New Year’s Eve celebrated around the world

by Benjamin Martin
Scroll Staff

With an estimated 1,200 police officers on duty, anywhere from 240,000 to 290,000 people, and $500,000 worth of fireworks is what makes Las Vegas one of the biggest attractions on New Year's Eve. The fireworks lasted for eight minutes, and were launched from 10 resort rooftops all located on the strip. Performers for the night's celebration included Big Bad Voodoo and .38 Special. Sean Miller / Scroll

However, the changing of the year has not always been the same.

Until about 46 B.C. Jan. 1 was not the traditional time for the changing of the date, according to johnshepler.com

Previously the New Year had been celebrated by the Babylonians on Mar. 23, in connection with the new planting harvest.

Roman emperor Julius Caesar established his own calendar in 46 B.C. and stretched out the following year to 445 days to allow the new year to begin on Jan. 1.

As a symbol of leaving the old and embracing the new, the new first month of the year was named after the Roman god Janus, who features two heads, one looking back and the other looking forward.

Not all countries celebrate New Year’s on the same day. Cambodian New Year’s Eve is Apr. 13 and their celebration lasts three days, according to geocites.com. Cambodians decorate their homes with flowers, balloons and streamers, and decorate home altars with candles, incense holders, perfumed water, fruit, flowers and banana leaves among other things.

The Chinese follow a lunar-solar calendar that places their Yuan Tan between mid-January and mid-February. Old clothes are thrown away and those who keep a kitchen god put honey on its lips so that he will offer sweet remarks when returning to heaven.

In the U.S. and most other English-speaking countries around the world, celebrators gather to sing “Auld Lang Syne” at the stroke of midnight.

The song was originally written by Robert Burns in 1788 according to robertburns.org. It was not published until 1796, after Burns’ had died.

The title actually means “old long ago” or “the good old days,” and is sung to ring in a fresh start for the New Year.

Another American tradition is the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl held in Pasadena, Calif.

The parade originated in 1897 when a zoologist suggested a parade to celebrate the ripening of the oranges at the beginning of the new year. The parade began with horse-drawn carriages, followed by several athletic events. The college football games replaced all other athletics at the event in 1916.