The origin of the story of New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day, as the beginning of the new year, its origin can be traced back to the annual prayer rituals at the start of the year in ancient times. At that time, the ancestors divided the time rhythm based on the growth cycle of crops, referring to the first month of each year as “Yuan” and the first day as “Dan”. The term “New Year’s Day” (Yuandan) thus came into being, symbolizing bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, and the renewal of all things.

As early as the Xia Dynasty, a relatively fixed way of reckoning the start of the year had been formed. However, the start of the year at that time was not the first day of the first lunar month as it is today, but adjusted according to agricultural activities. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the “Taichu Calendar” was promulgated, officially designating the first day of the first lunar month as “New Year’s Day”, and this custom continued for more than 2,000 years. In ancient times, New Year’s Day was an extremely grand festival. The imperial court would hold grand court celebration ceremonies, while the people had customs such as ancestor worship, pasting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, and entertaining relatives and friends. Through these activities, people prayed for good weather, a bumper harvest of grains, and peace and prosperity in the new year.

After the 1911 Revolution, in order to align with the world, China began to adopt the Gregorian calendar, designating January 1st of the Gregorian calendar as “New Year’s Day”, while the first day of the first lunar month was renamed “Spring Festival”. Today’s New Year’s Day not only carries the ancestors’ awe of natural rhythms and yearning for a better life but also has become a cultural link connecting tradition and modernity. People celebrate it in various ways, such as family gatherings, traveling, watching New Year’s Eve galas, etc., welcoming the arrival of the new year in a joyful atmosphere.