The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. The Roman senate, in 153 BC was the first to declare January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. Previous calendars relied on the coming of spring or the start of a new moon.













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The Romans celebrated the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations. During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years. Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking.