Cultures that don’t celebrate New Year on January 1

Team Udayavani, Jan 1, 2022, 2:42 PM IST

Most of the countries follow the Gregorian calendar, with the year ending on December 31 and the new one beginning on January 1. However, there are several cultures that don’t celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1. They follow other calendars to tell time.

Listed below are a few cultures that don’t celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1:

Chinese New Year
Also known as Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, it marks the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season. The first day of the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21 and February 20. This year, Chinese New Year will fall on February 1.

Seollal – Korean New Year
Several south-east Asian cultures celebrate New Year’s Day on the Lunar New Year. In Korea, the celebration lasts three days: the day before Korean New Year, Korean New Year itself, and the day after Korean New Year. This year, Seollal will be celebrated on February 1.

Tết – Vietnamese New Year
The Vietnamese New Year coincides with the Chinese New Year as Vietnamese follow the Lunar calendar. It will be celebrated on February 1.

Nyepi – Balinese New Year
The Balinese New Year, based on the Saka calendar, is called Nyepi. It falls on Bali’s Lunar New Year (around March). It is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation: observed from 6 AM until 6 AM the next morning. Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection. This year, Balinese New Year will be celebrated on March 3.

Losar – Tibetan New YearL
Losar is celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar. It corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. This year, celebrations will begin on March 3 and run till March 5.

Nowruz – Iranian New Year/ Persian New Year
The Iranian New Yera begins on the spring equinox, marking the first day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian solar calendar. It usually falls on or around March 21 of the Gregorian calendar. In 2022, Nowruz fell on March 21.

The Zoroastrian New Year coincides with the Iranian New Year of Nowruz and is celebrated by the Parsis in India.

Ugadi – Telugu and Kannada New Year
The Telugu and Kannada New Year generally falls in the month of March or April. The people of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka celebrate New Year as Ugadi. The first month of the new year is called Chaitra Masa. This year, Ugadi will be celebrated on April 2.

Gudi Padwa
Gudi Padwa is celebrated as the first day of New Year by Maharashtrians. It coincides with Udagi and will be observed on April 2.

Cheti Chand – Sindhi New Year
The Sindhi New Year, Cheti Chand, is celebrated on the same day as Ugadi/Gudi Padwa.

Puthandu – Tamil New Year
Puthandu is the first day of the year on the Tamil calendar. It falls on or about 14 April every year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2022, Puthandu will fall on April 14.

Vaisakhi/ Baisakhi
Vaisakhi or Baisakhi marks the first day of the month of Vaisakha and is celebrated as the solar new year in Punjab. It is celebrated on April 14 according to the nanakshahi calendar.

Aluth Avurudda – Sinhalese New Year
Aluth Avurudda is celebrated by the Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese New Year marks the end of the harvest season and of spring. This year, it will be celebrated on April 14.

Nepalese New Year
Nepal follows the Bikram Sambat as an official calendar. This year, Nepalese New Year will fall on April 14.

Bihu – Assamese New Year
This year, the Assamese New Year, Bohag Bihu, will be celebrated from April 14 or 16.

Bangla Noboborsho – Bengali New Year
The Bengali New Year, Bangla Noboborsho, is celebrated on the 1st of Boishakh in West Bengal and Bangladesh. This year, it will be celebrated on April 15.

Vishuva Sankranti – Odia New Year
The Odia New Year is celebrated on April 14 in Odisha. It is also called Vishuva Sankranti or Pana Sankranti.

Cheirouba – Manipuri New Year
Cheirouba is celebrated on April 14 in Manipur.

Vishu – Malayali New Year
The Malayali New Year will be celebrated in Kerala on April 15 this year.

Islamic New Year
The Islamic New Year occurs on Muharram. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after Ramadan. This year, Muharram will be observed on July 30.

Diwali
Diwali is the last day of Krishna Paksha of the Ashvin month of the Hindu calendar. Marwari and Gujarati families mark Diwali pooja in the evening as the start of their new year. This year, Diwali will be celebrated on October 24. Govardhan/Ankut is marked as the first day of the new year.

Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year
Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday commemorating the end of the seven days of Creation from the Book of Genesis. This year, it will begin on the evening of September 25 and end on the evening of September 27.

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