A very Happy New Year…. Some facts that I found informative…

– January is named after the Roman god Janus (Latin word for door) who is said to have two faces that allows him to look both backwards into the old year and forward into the New Year at the same time.

– The Gregorian calendar as promulgated in 1582 did not specify that January 1 was to be either New Year’s Day or the first day of its numbered year.

– Traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s New Year’s Eve, the night of December 31, has become an occasion for celebration.

– In the United States, the common image used is that of Father Time (or the “Old Year”) wearing a sash across his chest with the previous year printed on it passing on his duties to the Baby New Year (or the “New Year”), an infant wearing a sash with the new year printed on it.

– The New Year’s Day Parade is the biggest New Year street event annually held on January 1 in London. The parade is used to raise funds for charities.

– The New Year Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra that takes place in the morning of January 1 in Vienna, Austria is broadcast around the world to an estimated audience of one billion in 44 countries.

– In Sydney, Australia, the world’s largest fireworks display draws 1-1.5 million people to the harbour.

– It is said that New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.

– Interestingly, January 1 is the World Day for Prayer for Peace.