10 facts you didn’t know about New Year’s Eve

Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but New Year’s Eve is the time to make your new goals and to start planning what you want to do.

New Year’s Eve is celebrated all over the world and in a lot of countries we find a lot of similarities. People choose fireworks, and champagne to celebrate, women wear red underwear to welcome the new year and partying is a big thing to do.

These are some facts about New Year’s Eve!

1. The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March.
2. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1th as New Year’s Day.
3. People tend to make a New Year’s resolution in which they try to change a behavior or they set special goals.
4. Red underwear are worn all around the world in New Year’s Eve because it is considered to give good luck.
5. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, about the beginning of spring (Lichun). The exact date can fall any time between January 21 and February 21 (inclusive) of the Gregorian Calendar.
6. The first New Year was celebrated 4,000 years by the ancient Babylonians.
7. Ancient Persians gave New Year’s gifts of eggs, which symbolized productiveness.
8. About 2,000 pounds (907kg) of confetti are dropped on the crowd in Times Square at midnight.
9. On New Year’s Eve people kiss. This is not a new tradition, because we find it in English folkrore. It means that the person you will kiss, will give you the tone you need to start the new year.
10. Babies born on New Year’s Day are commonly called New Year babies. Hospitals, such as the Dyersburg Regional Medical Center in the US, give out prizes to the first baby born in that hospital in the new year. These prizes are often donated by local businesses.

Happy New Year to everyone all around the world! And don’t forget to smile!