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

  • 404
    An infuriated Roman mob tears Telemachus, a Christian monk, to pieces for trying to stop a gladiators’ fight in the public arena held in Rome.
  • 417
    Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum).
  • 1772
    The first traveler’s cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London, England, Great Britain.
  • 1788
    First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
  • 1803
    Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
  • 1806
    The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
  • 1810
    Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially becomes Governor of New South Wales
  • 1822
    The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
  • 1860
    First Polish stamp is issued.
  • 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.
  • 1956
    A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people.
  • 1964
    The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
  • 1971
    Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
  • 1984
    Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
  • 1992
    Russia is officially formed.
  • 1995
    The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
  • 1996
    Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Netherlands.
  • 2002
    The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.
  • 2008
    Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries.
  • 2009
    66 die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.

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