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The Gregorian calendar
People all over the world celebrate the beginning of a New Year on January 1. In big cities around the world, people party all evening on December 31, known as New Year’s Eve, and loudly welcome the New Year at 12:00 a.m.
January 1 is the start of the New Year according to the Gregorian Calendar, which is a solar calendar. While the Gregorian calendar is currently followed universally around the world, several countries and cultures celebrate their traditional New Year’s Day with a variety of festivities.
New Year in India
While India officially follows the Gregorian calendar, in different parts of India, traditional New Year’s, based on the lunisolar or solar calendars, are also celebrated with great pomp and splendour. Let us look at some of the New Year’s celebrations in different parts of India.
The Lunisolar Calendar
The lunisolar calendar combines lunar months with the solar year. This also implies that a given day in the lunisolar calendar does not always coincide with the same date in the Gregorian calendar year after year. Lunisolar New Year celebrations in India include Ugadi in the southern states of Karnataka, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Goa, Navreh among Kashmiri Pandits, and Cheti Chand among the Sindhi community.
Ugadi
Ugadi is celebrated in March or April every year. On this day, people visit temples and perform pooja. They also prepare a special dish called Ugadi Pachadi, which tastes sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty, and pungent, symbolizing the pleasant, not-so-pleasant, and downright unpleasant situations people experience in life.
Gudi Padwa
Those who celebrate Gudi Padwa hoist a bamboo stick with a pot or silk at the end, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. Maharashtrians prepare and exchange sweets with jaggery as well as favorites like puran poli and srikhand.
Navreh
A unique way in which Kashmiri Hindus celebrate Navreh is by viewing a plate called the Navreh Thali, which contains items such as flour, bread, rice, honey, ghee, almonds and/or walnuts, coins, flowers, a mirror, something that is bitter in taste, and a Panchangam, which is a compilation of holy days and festivals in the New Year.
Cheti Chand
Sindhis celebrate Cheti Chand, their New Year, by carrying the Bahrano Sahib, a decorated metal plate featuring a wheat cone, spices, fruit, nuts, and a water-filled kalash. In a lively procession, devotees carry an idol of Jhulelal to a nearby water body, immersing the offerings to honor the Water God.
While there are many similarities in how different communities celebrate the start of the New Year, there are also some traditions that are unique to each community.
Solar Calendar
Chet 1
Sikhs celebrate their New Year, called Chet 1, in the middle of March. On this day, they visit Gurudwaras and meditate, sing devotional songs, and read their scripture called Gurbani. They also honor Guru Nanak Sahib, who founded Sikhism.
Navroz
Navroz, or the Zoroastrian New year is celebrated by Parsis in India and usually fall during March 21. During Navroz, Parsis visit the Agiary or the Fire Temple, cook traditional dishes with fish and meat, and greet friends and family.
Other Indian regions and communities following the solar calendar celebrate their New Year’s Day in the middle of April, when it is the harvest season.
Baisakh
In Punjab, the New Year celebration is called Baisakhi or Vaisakhi, and like all New Year’s based on the solar calendar, is related to the harvest season. It is celebrated with free meals, the langar, songs, and dance (Bhangra).
Poila Boishakh
The Bengali New Year is called Poila Boishakh (1st of Boishakh). Celebrations consist of processions and melas or fairs that showcase handicrafts, food, and music. Businesses close their old ledgers and open new account books.
Vishu
In Kerala, the New Year Vishu begins by viewing the Vishu Kani, an auspicious arrangement of flowers, rice, coins, a mirror, and an idol of Lord Krishna or Vishnu. To symbolize life’s varied experiences, a dish blending sweet, sour, and spicy flavors made with mango, tender neem leaves, and jaggery is eaten, reminding people to embrace both joy and hardship.
Puthandu
The Thamizh (Tamil) New Year is celebrated as Puthandu. On this day, people make rice flour kolams at the entrance to their homes. Wearing new clothes, visiting temples, and doing pooja at home are part of the celebrations.
Bihu
Bohag Bihu is the Assamese New Year based on the solar calendar. It is a seven-day ritualistic celebration that begins in mid-April and is marked by feasting and dancing to traditional Bihu music accompanied by the dhol.
What is a New Year according to science?
We know that the Earth completes one revolution around the Sun in 365.25 days, which is slightly over one year. So, as the Earth goes around the Sun, every date of every month of the year can be considered the start of a New Year. By that logic, anyone can randomly pick any date of the year and celebrate that day as the start of a New Year.
Is our date of birth also the start of our new year?
When people celebrate January 1st as the date when a New Year starts, it means that the previous year ended a day before, on December 31st.
A person’s date of birth is also the start of his or her new year after the person is one year old. A newborn baby has to first travel around the Sun for a year before starting a New Year of his or her life. If a baby is born on April 15th, his or her New Year will start on April 15th of the following year, and every year thereafter, as long as the person is alive.
The question then is, should we wish someone just a “Happy Birthday,” or a “Happy Birthday and a Happy New Year?” Or just a “Happy New Year” starting with the person’s second birthday?
What do you think?