Video Broadcast : #138
December 17, 2020

Traditional

• New Year’s Eve on December 31
  Bringing in the New Year (with celebration)
  Dropping the Ball in Times Square in New York
• New Year on January 1
  Holiday in some countries
• January is named as after Janus (Two faced God)
  Symbolically, one face looks back at the outgoing year and another face looks at the incoming year
• In the early days, Burma celebrated January 1 as “Peasants’ Day“
• Later, Peasants’ Day was moved to March 2

Others

• Old Roman Calendar starts with March.
• Persian New Year falls on or around March 21
  “First Day of Spring” celebrations
  
• Myanmar celebrates “Thingyan” on or around April 13 for three (or sometimes four) days.
  The Myanmar New Year falls Thingyan.
• Thailand celebrated “Songkram” (equivalent of Thingyan)
• Both words derive from Pali and Sanskrit words meaning “Change”.
• Cula Thingyan (Small Change) occurs every month when the Sun in the Geocentric model moves to another Zodiac Sign.
• Maha Thingyan (Big Change) occurs every year when the Sun has moved through all twelve signs.
  
• The Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) around the end of January or the start of February.
• The Vietnamese celebrate Tet (equivalent of Chinese New Year)
• The festivities may last a week (or more)
  
• Karen New Year (Kayin Hnit Ku)
  
• Special events
  New Year in 2000 (to usher the New Millennium)