About January 1
January 1, 2024 is the 1st day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 365 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
You can browse the full year calendar in case you need it.
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Capricorn is the sun sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 40 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
January 1: More About This Day
The preceding day is December 31 of the previous year.
During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Christian Church, many countries moved the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals — December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. Eastern European countries (most of them with populations showing allegiance to the Orthodox Church) began their numbered year on September 1 from about 988.
In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record records the execution of Charles I occurring in 1648 (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.
Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.
January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:
- 1522 The Republic of Venice
- 1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
- 1556 Spain, Portugal
- 1559 Prussia, Sweden
- 1564 France
- 1576 Southern Netherlands
- 1579 Lorraine
- 1583 United Provinces of the Netherlands (northern)
- 1600 Scotland
- 1700 Russia
- 1721 Tuscany
- 1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
What Happened On January 1
- 153 BC –Roman consuls begin their year in office.
- 414 –Galla Placidia, half-sister of Emperor Honorius, is married to the Visigothic king Ataulf at Narbonne. The wedding is celebrated with Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic booty.
- 1259 –Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
- 1776 –American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
- 1788 –First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
- 1861 –Porfirio Díaz conquers Mexico City.
- 1890 –The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, is first held.
- 1908 –For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York, New York’s Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.
- 1911 –Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
- 1927 –Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian).
- 1928 –Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin’s secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.
- 1945 –World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive on the Western Front begins.
- 1954 –NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade, with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.
- 1958 –The European Economic Community is established.
- 1965 –The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- 1966 –After a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa assumes power as president of the Central African Republic.
- 1966 –A twelve-day New York City transit strike begins.
- 1982 –Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 1994 –The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.
- 1995 –Sweden, Austria, and Finland are admitted into the European Union.
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