What do you think about January 1st being the new year?

I think new year should be on the 1st of July.
Because around that time, the Earth is farthest from the Sun.

January 1 works well because it is the time in the Northern Hemisphere when we are coming out of darkness.

The year used to start on April 1. And lots of cultures have celebrated the start of the year at the Vernal Equinox.

As you mention, though, any attempt at coinciding New Year’s with some analog to the passing of a seasonal marker results in half the world being out of synch. And really, New Year’s is not much more meaningful than a marker, it really doesn’t celebrate anything except need for a new calendar.

New Year’s Day usually changes nothing except adding one more item on people’s life list of failed attempts.

Really makes no difference what I think. It’s not about to change.

I say pick a solstice and go with that

For all I care it could be October 3!

It used to bother me and make me a little depressed because it seemed silly to carry the enthusiasm for a new year in the dead of winter with more winter doldrums ahead. For resolutions and such, it just seemed a recipe for failure. I would have opted for spring and kind of carried that disposition with me for awhile.

Nowadays, though, it’s not such a big deal. I’m more focused on the “now here” (the everyday present moment) instead of the “new year.”

We should just use Kevbo’s b-day.

Good question. Why should the middle of Winter be the first day of the year? April 1st makes more sense which is the beginning of Spring.

There seems to be such a Northernist sentiment on this thread.

Northernist :-) That’s good.

It’s important to take into account the US can’t consider this unilaterally. For a calendar change to take place, every country in the world would have to agree. And that will never happen, especially without any remotely serious rationale for doing so.

The Chinese New Year varies in relation to the western calendar, since it is based on astronomical happenings. The next one will be February 8 2016. The winter solstice is required to be in the 11th month, and new year is usually on the second new moon after the winter solstice.

I wish there was no time, period. haha
That we all just scampered around having fun without the obligations of clock time, work and bill paying. Time is really a man made construct anyway, but, be that as it may, we are still slaves to time. Speaking of which…gotta run! haha

I think we use Jan 1, for the new year because of the ancient Roman calendar. Rome conquered a big chunk of Europe, created roads, minted currency, etc. and this is one of the things that lingered in those cultures after the fall of Rome. Since the US (and much of the world) was colonized by European settlers, the calendar came with them.

Seems to have worked okay for a long, long time. I like it because, although it happens in the dead of winter, a good time for inner reflection—- it’s also the time when we begin thinking about spring and renewal.

Does everything have to change?

Personally, I think using an equinox or a solstice would be more sensible.

Oh well, que sera sera