Celebrating the arrival of the New Year is perhaps the oldest holiday in recorded history. It started with the ancient Babylonians more than 4,000 years ago, and continued with the Egyptians, Romans, Celts and so on. Here are some other quick facts about new year’s traditions and their origins.

1 January officially became the first day of a new year in 46 BC, when Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar.

New year’s resolutions

The ancient Babylonians began the idea of New Year’s resolutions as a way to start the year off with a clean slate by returning borrowed items.

Baby new year

Using a baby to represent the birth of the New Year started in ancient Greece in 600 BC.

For luck in the New Year

Traditional New Year food is also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolises “coming full circle”, completing a year’s cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating doughnuts on New Year’s Day will bring good fortune.

People in many parts of the United States celebrate the new year by eating black-eyed peas. These legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The pig, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolises prosperity. Cabbage is another “good luck” vegetable that is eaten on New Year’s Day by many. Cabbages are also considered a sign of prosperity, with the leaves being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year’s Day.

‘Auld Lang Syne’

The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the New Year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700s, it was first published after his death in 1796. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern version. An old Scotch tune, Auld Lang Syne literally means “old long ago”, or simply, “the good old days”.