The first day of the new year

New Year’s Day is the day on which the beginning of a new year is celebrated. Although New Year’s Day falls on January 1 in many Western countries, as many as half of the world celebrates it on a different date! Worldwide, the start of the new year is celebrated exuberantly. This is often accompanied by special traditions and customs, such as the wonderfully cold New Year’s dive in Scheveningen.

Old

In the Western world, the year is festively closed on New Year’s Eve on December 31. Oud here stands for New Year’s Eve, or the last day of the year. New Year’s Day represents the first day of the new year. New Year’s Day begins at 12 midnight, with it customary to count down the last ten seconds of the year out loud. During the start of the new year, fireworks are often set off and people wish each other the best for the new year.

Best Wishes

Worldwide it is customary to wish each other happiness, health and prosperity on New Year’s Day. In the Netherlands and Belgium people speak of “happy New Year” or “best wishes”. This is often accompanied by three kisses, but this is not mandatory.

Many people find it important to wish everyone they know a Happy New Year. However, not everyone gets to this on New Year’s Day. Many people wonder until when you can officially wish someone a happy New Year.

Days Off

New Year’s Day is a public holiday in many countries. This means, for example in the Netherlands, that most people have a day off. Of course there are also people who do have to work on New Year’s Day. Think of people with a profession in care or hospitality. Unlike New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day is not an official holiday. This means that many people just have to work on the last day of the year.