NEW YEAR’S DAY is the first day of the year. Among ancient peoples the beginning of the year was determined by one of various events, such as the spring or autumnal equinox or the winter or summer solstice. In Egypt, for example, beginning about 2773 B. C., the year began with heliacal rising of Sirius, which coincided with the start of the flood period of the Nile and came not long after the summer solstice. Because the calendar year was not adjusted exactly to the solar year, this became almost a day later every four years, and it had to be adjusted to the solar year at the end of each cycle of 1,546 years. In 46 A. D. the Julian calendar established January 1 as the beginning of the year in Rome. For an account of New Year’s Day in the western world since 46 A. D., see NEW STYLE AND OLD STYLE DATES.

新年（元旦）是一年中的第一天。在古代的人们中，一年的开端是由各种事件中的一种事件决定的，比如春分、秋分，或者冬至、夏至。例如，在埃及，大约从公元前2773年开始，一年始于天狼星的升起，它与尼罗河汛期的开始相一致，而且在夏至后的不长时间到来。因为公历年没有精确地调整到太阳年，因此这几乎造成了每4年晚了一天，而且在每个1546年周期结束时都不得不将其调整为太阳年。公元46年，儒略历将1月1日确定为罗马一年的开始。从公元46年以来西方世界便以新年记录，见新式和旧式日期词条。

New Year’s Day is not a festival in the Christian church, although the Feast of the circumcision is celebrated on that day. Instead, among Christians, New Year’s Day is generally an occasion for festivities, usually beginning the night before, New Year’s Eve.

新年并不是基督教会的节日，尽管割礼筵席是在那天庆祝。相反，在基督徒中，新年一般是个欢庆的时刻，通常在除夕前一晚开始。

The New Year’s Days of other peoples vary considerably by the Gregorian calendar because of differences that arise between their calendars and the solar (Gregorian) calendar. The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), which commemorates the traditional date for the creation of the world, comes at the beginning of the month of Tishri, in September or October in the Gregorian calendar.

由于其他民族在历法和阳历（公历）之间的差异，因此他们的新年与公历差异很大。犹太人的新年（犹太新年），用以纪念传统的创世日，从提市黎月开始，在公历的9月或10月。

The Muslim New Year falls on the first day of the month of Muharram and commemorates the date of the Hegira (July 16, 622, on the Gregorian calendar), the starting point of the Muslim calendar. Since the Muslim year is a lunar one consisting of only 354 days, the commencement of the new year fluctuates widely by the Western calendar.

穆斯林新年是在穆哈兰姆月的第一天，用以纪念希吉拉的日期（在公历上为622年7月16日），是穆斯林历法的起点。由于穆斯林年是只包含了354天的阴历年，因此新年的开始因西方历法而大幅度波动。

The many ways people have of welcoming the New Year include the Western practice of gathering at midnight on New Year’s Eve to drink a toast to the coming year. Some Muslims of North Africa light bonfires, which they leap over to purify themselves from evil. In other African communities all fires are extinguished on the last day of the year so that new one may be kindled on New Year’s Day.

人们有许多迎接新年的方法，包括西方在新年前夕的午夜聚会，为来年干杯的习惯。北非的一些穆斯林会点燃篝火，跳过它们来净化自己，祛除邪恶。在其它的非洲社区在一年的最后一天要熄灭所有的火焰，以便在新年点燃新的火焰。

See also CALENDAR; CHRONOLOGY.

也可参阅日历；年代学词条。

                                         2023年12月31日译

（译者注：该词条位列《大美百科全书》1985年版，第20卷，第227页）