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.
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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
- 42 BC –The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar
- 1651 –Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
- 1772 –The first traveler’s cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London, England, Great Britain.
- 1810 –Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially becomes Governor of New South Wales
- 1863 –The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska.
- 1894 –The Manchester Ship Canal, England, is officially opened to traffic.
- 1910 –Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear Admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members), since Horatio Nelson.
- 1913 –The British Board of Censors is established.
- 1920 –The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party.
- 1937 –Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in the United Kingdom.
- 1942 –The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
- 1956 –Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
- 1964 –The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
- 1966 –A twelve-day New York City transit strike begins.
- 1979 –Formal diplomatic relations are established between the China and the United States.
- 1981 –Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.
- 1988 –The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
- 2002 –Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union’s member states.
- 2011 –Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the seventeenth eurozone country.
- 2012 –Kim Jong-un is officially declared the new Supreme Leader of North Korea.
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