KEY POINTS:
- The Gregorian calendar is recognised around the world but there are a number of others.
- There is more than one New Years Day and they are celebrated differently across the globe.
- The Jewish New Year is rung in with the blowing of an animal's horn and the Islamic calendar has us in the year 1443.
1 January marks the start of the year, well at least according to the Gregorian calendar.
While the calendar is recognised throughout the world, many countries use it alongside another calendar.
There are a number of calendars recognised across the globe, which means there are many different dates for New Year celebrations. Here are some of them.
Source: SBS News
Hindu New Year
The Hindu New Year has different names in different places where it is celebrated.
Those in Bali, Indonesia mark the occasion with huge monsters. The next celebration will be on 22 March 2023.
Dayu Satrya Trisnadewi, president of the Balinese Community of Western Australia said his community celebrates the Hindu new year by building large monsters known as ogoh-ogoh and parading them, as is done in Indonesia.
“We build monsters and carry them through the streets and take them to the beach,” he said.
“In Bali we would burn it on the beach but in Australia we can’t do that so we take them back and do a special ceremony. “
Mr Trisnadewi said the practice was symbolic of pushing away evil spirits.
The Ogoh-ogoh represents evil spirits. In Bali they are traditionally paraded then burned as a symbol of purification. Source: Getty / NurPhoto
“We celebrate everyone’s day,” he said.
Hijrī New Year
On 19 July 2023, Islamic countries around the world will celebrate the start of the year 1444, according to what is also known as the Muslim calendar.
The Islamic New Year, also known as Hijrī New Year, is marked with recitation of the Quran, prayer, and a reflection on the year that has passed.
It falls in Muḥarram, the first month in the calendar. While the Gregorian calendar is used by those in Muslim countries, the Hijrī is followed in order to determine religious occasions.
Each month of the Islamic calendar commences at the beginning of a new lunar cycle, unlike the Gregorian calendar, which is based on Earth's rotation around the sun.
Orthodox New Year
Serbia is one of the countries that still recognises some of the events on the Julian calendar.
This is the calendar followed by Orthodox churches, and determines Orthodox Easter and Christmas celebrations.
While Orthodox New Year, which falls on 14 January, is not an official public holiday, it is still a popular day for celebrations in Serbia.
Fireworks over the Temple of Saint Sava in the Serbian capital Belgrade mark the new year. Many Serbians celebrate Orthodox New Year on 14 January. Source: AAP / Darko Vojinovic
She said many people would fill Serbian restuarants and bars and hold parties on both 31 December and 13 January and ring in the new year twice.
Ms Trickovic said many take to the streets for celebrations involving live music and fireworks.
Known as ‘Old New Year’ the latter also falls within the Orthodox 12 days of Christmas and is traditionally known as little Christmas.
As 25 December is also a public holiday, much like Australians, many Serbians enjoy a couple of weeks of holidays over the period.
Jewish New Year
Jewish communities welcome the Jewish New Year with the sound of a horn being blown.
It is customary to blow the shofar, which is a horn from any kosher animal such as a sheep, goat, antelope or ram, during what is called Rosh Hashanah.
The occasion, typically celebrated around September or October, is observed on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishrei. The next Jewish New Year falls on 15 September 2023.
The event marks the start of the Ten Days of Penitence, a solemn time of repentance and meditation for Jewish people.
Lunar New Year
The Chinese New Year is well known in Australia and well celebrated. Sydney's Lunar New Year celebrations are thought to be the largest outside of Asia.
Years in the Chinese calendar fall into one of 12 Chinese zodiac animals.
A lion and tiger dance in Sydney's Chinatown as part of Lunar New Year celebrations in January 2022. Source: AAP / Steven Saphore
Red envelopes filled with money are gifted to family members during this time.
A calendar year
Different New Years' days are determined by the length of a year according to the specific calendar.
Some calendars are based on the cycle of the moon, others on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun and then there are different versions which take into account different aspects to do with both the moon and the sun.
What makes one calendar different to the other is how a year is defined.
