元旦的来历（英汉对照）

　　元旦 New Year's Day
　　
　　新年开始的第一天。世界各地依当地的宗教、文化以及社会习俗对这一天加以庆祝。通常会举行仪式来象征抛弃旧的一年并庆祝新的一年。犹太教、基督教和伊斯兰教使用各自不同的历法，因此在不同的日子里来庆祝元旦。在西方，公历的1月1日是公认的元旦。犹太教元旦又称岁首节，以提市黎月初一为元旦，这一天有可能是公历9月6日至10月5日之间的任何一天。穆斯林的元旦则是穆哈兰圣月的第一天，由于伊斯兰教采用的是阴历，这一天相对于公历来说是逐年退行的。中国的农历新年通常是在公历的1月末或2月初，节庆活动往往持续很多天，包括用放鞭炮的方式来驱魔、演戏以及祭祀祖先和众神。
　　
　　New Year's Day
　　
　　First day of the new year, celebrated with religious, cultural, and social observances around the world.
　　
　　It is usually marked by rites and ceremonies that symbolize casting off the old year and rejoicing in the new. Most of the world recognizes January 1 as the start of a new year because the Gregorian calendar, from its papal origin in 1582, has become the international reference for treaties, corporate contracts, and other legal documents. Nevertheless, numerous religious and national calendars have been retained. For example, in the Persian calendar (used in Iran and Afghanistan) New Year's Day falls on the spring equinox (March 20 or 21 in the Gregorian calendar). The more widely employed Islamic (Hijrī) calendar is based on 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days; thus, the Islamic New Year's Day gradually regresses through the longer Gregorian calendar. The Hindu new year starts on the day following the first new moon on or after the spring equinox. The Chinese new year begins at sunset on the new moon in the sign of Aquarius (late January or early February). The Hebrew calendar is based on 12 lunar months (13 in certain years) of 29 or 30 days; the Jewish New Year's Day, or Rosh Hashanah, can fall anytime from September 6 to October 5 in the Gregorian calendar.