New Year's Day

New Year's Day History

New Year's Day is an international day of celebration marking the beginning of a new calendar year. This day is commonly seen as a chance for a fresh start, prompting various customs and traditions aimed at bidding farewell to the old year, celebrating the forthcoming year and making resolutions. Essential aspects of this global observance involve festivities, family gatherings, meals, fireworks and countless cultural rituals accentuating optimism for the future while commemorating past time.

New Year's Day celebrations in New Zealand hold an individualistic and cultural substance, and it is recognized as a public holiday. In the late 19th Century, multiple New Year's Day activities were organized across the country. These typically included sports events, festivals, and picnics, which continue to the present day. For many Kiwis, January 1st places emphasis both on relaxation and the opportunity to partake in outdoor activity. It also promotes a sense of community spirit, bringing together people from all walks of life in unified merriment.

Given New Zealand’s geographical location in the Pacific region, it’s one of the first countries globally to welcome in the New Year, specifically when the clock strikes midnight between December 31st and January 1st. The country celebrates with a mixture of customary and contemporary practices. Renowned for their spectacular firework displays, cities like Auckland and Wellington illuminate the night skies in vibrant colors enchanting both locals and tourists. Many New Zealanders also choose to spend the day at the beach, picnicking, and barbecuing with family and friends, or partaking in popular festivals or concerts. Therefore, the way in which New Year's Day is embraced and commemorated remains significant to the country's cultural milieu and distinctively defines how a New Zealand New Year is held.

Facts about New Year's Day

• Worldwide Baby New Year is the most common symbol associated with this holiday. He is a toddler dressed in a diaper, hat, and sash bearing the numbers of the new year. The myth states that he matures into an old man during the course of the year. On December 31st, he hands his hat and sash to the new Baby New Year.
• In the early Roman calendar, New Year was celebrated on March 1st. The new celebration of New Year on January 1st started in Rome in 153 BC. The New Year was moved to January because it was a month when two newly elected Roman consuls began their tenure, which reflected the beginning of civil year.
• Many Kiwis (New Zealanders) traditionally clean their homes on New Year's Day. This is done as a gesture to clear out the old and make way for what the coming year will bring.
• New Year’s celebrations were introduced by European settlers, with the first recorded celebration taking place in 1840. Captain William Hobson, New Zealand's first Governor, reportedly hosted the inaugural New Year's Day festivities in the Bay of Islands.

In the News and Trending in NZ for New Year's Day

Top things to do in NZ for New Year's Day

• Make new resolutions for the upcoming year and let go of what happened in the previous one.
• Participate in the city of Wellington’s New Year’s Day Dash. Participants run or walk along the scenic waterfront and through the city’s streets.
• Attend the largest annual music festival, Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne.