The new year begins on January 1 — or does it?
Let's back up to early spring in 1750, when winter frost and ice were giving way to new growth and longer days across England, Ireland, and the thirteen colonies across the ocean. The King's loyal (and occasionally disloyal) subjects said farewell to the old year on March 24, as they had for many centuries, and greeted the year 1751 at midnight on March 25.
Another year proceeded as normal until early September, when warm days were just starting to give way to cooler evenings. People across the Empire retired to bed on September 2 … and woke up on September 14, as decreed by the Calendar (New Style) Act, passed in Parliament the year before to align England and her territories with the Gregorian calendar.
The Act also decreed that the new year would begin on January 1 — supposedly chosen because January got its name from Janus, the Roman god of transitions and beginnings. British subjects barely had time to shake off the hangover of losing 11 days in September before the year 1751 ended, just nine months after it began.
So if you felt like your 2024 passed way too quickly, remind yourself that at least you got a full 12 months..
