Is New Year's Day a holiday?

New Year's Day is a worldwide festival, not a traditional festival in China.

The world holiday New Year's Day, namely Gregorian calendar 1, is commonly called "New Year" in most countries in the world. Celebrating New Year's Day in these countries is similar to celebrating the first day of the first month in China. On new year's day, yuan is called "beginning", and the beginning of each number is called "yuan"; Dan means "day"; New Year's Day means "the first day". New Year's Day is also called "three yuan", that is, year yuan, month yuan and hour yuan.

The word "New Year's Day" in the history of China first appeared in the Book of Jin. In the history of China, "New Year's Day" means "the first day of the first month". The calculation method of "the first month" was very inconsistent before the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, and the date of New Year's Day in previous dynasties was also inconsistent. From the beginning of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, January of the lunar calendar was designated as the "first month", and the first day of January was called New Year's Day, which was used until the end of the Qing Dynasty. After the Revolution of 1911, it was decided to use the Gregorian calendar (actually used 19 12) in the first year of the Republic of China, and it was stipulated that Gregorian calendar 65438+ 10/0 was called "New Year's Day", but it was not called "New Year's Day". 1949, People's Republic of China (PRC) took 65438+ 10 1 as New Year's Day, so New Year's Day is also called "solar year", "new calendar year" or "Gregorian year" in China.

National new year

Western New Year: In 46 BC, Caesar of ancient Rome designated this day as the beginning of the Western New Year. In order to bless Janus, a two-faced goalkeeper in Roman mythology, "Janus" later evolved into the English word "January".

Britain: On the day before New Year's Day, every household should have wine in the bottle and meat in the cupboard. The British believe that if there is no wine and meat left over, they will be poor in the coming year. In addition, the custom of "digging wells" is also popular in Britain in the New Year. People strive to be the first person to draw water, thinking that the first person to draw water is a happy person and the water called is auspicious.

Belgium: In Belgium, on the morning of New Year's Day, the first thing in the countryside is to pay New Year greetings to livestock. People go to cattle, horses, sheep, dogs, cats and other animals and tell these creatures very seriously: "Happy New Year!" " "

Germany: During the New Year's Day in Germany, every household should erect a fir tree and a horizontal tree, and the leaves are covered with silk flower, indicating that all flowers are blooming and spring is full. At midnight on New Year's Eve, just before the arrival of the New Year, they climbed into the chair. As soon as the bell rang, they jumped up from their chairs and threw a heavy object behind the back of the chair to show that they had abandoned the disaster and entered the new year. In the rural areas of Germany, there is also a custom of "tree climbing competition" to celebrate the New Year, in order to show the promotion step by step.

France: Celebrating the New Year with wine, people began to revel on New Year's Eve and didn't stop until 65438+10.3. The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day indicates a new year. On the morning of New Year's Day, they went to the streets to see the wind direction for divination: the south wind blows, which indicates that the weather will be good and the year will be safe and hot; When the west wind blows, there is a bumper harvest year for fishing and milking; If the east wind blows, the fruit will be rich; When the north wind blows, it is a poor harvest year.

Italy: New Year's Eve in Italy is a carnival night. When night began to fall, thousands of people flocked to the streets, lit firecrackers and fireworks, and even fired live ammunition. Men and women danced until midnight. Every household collects old things, breaks some fragile things at home and throws old pots, bottles and cans out of the door, which means getting rid of bad luck and troubles. This is their traditional way of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. [5]

Switzerland: Swiss people have the habit of keeping fit on New Year's Day. Some of them go climbing in groups, standing on the top of the mountain facing the ice and snow, singing loudly about a better life. Some ski along the long snowy road in the mountains, as if looking for the road to happiness; Some hold stilt walking competitions, in which men, women and children go into battle together and wish each other good health. They greet the New Year with health.

Romania: On New Year's Eve, people will put up a tall Christmas tree and set up a stage in the square. The citizens sang and danced while setting off fireworks. Rural people celebrate the New Year with wooden plows decorated with colorful flowers.

Bulgaria: Whoever sneezes at New Year's Day dinner will surely bring happiness to the whole family. The master promised to give him his first sheep, cow or pony, wishing his family happiness.

Greece: On New Year's Day, every family will make a big cake and put a silver coin in it. The host cut the cake into several pieces and distributed it to family members or visiting relatives and friends. Whoever eats the cake with silver coins will become the luckiest person in the new year, and everyone congratulates him.

Spain: On New Year's Eve, all family members get together and celebrate with music and games. At midnight, the first bell rang at twelve o'clock, and everyone scrambled to eat grapes. If you can ring the bell to eat 12, it means that everything goes well every month in the new year.