Whose new year is it on 1st January? Do read this report which decodes Sudhanshu Trivedi’s greetings

Pope Gregory XIII and BJP spokesperson Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi

The lines in which Sudhanshu Trivedi has congratulated the New Year are actually the entire history of this Gregorian calendar which tells us that the task of deciding the date and day has not been so easy that the calendar changed and the date changed. From time to time its flaws came to light, they were removed and only then it could be adopted.

The 21st century entered its 25th year on Wednesday. The day changed, the month and the year also changed and the date in the calendar became 1 January 2025. There was an atmosphere of celebration all over the world on this occasion. People congratulated and wished each other and also wished for progress in the coming year. Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also wished Happy New Year at the BJP headquarters, but his style of expression has caught everyone’s attention. Understand the meaning of Sudhanshu Trivedi’s New Year greetings BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi congratulated on the occasion of New Year on January 1 in a very unique way. His style of wishing Happy New Year was so unique that the video went viral in no time. Sudhanshu Trivedi held a press conference at the BJP headquarters and said that friends, today is January 1. I would like to congratulate all of you on the first day of this English New Year, named after the Roman god Janus, originally propounded by the Roman king Numa Memphalus, started by Julius Caesar, corrected by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and adopted by the British in 1752.

What is the complete history of the calendar

The lines in which Sudhanshu Trivedi has congratulated the New Year are actually the complete history of this Gregorian calendar which tells that this task of deciding the date and day has not been so easy that the calendar changed and the date changed. From time to time its flaws came to light, they were removed and only then it could be adopted. Even today, the days of all the 12 months in the Gregorian calendar are not the same. In this, one month has 31 days and the next has 30 days, the number of days in February is even less, it has got only 28 days. Every four years, one day is added to February. Then it becomes a month of 29 days and is called a leap year.

Let us know the complete history of that calendar which has been adopted for work in almost the entire world.

Janus, the god of the past and the future in Roman religion

Janus is a famous god in ancient Roman religion and mythology. Although his real name is Ianus, because in ancient Roman there was never a J character. When the scripts changed and the 26 characters of English were adopted from Latin, then this ‘Ianus’ changed to Janus or Janus or Janus’. In Roman mythology, this god is also called the god of the end and the beginning. This god himself is the present, but it has two faces which are in opposite directions from each other. In ancient Roman myths, one side of its face is shown dark, and the other side is bright. In many pictures, one side of the face will have a thick beard and the other face will look young. Both these images are of the past and the future. The past is shown through a dark and thick beard, while the future is shown in a young and bright form.

Roman king Numa Pompilius named January after the god Janus.

This god of Roman mythology is the starting month of the calendar. The first month of the Gregorian calendar is named January after him. Roman king Numa Pompilius reformed the calendar in 713 BC and declared January as the first month of the year. He dedicated it to Janus because Janus was the god of change and time.

January is the month of Janus
Considering January as the month of beginnings, it is called the month of Janus. This month is considered to be the month of new plans, resolutions and change, which also brings forth the characteristics of Janus. Like the two faces of Janus, January connects the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. It looks both ways. In ancient Rome, Janus was worshipped on the first day of January. Through this worship, prayers were offered for an auspicious beginning of the new year. There were 12 altars built in the temple of Janus. The Roman king divided the year into 12 months on the basis of these 12 altars. Numa Pompilius, the second king of ancient Rome

Numa Pompilius- The Numa Pompilius whose name Sudhanshu Trivedi has taken was the second king of ancient Rome and he is seen as a peace loving and religious reformer in the early history of the Roman Empire. Numa is also known as the successor of Rome’s founding king Romulus and his reign is believed to be from around 715 BC to 673 BC

Numa Pompilius reformed the calendar
Born in the Sabine tribe, Numa Pompilius was a simple, humble and religious person. When Numa was elected king after Romulus, he emphasized on peace and religion, unlike the warlike Romulus. Roman historians tell that Numa’s reign is famous for peace and religious reforms. Apart from this, Numa established many religious institutions and traditions in Rome. The biggest work that Numa did was to organize the Roman calendar. He added 12 lunar months to the year and included the months January (Janus) and February (Februa). With this reform, the Roman calendar became more accurate and religious festivals were determined.

In fact, before Numa Pompilius, the Roman calendar was simple but not practical. This calendar was created by King Romulus, the founder of Rome. It was called the Romulan Calendar, which was full of flaws even at that time. It then had only 10 months in a year.

It was a year of 304 days, and the remaining 61 days were not counted in the calendar. These 61 days fell during the winter and were considered erratic and disorganised.
10 Martius – 31 days
Aprilis – 30 days
Maius – 31 days
Junius – 30 days
Quintilis – 31 days
Sextilis – 30 days
September – 30 days
October – 31 days
November – 30 days
December – 30 days
The first month was Martius, named after Mars, the god of war.

Winter season was not included in the ancient calendar
The winter months (January and February) were not included in the calendar. These months were considered “out of time” because they were unimportant for agricultural and military activities, but also because the total length of the year did not match the solar year (365.25 days). The remaining 61 days were “out of time”, which led to disorganization of social and religious activities.

How were the months changed?
The Roman society was also based on agriculture, but this calendar did not reflect the changes in farming and weather properly. This calendar matched neither the lunar year (354 days) nor the solar year (365.25 days). Numa divided the 61 days of winter into two new months, January (Januarius) and February (Februarius). This made the calendar of 12 months and about 355 days. Numa tried to bring the calendar closer to the cycles of the moon. He made the months of 29 and 31 days. To bring the year closer to the solar year, an extra month called “Mercedonius” was added every second year.

Although this calendar did not prove to be completely accurate, it was much better than the 10 months of the Romulus calendar.

How were the months named?

Martius: It was named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It was considered the first month of the year and was considered auspicious for new beginnings and military campaigns.

Aprilis: It was derived from the Latin word “aperire”, which means “to bloom”. This was the time when Rome had spring and colorful flowers bloomed.

Maius: This month was named after the Roman goddess Maia. Maia was the goddess of fertility and the earth.

Junius: It was named after the Roman god Juno. Juno is the patron of marriage, family and women.

Quintilis: It means “fifth month” (Latin “quintus” means five). It was the fifth month of the year in the Romulan calendar. Later it was named July. Julius Caesar, the first emperor of modern Rome, had it renamed after him.

Sextilis: Meaning “sixth month” (Latin “sextus” meaning six) it was the sixth month in the Romulan calendar. It was later renamed August in honor of Emperor Augustus.

September: It means “seventh month” (Latin “septem” meaning seven). It was the seventh month in the Romulan calendar.

October: It means “eighth month” (Latin “octo” meaning eight). It was the eighth month in the Romulan calendar.

November: It means “ninth month” (Latin “novem” meaning nine). It was the ninth month in the Romulan calendar.

December: It means “tenth month” (Latin “decem” meaning ten). It was the tenth month in the Romulan calendar.

Januarius: It was named after Janus, the god of gates and new beginnings. It was made the first month of the year after the reforms of Numa Pompilius, symbolizing the past and the future.

Februarius: This month was named after the Roman purification rite Februa. This month was dedicated to the god of rituals for the purification of the soul and the home.

When Roman Emperor Caesar Changed the Calendar
Julius Caesar made important and lasting changes to the Roman calendar in 45 BC, which is known as the modern Julian Calendar. His reform was an attempt to correct the flaws of the Roman calendar and bring it closer to the solar year (365.25 days).

Despite a reform by Numa Pompilius, the Roman calendar remained 355 days long. An extra month, Mercedonius, was added every second year to make it match the solar year (365.25 days), but this system was complex and often not properly enforced.

The power to add the extra month rested with the Roman pontiffs (priests), who would alter it for political gain. As a result, festivals and seasons began to occur at the wrong time. Julius Caesar sought assistance from the astronomer Sosigenes during a visit to Egypt, who had deduced a more accurate solar calendar based on astronomy.

He made the year 365.25 days and changed the calendar to conform to the solar year. It was made 29 days longer with a leap year every fourth year, with 365 days.

To make the calendar match the solar year, 46 BC was called the “Year of Confusion”, which had 445 days. This extra time helped bring the seasons and festivals on track.

Quintilis renamed July
Before adopting this new calendar, Julius Caesar renamed the month Quintilis as July. In this way, a normal year now became of 365 days. An extra day (in February) was added in every fourth year i.e. leap year. The length of the months, January, March, May, July, August, October, December became 31 days and April, June, September, November became 30 days. This Julian calendar was adopted throughout the Roman Empire and it continued to be used for centuries in many regions including Europe.

Changes made by Pope Gregory XIII

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar to correct the flaws of the Julian calendar, which is known today as the Gregorian.

The Julian calendar was more accurate than the previous one, but it also had no less problems. The Julian calendar had a system of adding one day every fourth year. Due to which the average length of a year was 365.25 days. The length of the actual solar year is 365.24219 days. Due to this small difference, the calendar moved forward by one day every 128 years.

By the 16th century, this error had reached 10 days. Due to this, Easter, which falls after the Spring Equinox, was not coming on time. Pope Gregory XIII formed a team of astronomers and mathematicians to solve this problem. Many improvements were made in the calendar under his leadership.

The British adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.

First of all, 10 days were removed. For this, the date of 4 October 1582 was made to align the calendar with the solar year. Thus, 10 days were removed. In this way, the calendar that is being used today was adopted from the year 1582 after major reforms done by Pope Gregory XIII. The British accepted this calendar in the year 1752, which is called the English New Year since then.

Indian Panchang is still the most accurate
After independence, this calendar was adopted for office work in India and even today the Indian society has adopted the Panchang for its religious festivals. Which is based on dates based on solar and lunar phases. It has 30 dates in every month, which is based on two sides, eight pahars, ghati, kaal and muhurta. It is the most accurate which is relative to the calculation of the movement of planets. There has been no need to change it.