Top 8 Unforgettable Fun Facts About New Year's Celebrations to Kickstart Your Year

1. Babylonian Oscars of Agriculture

Talk about setting the bar high for New Year's resolutions: the ancient Babylonians had a 12-day festival named Akitu that was basically the Oscars of agricultural promises! The serious scoop: during this March party marking the spring planting season, they vowed to their gods to pay debts and return borrowed items, all in the name of good fortune and divine approval.
Source => insightvacations.com

2. Romans and Babylonians' New Year Dispute

Before they learned how to party like it's 1999 or any other famed year, those free-spirited Babylonians and Romans couldn't agree on the great annual calendar reset. They relished their New Year celebrations like protective kids over marshmallow cereal prizes, bickering incessantly over what day to put on their boogie shoes: Hilarious prelude over, consider this revelation colon – old school B-boys and Girls celebrated New Year's on March 23rd and March 1st respectively, until Julius Caesar gave them all a calendar update in 46 B.C., and made January 1st the official day for stepping into a brand new year with a nod to Janus, the two-faced god of goodbyes and hello there!
Source => cops.usdoj.gov

Did you know January was once the last month of the Roman calendar? Discover how Julius Caesar and the god Janus changed its position and significance!

=> Fun Facts about January

3. Ethiopian New Year's Bling-tastic Fest

Move over, January 1st: there's a jewel of a holiday you're missing out on! Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year, sparkles brighter than the Queen of Sheba's precious gem collection as families gather in September for feasting, singing, and gift-giving of the bedazzling variety: Celebrated on September 11th or 12th based on the Gregorian calendar, this bling-tastic festival marks the queen's return from visiting King Solomon in Jerusalem, and all the shiny tokens her loyal subjects showered upon her to welcome her home.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Times Square's Ball Transformation

While Cinderella lost a glass slipper at midnight, Times Square owns the title for losing a colossal ball every year – and sometimes they even change its outfit: The Times Square New Year's Eve ball has gone through numerous makeovers since its debut in 1907, now weighing in at an impressive 11,875 pounds with 2,688 crystal panels, and has previously donned materials such as iron, aluminum, and dazzling Waterford crystals. Fun fact: this iconic ball-dropping festivity was initially created to lure more visitors uptown and has since become an inseparable part of the US holiday celebrations.
Source => insider.com

5. Black-eyed Peas for Fortune and Freedom

Just when you thought a legume couldn't get more exciting and mysterious than the elusive garbanzo bean, here's a Southern tradition that peas-uably takes the cake: Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day dates back to the Civil War era, when Union troops left them behind, believing they had nothing more to offer than animal fodder. However, freed slaves rejoiced in their survival and newfound freedom by eating these very peas on January 1, 1863. The practice has since morphed into a symbol for fortune and abundance, with various spins on the dish and even some assigning monetary values to the ingredients, such as eating 365 peas to secure yearlong luck.
Source => oliversmarket.com

6. Babylonians' Ancient Farmers-Only Dating

Before smarty-pants Babylonians got hitched to agriculture, their rowdy 12-day shindig was basically an ancient "farmers only" dating scene: January 1st wasn't even a thing back then. Instead, the Babylonians celebrated their new year with a blowout in mid-March called Akitu, perfectly timed with their crop planting rituals. King-crowning, loyalty-pledging, and god-promising shenanigans took place, all contributing to the earliest form of our guilt-inducing New Year's resolutions.
Source => news.northampton.edu

7. Dutch New Year's Dive in Orange

Feeling the need to dive into the New Year headfirst and dressed in orange? Say no more, you party-plunging, orange-loving thrill-seekers: Over 10,000 people in the Netherlands gear up in vibrant Dutch hues to take part in the annual New Year's Dive, where icy North Sea waters become their celebratory playground at Scheveningen and other favorite beaches. Post-swim, frozen revelers thaw out with steaming bowls of traditional Dutch split pea soup and hot chocolate, making this frosty tradition an unforgettable way to kick off the calendar's fresh start!
Source => iamexpat.nl

8. Greeks' Smelly Onion Decorations

Who knew Shrek's favorite vegetable could be one of Greece's favorite New Year's decorations? In a plot twist worthy of the smelliest fairy tale, Greeks actually hang onions on their doors to ring in the new year: This offbeat tradition symbolizes growth and development, as onions are believed to possess regenerative powers that invite rebirth and renewal into one's home.
Source => barcelo.com