When is New Year’s Day in 2026?

New Year’s Day 2026 will be observed on Thursday, January 1, 2026, which is a federal holiday in the United States .

Is New Year’s Day a public holiday?

Yes, New Year’s Day is recognized as a public (federal) holiday in the U.S. on January 1, 2026. Government offices, schools, and many businesses will be closed that day

 What is New year

The New Year is when the calendar year officially begins, and the count increments by one. Across many cultures, people celebrate this important event in various ways. The Gregorian calendar, which is the most common calendar system used today, marks January 1 as New Year’s Day, preceded by the globally celebrated New Year’s Eve. Interestingly, this same day was also the first day of the original Julian calendar and the Roman calendar, established after 153 BC.

Some traditional and religious customs follow different schedules. They rely on the lunar calendar or the lunisolar calendar. Celebrations like Chinese New Year, Islamic New Year, Tamil New Year (Puthandu), and Jewish New Year are famous examples. In countries like India, Nepal, and many others, people celebrate the New Year on dates that are movable when compared to the Gregorian calendar.

During the Middle Ages in Western Europe, the Julian calendar was in use, but authorities often changed the locale of New Year’s Day to March 1, March 25, Easter, September 1, or even December 25. Eventually, many national and civil calendars across the Western World agreed on a fixed date—January 1—when they adopted the Gregorian system. Today, websites like festive counter help track the countdown to such events, making each festive occasion easier to plan. Whether you’re planning a celebration or just watching the counter, the New Year always brings something special.

History of new year

The earliest record of a New Year festival dates back to 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia. In Babylonia, the celebration, known as Akitu, began with the new moon after the vernal equinox. Meanwhile, in Assyria, it aligned with the new moon closest to the autumn equinox, around mid-September. For the Egyptians and Phoenicians, the autumn equinox on September 21 marked the beginning of the year. Similarly, the ancient Persians chose March 21, while the Greeks preferred the winter solstice on December 21.

The Roman republican calendar initially started on March 1, but after 153 BCE, the official date shifted to January 1, a change carried over into the Julian calendar introduced in 46 BCE. During early medieval times, most of Christian Europe observed March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, as the New Year. However, in Anglo-Saxon England, December 25 was preferred.

Eventually, William the Conqueror declared that the year would start on January 1, but this was later changed again as Christendom standardized the date. The Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1582 by the Roman Catholic Church, officially restored January 1 as New Year’s Day. Over time, most European countries followed suit: Scotland in 1660, Germany and Denmark around 1700, England in 1752, and Russia in 1918.

Today, thanks to platforms like festive counter, people can easily follow the countdown to the next festive occasion with joy. Watching the counter tick down toward midnight on December 31 creates a sense of unity and anticipation, no matter where or how you celebrate.