New Year (Gregorian) 

New Year or New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, also known as The Gregorian New Year, Old Year's Night, January Zero (Jan0), and First Night is celebrated by many countries around the world using the Gregorian calendar often celebrated at midnight with fireworks. The celebration almost always begins on December 31st (New Year's Eve) in the hours leading up to Midnight, New Year's Day.

The month of January did not exist until about 700 B.C., when Numa Pontilius, the second king of Rome, added the months of January and February.  The early Roman calendar designated March 1st as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. September through December, the current ninth through twelfth months, were originally seventh through tenth (Septem is Latin for "seven," Octo is "eight," Novem is "nine," and Decem is "ten."  The new year was moved from March to January in Rome in 153 B.C. because that was the beginning of the civil year in Rome. It was the month that newly elected Roman consuls, the highest officials in the Roman republic began their one-year tenure.

In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar. The Julian calendar declared that the new year would occur with January 1st, and within the Roman world, January 1st became the observed new year.

In 567, In Medieval Europe, the Council of Tours abolished January 1st as the beginning of the year and celebrating the new year was considered pagan and unchristian like. Occasionally the Birth of Jesus on Dececmber 25th, The Feast of the Annunciation on March 1st, and Easter on March 25th, were celebrated as the New Year in medieval Christian Europe.

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1st as new year's day. Most Catholic Countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately while Protestant Countries gradually adopted over time.

Many historians believe the Babylonians first made New Year's resolutions. Later, early Christians believed the first day of the new year was to be observed by reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the new year.

Noisemaking and fireworks on New Year's eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck. The Chinese invented fireworks and used them to add spectacular effect in their New Year's celebrations.

The primary song for English-speaking communities on New Year's eve, Auld Lang Syne is an old Scottish song that was first published by Robert Burns in the Scots Musical Museum (1796). Auld Lang Syne translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by."  Bandleader Guy Lombardo popularized Auld Lang Syne and turned it into a New Year's tradition. Lombardo played the song at midnight at a New Year's eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929. Since then, Lombardo's version of the song was played every New Year's eve from the 1930s until 1976 at the Waldorf Astoria.

Because of the division of the globe into time zones, the new year progresses around the globe as midnight ushers in the New Year. The first time zone to usher in the New Year is just west of the International Date Line. At that time the time zone to the east of the Date Line is 23 hours behind, still in the previous day. The uninhabited Caroline Island of the central Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati is the first to usher in the New Year.

New Year's Day is celebrated in Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Republic of), Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Cyprus (Turkish Republic of - Northern Cyprus), Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Korea, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saba, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, St. Martin, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Pierre & Miquelon, St. Vincent & the - Grenadines, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Vietnam, Yemen, Zaire (Democratic Congo), Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Notable celebrations include: 

In New York City, NY, USA, The New Year is celebrated with a gathering in Times Square culminating in a count down and Ball Drop.  Prior to 1904, the celebration of the New Year centered around the Lower Manhattan's Trinity Church.  The first celebration of New Year's Eve in Times Square occured in 1904. The celebration commemorated the official opening of the new headquarters of The New York Times.

The (New York) Times' owner, Alfred Ochs, had successfully lobbied the city to rename Longacre Square to times square, the district surrounding his paper's new home, in honor of the famous publication.
The Times Tower was the center of Ochs' celebration, featuring an day long street festival culminating with a fireworks display from the the tower. Over 200,000 people in attendence rang in the new year with sounds of cheering, rattles and noisemakers. From then forward, Times Sqare was the center point for ringing in the New Year. In 1907 New York City banned the fireworks display, so Ochs arranged to have a large, illuminated seven-hundred-pound iron and wood ball lowered from the tower flagpole at midnight to signal the end of 1907 and the beginning of 1908. This was the beginning of the Times Square Ball Drop.  The original ball was built by a metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most the next decade, the company he founded, Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball. In 1942 and 1943 the ball was not dropped due to the World War II dim-out, instead the crowed observed the New Year's with a moment of silence folled by chimes.

The first "time-ball" was installed on England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. The ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (navigational instruments).

In Philladelphia, PA, USA, the New Year is celebrated with the the Mummer's Parade. The parade originates from satire and comedic review. Including Marching clowns giving out kisses, outlandish costumes, and string bands.

In Pasadena, California, USA the Tournament of Roses parade and the Rose Bow football game are held on New Year's day. The first Tournament of Roses parade was held in 1886, it is made up of elaborate and inventive floats.

In Japan, the New Year is known as Gantan, it is the most important holiday in Japan, and is a symbol of renewal. In December, various Bonenkai or "forget-the-year parties" are held to bid farewell to the problems and concerns of the past and prepare for new beginnings. At midnight, December 31st, Buddhist temples strike their gongs 108 times, in a effort to expel the 108 types of human weakness.

In London, United Kingdom, New Year's Day is celebrated with a Parade.

Vienna New Year's Concert. People also gather under Big Ben when the clock strikes 12 to sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

In Mexico, the New Year is known as Ano Nuevo. Wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming year.

In Scotland, the New Year's celebration is known as Hogmanay. One of the traditions is "first-footing." Shortly after midnight on New Year's eve, neighbors visit each other for the first time on the young year and give New Year's wishes, and a small gift. Traditionally this was shortbread or coal for the fire. New Year Day is often called First Foot Day.

In the Philippines, New Year is known as the Last Day of the Year Celebration, it is a special non-working holiday. 
In India, The Gregorian New Year is celebrated amung the Christian Community.

In the Czech Republic, the New Year is known as Novy rok.

In France, the New Year is known as Le Jour de l'An or la Saint-Sylvestre. The New Year feast is often called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre. There are numerous fireworks displays, including above the Eiffel Tower in Paris. When the clock strikes 12, Champagne and kisses are distributed.  

In Greece, New Year's day is held in conjunction with the Festival of St. Basil, one of the founders of the Greek Orthodox Church. On this day families eat Vassilopitta (St Basil's cake) with a gold or silver coin baked inside. The person who gets the piece of cake with the coin will have good luck in the new year.

In Sweden and Norway, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year’s Eve, the person who finds the almond will have good luck in the year to come.

In Spain and some other Spanish-speaking countries, people eat a dozen grapes to symbolize their hopes for the coming year right before midnight

In Switzerland, the New Year is known as Neujahrstag.

Second Day of New Year 

The Day after New Year, January 2nd, is an Official Holiday in Cuba, Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, North Korea, Russia, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Quebec, Canada. Many of these countrys observe it  as simply a Bank Holiday.

In South Africa, however, January 2nd is known as Tweede Nuewe Jaar or Second New Year. It is sort of an Independence day for the colored community in Cape Town, South Africa 
In Mauritius, New Zealand, North Korea, and South Korea, January 2nd is known as the Second day of New Year Official Holiday.
In New Zealand, January 2nd is an Official Holiday known as the Day after New Year's Day
In Russia, January 2nd is known as the Second New Year's Day Holiday.
In Romania and Taiwan, January 2nd is known as New Year's Second Day.

New Year Factums 

- New Year is the oldest of all holidays, as it was first observed in ancient Babylon as many as 4000 years ago.
- The Gregorian New Year is beleived to be the most celebrated holiday in the world.
- The most popular New Year’s resolution is to lose weight.
- Worldwide, approximately one billion people watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve.
- More vehicles in the United States are stolen on New Year's Day than on any other holiday throughout the year according to the the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
- Babies born on the first of the year grow up to have the luckiest life according to tradition. 

New Year Parties 

A New Year party would often include..

Prize Drawings
Champagne toasts and kissing a loved one at midnight
Hors d’oeuvres, Sweets, and food that symbolizes good fortune.
Party favours, hats, tiaras, fedoras and noisemakers
Creating New Year's resolutions
Live Music or Live DJ
Often town's and Cities give permission to Bars to stay Open Late

Some New Year Party themes include..

Throw a vice party - wear what you shouldn't, eat and drink what you shouldn't and act how you shouldn't one last time (well until next year).
Celebrate an 80's party and count down to 1985 instead of the current year.
Celebrate a 60's party and count down to 1969 instead of the current year.

For the more bold, try the New Year Possum Crawl using the Countdowns and Calculations below.

UTC +13:00

Kiribati (Phoenix Ilands)
Tokelau (New Zealand)
(Western) Samoa
Tonga