedia Commons)
The religious opposition to the reform was essentially against Catholicism. “This was the era of the Reformation; The Protestant countries rejected the new calendar, denouncing it as a papal plan to bring their rebel fold back under the jurisdiction of Rome, ”Moyer writes. He adds that the accusation was not entirely unfounded since Gregory XIII was a relentless promoter of the counter-Reformation.
Consequently, Catholic countries such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal were quick to adopt the new system. Protestant countries like England and Germany held off until the late 18th century. Some accounts suggest that there was a riot in the streets of England in 1752 when the country switched to the new calendar. The last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar was Greece in 1923.
While the European colonies in the Americas adopted the new calendar when their home countries did, much of the non-European world also began to adopt it throughout the 20th century. Japan, for example, replaced its traditional lunisolar calendar with the Gregorian in 1872, while China adopted it in 1912.
There are some countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mynamar, Israel where the traditional calendar is used alongside the Gregorian. In India, the Saka calendar beginning with the month Chaitra (March 21/22) is used in conjunction with the Gregorian calendar for most official purposes.
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