Whose Cockamamie Idea Was It, Anyway?
Why would January 1, of all dates, mark the beginning of a new year?
Why is January 1 the first day of the year? It makes no sense! Winter is the beginning of the year?!? Really!?! January seems like the doldrums of the year to me — well, not as bad as dreary November or frozen-earth February, maybe, but still: what numbskull or collection of dunderheads picked that date?
December 21 or 22 (the winter solstice) would make some sense as the start of the year, as the days start getting longer then (there’s more hours of sunlight, that is), but why would the new year begin a week-and-a-half after that? What were they thinking/smoking?
The true or natural beginning of the year, in feel and according to the earth (the trees, the grass, the flowers, the herbs, the bushes, the birds, etc.), is Springtime! At the start of Spring, the length of the day (sunlight) is the average for the year (at the Spring equinox) but gets a little longer each day for the next three months.
Spring just “feels” like a new beginning. January 1st, OTOH, just feels like any other day of winter.