Speaking of New Year's Day

     The "Yuan" in "Yuandan" (元旦) means "beginning" or "first," signifying the start of any number. The "Dan" (旦) is a pictograph; the upper part, "日" (sun), represents the sun, and the lower part, "一" (one), represents the horizon. "Dan" symbolizes the sun rising above the horizon, representing the beginning of a day. Combining "Yuan" and "Dan" signifies the first day of the new year. Yuandan is also called "Sanyuan" (三元), meaning the beginning of the year, month, and day. Historically, Yuandan refers to the first day of the first month of the Xia calendar (lunar calendar). However, before Emperor Wu of Han, this was not standardized. Therefore, the month and day of Yuandan varied throughout history. The Xia dynasty celebrated it on the first day of the first month, the Shang dynasty on the first day of the twelfth month, the Zhou dynasty on the first day of the eleventh month, and after Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, he set the first day of the tenth month as Yuandan, a practice that has remained unchanged since (Records of the Grand Historian). In the first year of the Taichu era of Emperor Wu of Han, Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar," which designated the first day of the first lunar month as New Year's Day, the same as the Xia Dynasty's system, hence it was also called the "Xia Calendar," and remained in use until the Xinhai Revolution. The Xia Dynasty's calendar used the first month of the lunar calendar (the first month of the year) as the first month, the Shang Dynasty's calendar used the twelfth month (the twelfth month) as the first month, and the Zhou Dynasty's calendar used the eleventh month (the eleventh month) as the first month. It was only from Emperor Wu of Han onwards that the first month of the lunar calendar (the first day of the first lunar month of the year) was designated as the first month, and its first day was called New Year's Day, a system that continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty. However, this was the Xia Calendar, also known as the lunar calendar or the traditional Chinese calendar, not the New Year's Day we know today.

    The legend of New Year's Day originated with Zhuanxu, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, more than 3,000 years ago. The term "New Year's Day" first appeared in the *Book of Jin*: "Emperor Zhuanxu took the first month of summer as the beginning, which is actually the spring of the first day of the first lunar month." During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xiao Ziyun of the Southern Dynasties wrote in his poem "Jie Ya" that "the four seasons begin anew on New Year's Day, and the first day of spring arrives for the Emperor." New Year's Day is called "Yuan Ri" in the Book of Documents (specifically, the "Shun Dian" section), "Yuan Zheng" in Cui Yuan's "San Zi Chai Ming" from the Han Dynasty, "Yu Chen" in Yu Chan's "Yang Du Fu" from the Jin Dynasty, "Yuan Chun" in a Northern Qi Dynasty poem "Yuan Hui Da Xiang Ge Huang Xia Ci," and "Yuan Shuo" in Emperor Dezong of Tang's poem "Yuan Ri Tui Chao Guan Jun Zhang Gui Ying.

    " There is also a legend about New Year's Day. It is said that more than 4,000 years ago, during the prosperous reign of Emperors Yao and Shun, Emperor Yao was diligent in governing and did many good deeds for the people, earning their deep love and respect. However, because his son was not talented and not capable, he did not pass the throne to his son, but instead to Shun, who possessed both virtue and talent. Yao said to Shun, "You must pass on the throne well in the future, so that I can die in peace." Later, Shun passed the throne to Yu, who had successfully controlled the floods. Yu, like Shun, was kind to the people and did many good deeds for them, and was greatly loved by the people. Later, people regarded the day when Emperor Shun offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and to the late Emperor Yao after Yao's death as the beginning of the year, and called the first day of the first lunar month "Yuandan" or "Yuanzheng," which is the ancient Yuandan.

    During the Republic of China period, Sun Yat-sen, the great pioneer of the democratic revolution, set the first day of the first lunar month (Yuandan) as the Spring Festival and January 1st of the Gregorian calendar as the New Year, in order to "follow the Xia calendar to follow the agricultural seasons and adopt the Western calendar for statistical convenience." However, in ancient China, the New Year's Day was not January 1st of the Gregorian calendar, which is used today. From the Yin Dynasty, when the first day of the twelfth lunar month was set as the beginning of the year, to the Han Dynasty, when the first day of the first lunar month was set as the beginning of the year, there were many changes. When Sun Yat-sen assumed the office of Provisional President in Nanjing in early January 1912 during the Republic of China era, in order to "follow the agricultural seasons" and "facilitate statistics," he designated the first day of the first lunar month as the Spring Festival and changed January 1st of the Gregorian calendar to the beginning of the year, "New Year," though it was still called "Yuandan" (元旦). It wasn't until after liberation that the Central People's Government issued a unified "National Holidays and Commemorative Days Regulations," designating January 1st of the Gregorian calendar as New Year's Day and deciding that the whole country would have a one-day holiday on this day.

    Currently, most countries in the world celebrate New Year's Day on January 1st. However, due to the different longitudes of various countries, their times differ, and therefore, the date of "New Year's Day" also varies. For example, Tonga, an island nation in Oceania located west of the International Date Line, is the first place in the world to begin a new day and the first country to celebrate New Year's Day. Western Samoa, located east of the International Date Line, is the last place in the world to begin a new day. Afghanistan celebrates the spring equinox as New Year's Day; Jews celebrate the autumn equinox; and the New Year's Day of the Inuit people in the Arctic is not fixed; they celebrate the first rain as New Year's Day. In 46 BC, Roman Emperor Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar, initially setting the winter solstice as New Year's Day. However, people insisted on recognizing the new moon as New Year's Day, so it was postponed to 10 days after the winter solstice. According to the Gregorian calendar, my country is the 12th country in the world to begin the New Year. Different countries have their own unique celebrations due to their different histories, cultures, religious beliefs, and customs. This diversity makes the world more colorful and highlights regional and national characteristics.