The Varied Histories of January 1st and the New Year

Dating back as far as 46 BCE during Julius Caesar’s reign, January first was celebrated honoring the God Janus, the God of gate and doors with one face looking back and one face looking forward, following the thought that the first of January was opening a ‘door’ to the next year. In keeping with his blood thirsty reign, ‘Caesar celebrated the first January 1 New Year by ordering the violent routing of revolutionary Jewish forces in the Galilee.  Eyewitnesses say blood flowed in the streets.

Many years later, as Christianity spread, the New Year came to be known as the day Jesus was circumcised, the eighth day after his birth. Throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods, January 1 - supposedly the day on which Jesus’ circumcision initiated the reign of Christianity and the death of Judaism - was reserved for anti-Jewish activities: synagogue and book burnings, public tortures, and simple murder.
By 1582, the Julian calendar was abandoned and the Gregorian calendar was adopted. The Gregorian calendar differs from the Julian in three ways:  (1) No century year is a leap year unless it is exactly divisible by 400 (e.g., 1600, 2000, etc.); (2) Years divisible by 4000 are common (not leap) years; and (3) once again, the New Year would begin with the date set by the early pagans, the first day of the month of Janus - January 1.
Whereas in Scotland, the New Year celebration, referred to as Hogmanay, is a winter solstice celebration for family and friends to come together and exchange gifts. Christmas had been outlawed from the 17^th century to the 1950’s due to its roots in the Protestant Reformation when the Kirk portrayed Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast. The Hogmanay festivities would also include the lighting of bonfires, rolling blazing tar barrels down the hill and tossing lit torches.

January 1st represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of the passing year.

Sources: US News and World Report; rampantscotland.com.