Why we celebrate New year on 1 January....
Why We Really Celebrate New Year's Day Our celebration of what's ahead is rooted in our most ancient instincts At one second past midnight on January 1, the day will changed from Tuesday to Wednesday, usually a transition of no special significance. But somehow we've decided that this change, which will end one year and begin the next, is different. This unique tick of the clock has always prompted us both to celebrate and to step outside the day-to-day activity we’re always busy with to reflect, look back, take stock, assess how we did, and resolve to do better. Save perhaps for our birthdays, no other moment in our year gets this sort of attention . Why does the start of the new year carry such special symbolism? And why is its celebration so common around the world, as it has been for at least as long as there have been calendars? Behavior this ubiquitous must surely be tied to something intrinsic in the human animal, something profoundly meani...