Christmas is a holiday that has always been part of our lives. But do you know that it hasn't always been like this? The first celebration as we know it took place in January 1582. If we are moving from 2020 to 2021, can you calculate how many years have passed? There are many! But if you want to know more details about this custom, we will tell you why we celebrate the New Year !
Why we celebrate the New Year
Our calendar is made up of days, weeks and months. With the exception of leap years, which occur every four years and in which February has 29 days instead of 28, the rest of the numbers are always the same. That is, all weeks have 7 days, April or November have 30 days and July and August have 31.
This calendar has its origins in the so-called Gregorian calendar . It has this name because it was the idea of a man: Pope Gregory XIII . It was he who decided that January 1 would be the beginning of the year . This happened on the date we told you at the beginning, in 1582.
Although it did not happen overnight (you know that all missions take a little time), over time this calendar was accepted in all countries of the world. Can you imagine what it would be like if in other places you didn't count the days and months like we do? It would be impossible to agree! And in each country, you would have a different age. Curious, right?
A solution to problems
Now you know why we celebrate the New Year. However, it is also important that you know why Mr. Gregorio decided to propose this new calendar to replace the previous one. He says that humans are creatures of habit, so you have to have very good arguments to get the entire planet to decide to change their habits !
The previous calendar, called Julian after Julius Caesar , that Roman politician and military man who is usually represented with a laurel wreath on his head , had some flaws that caused some confusion in the population.
Due to errors in the calculations , and to be able to adjust the solstices and equinoxes, they had to add one day to the calendar every 128 years. And do you know what happened because of that? That in the year 1500 spring arrived for them 10 days early . Can you imagine them waiting for the plants to bloom and for the official arrival of good weather? If mathematics is going to be useful in the end!
And as for having a party because we change the year, it seems that the first time took place about 4,000 years ago. But we are in 2020! How is it possible that the number is greater! We leave it up to you to discover why. This first party was called El Akitu , and it seems that it was enjoyed so much that the tradition has continued to this day, only with the dates changing.
