Why Did the Year Start on January 1st?

For most of history, people did not celebrate New Year in January. Imagine you are a Roman child. Your year starts when the leaves turn green and the weather gets warm! This is because ancient farmers needed to know when to plant seeds.

The old calendar began in March because it was springtime. Two months at the end, January and February, were just extra waiting time before the new cycle began. People felt a bit confused because their birthday might not line up with the New Year celebration.

Centuries later, kings decided to move the start date to January 1st. They wanted every country to agree on the same day for taxes and records. It was easier to count days if everyone started at once. Today, we pop champagne in January because of those old Roman traditions about a god named Janus who looked both backward and forward.