New Year - Importance, History & Gift Guide
Human civilizations around the globe have celebrated the beginning of each new year for about four millenniums. Today, many New Year's celebrations begin on December 31st, the New Year's Eve, the Gregorian calendar's final day, and go on into the early hours of New Year's Day, i.e., January 1st. Popular traditions involve attending parties, consuming special New Year's delicacies and New Year cakes, making new year resolutions exchanging New Year gifts, New Year flowers, and watch fantastic display of fireworks.
What is the New year?
New Year is the day or time at which a brand-new calendar year starts, and the calendar's year count increases by one. Several cultures celebrate the occasion in particular manners, like exchanging New Year flowers, New Year gifts, and baking New Year cakes, and January 1st is a national holiday in certain regions. According to the Gregorian calendar, which is the most extensively used calendar system, New Year occurs on January 1st, which is a similar case in both the Roman calendar and the Julian calendar that took over it. Various calendars have been utilized historically in several parts of the globe; some calendars calculate years numerically, while others don't.
New Year Day History
The first documented festivities in celebration of New Year's arrival dates back around 4,000 years to archaic Babylon. The day, in late March, the first new moon after the spring equinox with an equivalent amount of darkness and sunlight indicated the beginning of a new year. They pronounced the event with a grand religious festival called 'Akitu' that included a separate ritual on each of its eleven days. 'Atiku' celebrated the mythical victory of the Babylonian sky god Marduk over the evil sea goddess Tiamat, in addition to the new year. But how come we celebrate New Year in January? Let's find out.
The initial Roman calendar accommodated ten months, i.e., 304 days, with every new year starting at the spring equinox. According to belief, it was constructed by Romulus (Founder of Rome), in the eighth century B.C. Later, a king named Numa Pompilius is considered to have added the months of January and February. The calendar contradicted to correspond with the sun over the centuries. Finally, in 46 B.C., King Julius Caesar was determined to solve the issue by consulting with the most distinguished mathematicians and astronomers of his time. To reorganize the Roman calendar with the sun, in the year 46 B.C., Julius Caesar had to include extra ninety days. He brought in the Julian calendar, which firmly resembles the modern-day Gregorian calendar, which most countries around the globe use today.
How is New Year Celebrated?
For thousands of years, celebrations have marked the beginning of a new year. Often these are opportunities for people to eat, drink and enjoy. The New Year is an internationally acknowledged holiday. Several regions have their way of celebration. The usual trend is a thankful goodbye to the previous year and welcoming the New Year by cutting New Years Cake, distributing New Years Flowers, and New Years Gifts. People enjoy celebrations with family, close friends, or numerous strangers. Let us look at a few ways of New Year celebrations.
Attending midnight church service
Numerous people visit church services organized by churches, on New Year's Eve, known as Midnight Mass. They include a short sermon, scripture readings, and hymns, followed by a message from the church's leadership and food.
Attending an "open-air" event
It's a kind of a Street party - type event. They usually involve performances by D.J.s or live musicians with confetti, and a display of fireworks. Some need the purchase of tickets beforehand, while some are free to visit. There are various New Year's Eve celebrations all around the globe that accumulate national attention. For example, Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia; Times Square in New York, USA; the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France; Central London in London, England; and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Several cities provide open-air street parties and celebrations that you can visit.
Going to a dance club
If you are seeking to party hard while inaugurating the New Year, assemble your friends and walk into a club. For New Year's Eve celebrations, clubs will call in the best D.J.s they can find and provide special drinks and competitive offers.
Hosting a house party
If you wish not to go out and celebrate the New Year, then invite people to your house. It's your choice to call in a few people for a small gathering or organize a big New Year's bash. You can have a fun-filled New Year's themed party, with your house decorated with New Year's Flowers, preparation of mouth-watering delicacies, and New Year's Cakes, which will delight your guests. You can also offer novelty New Year's Gifts to guests. If you don't wish to put effort into doing so, then order food from outside, but make sure you order a bit early. Also, many people have champagne, at midnight, when the ball drops, but any drink will do the job. You can provide varieties like beer, wine, and cocktails, as well. If you have kids around, you can offer sparkling cider, apple juice, or other non-alcoholic drinks.
When is New Year 2024?
The New Year 2024 is on Monday, January 1st, 2024
New Year Gift Guide
To Simplify your gifting experience, we have divided the guide into three parts:
Gifts for someone you know well
Giving New Year's gifts to people you already know can sometimes be easy, but still, you need to be mindful about a few things. Let's have a look:
List down the receiver’s interests and preferences
Sit down and make a list of the person's interests and likes to personalize the gift, whether it be Thai food, video games, or New Year's flowers. Try to pen down as many experiences or specific items that the person likes or admitted to enjoying. Analyze whether the person is an extrovert, an introvert, or an ambivert. This will assist you in deciding what kind of gift or experience is best for them.
Analyze how close is the person to you
If you share a close relationship with the person, be it platonic or intimate, you can choose a gift that is more private. If it is not, then you can select a gift that is more beneficial or usable. For instance: A thoughtful, sentimental, or romantic gift would be more suitable for a romantic partner. Best friends would admire a symbol of your friendship. For instance, consider an Avengers-themed gift if you bonded over Avengers. And for colleagues, gift cards are invariably a safe bet. With it, they can buy whatever they want.
Identifying items the person may need
Think about a big purchase that the person needs to do but has been putting off or any items the person many need in their regular lives. This could be a new backpack the person requires for a new year of school or a new kitchen appliance the person has been eyeing. Look for gifts that are practical but still feel like a treat, as the person may not have time to get the item themselves, or the gift may be out of their budget. Don't go too far over their budget; it might be considered disrespectful. Let it be a surprise and not a shock.
Make a homemade gift
Homemade gifts are often thoughtful and detailed and can make the best gifts. It also tells the receiver that there a lot of time and effort spent on the gift, which will be appreciated. You can make homemade gifts such as homemade cookies mixes, handmade candles, or homemade New Year's Cake.
Gifts for someone you don't know well
Here comes the tricky part, but don't worry, we got you covered. Take a look:
A homemade hostess gift
When you are invited by someone who is hosting you for dinner or a get-together, then a hostess gift is what you bring to their house. An ideal hostess gift is a bottle of quality wine. If your hosts don't drink or if you want a unique gift, then go homemade. This can be a homemade loaf or cake for dessert wrapped in wax paper, or a homemade mix of seasonings and spices in a beautiful bottle or jar for the host to sprinkle on fish or chicken. You may opt for edible gifts that have broad appeal if you don't know the host well.
Ask people for gift advice who are close to the person
If you are puzzled on gift ideas for people you don't know well, you might wish to consult any individuals or friends close to them. Talk to another co-worker who is close to the person and ask them for advice or speak to another friend who is accompanying the same occasion for hostess gifts ideas. Discuss with others for the perfect ideas or gifts in advance. This will help you both to avoid getting the same gift for the person.
Buy a practical gift for an authority figure
When looking for a relevant gift for a person who is a teacher, go for pragmatic items. The gift can be a basket of school supplies, containing essential school supplies for teachers for the next year or a basket of coffee and tea, if your teacher relishes comforting, warm beverages. For bosses, you should play it safe. However, gifting your boss is not a blunder. Opt for something thoughtful and practical at the same time that would leave them impressed. A beautiful glass terrarium or a succulent plant is always a great gift to brighten up their office.
Taking colleagues out for lunch
For gifting co-workers, take them out for lunch or a nice dinner after work. This, while staying professional, permits both of you to unwind and relax. If you want to gift your co-workers, try to provide identical gifts to avoid display for partiality. Prepare a gift basket or a bottle of wine for each of them.
Presenting your gift
To leave a lasting impression on the receiver, the packaging of the gift is essential. Let's see how you can do it.
Embodied gift wrapping
It's fun to watch the receiver open the gift you presented. Give the gift wrapping a personal touch by picking the preferred color or any favorite character of the person printed on the wrapping. Use bows and ribbon to add an elegant touch and try to be artistic.
Always include a card
Escort your gift with a pleasantly written card, as this will add a thoughtful touch to your gift. Write down or use cards with delightful messages that depict your feelings towards them or anything funny. The same can be done when presenting gift cards.
Get creative
Make the gifting experience more entertaining, instead of the same old way of handing over the present to the receiver. Place the gift in an unexpected location for a surprise, or like a treasure hunt where the receiver needs to decipher the hidden messages to find their gift. With the help of creativity, you can build excitement, making the experience a memorable one for the person.
New Year Quotes and Messages 2024
Night brings darkness, but day brings light, wish your life always to remain bright – Happy New Year.
May health, wealth, happiness, and knowledge follow you throughout the year - Happy New Year.
Wishing each day of the new year brings forward success, prosperity, and happiness in your life - Happy New Year.
Leaving all the negativity behind, let's walk towards a better tomorrow - Happy New Year.
I wish you and your family immense joy & good health this 2024. Have an incredible year ahead.
