Welcome to the New Year 2025 according to the Gregorian calendar! Many of you probably never wondered where this date actually comes from, but here I am with the answer — if only so I’ve got some content for the blog!

The Gregorian calendar was created by the papacy and first introduced in Europe by Pope Gregory XIII. Theoretically, it was meant as a reform for better order, but in practice it was also about political maneuvering — after all, uniting Catholic Europe sounded like a good idea. And it worked! Today the Gregorian calendar is used pretty much everywhere. Its starting point is the birth of Jesus Christ — at least, that’s what Christian tradition claims.

But is this the only way to count time nowadays? Absolutely not! Let’s take a look at other cultures and their calendars:

• The Jewish Calendar. Welcome to the year 5785! The counting begins from — the creation of the world. Yes, straight from that epic moment in the Book of Genesis. What’s more, the Jewish New Year can only fall on the day of Adam’s creation — the sixth day of the week. In 2024, Rosh Hashanah was celebrated from October 2nd to 4th according to the Gregorian calendar. Fun fact: the Jewish calendar is officially recognized in Israel!
• The Islamic Calendar. Right now it’s the year 1446 for Muslims all over the world! This calendar counts from the Hijra, the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. The Islamic New Year in Gregorian 2024 fell on July 7th.
• The Chinese Lunar Calendar. On January 29, 2025 (Gregorian), the Chinese New Year will be celebrated across China. They’ve been keeping track for 4,721 years — since the birth of the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di. On this day, the Year of the Wood Dragon will end, and the Year of the Wood Snake will begin. It’s one of the most colorful and spectacular celebrations in the world!

All these calendars originate from beliefs, mostly religious ones. But how else could you count the years? If we simply take one year as Earth’s orbit around the Sun, the age of our planet is about 4.6 billion years. So today would actually be the brand-new year 4,543×10⁹! What a fantastic date! That perspective might remind us how small and insignificant our everyday worries really are, don’t you think?

And what else comes with the New Year? Resolutions! The surest way to not do something is to turn it into a resolution! Each of us — or at least most of us — sets a new goal every year. Yet it’s been known for centuries that resolutions rarely survive past the first two weeks. Some claim that setting goals can be motivating, but I lean more toward the philosophy of the samurai: a true warrior has no goal, only a path. In other words, we live as we can, and the results will come — or not.

The New Year season also brings up the subject of fireworks. A hot topic. On every social media platform, you’ll find posts about why the world should ban them! And the list of reasons is long. Personally, I’ve noticed that fireworks are a mix of emotions and expectations. An eternal clash of good versus evil. Madness! Though I must admit — I do like sparklers.

So, after all these random tidbits, let me simply wish you a peaceful, happy New Year. May it be full of pleasant surprises and small joys that make life more colorful. Take care of yourselves and of the world around you!