“Happy New Year!” is an expression you'll hear a lot on January 1, the day when most people in the West celebrate the beginning of a brand-new year. The celebration of New Year is one of the oldest traditions in the world. It was first observed by the ancient Babylonians about 4,000 years ago. However, unlike the modern-day New Year, the Babylonian New Year began in the spring. This may seem strange to many Westerners, but when you consider that spring is the season of rebirth, it is in fact quite logical. In 153 BC, the Romans were the first in Europe to select January 1 as New Year's Day because that was the day when newly elected6 officials took office. The rest of Europe continued to celebrate New Year in spring until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII made some changes to the old calendar. The celebration of New Year was officially moved to January 1 because the Pope named the first day of this new calendar New Year's Day. Nowadays, people all around the world throw parties to see in the New Year. In the United States, more than a million people visit Times Square in New York City to see the famous “Times Square Ball Drop,” and those who can't be present often watch the event on TV. At 10 seconds before midnight, the countdown begins: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six . . . And as the clock strikes 12, whistles are blown, people honk car horns, fireworks are set off, and everyone cheers and kisses his or her loved ones (or sometimes even a stranger). In addition, it is traditional at this time for people to make New Year's resolutions. These are often personal objectives, such as planning to lose weight or quit smoking. Now, you may wonder when making New Year's resolutions became a tradition. You guessed it! It was 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians! 「新年快樂！」是國曆一月一日時常聽見的一句話。這一天中，大多數西方人都會慶祝嶄新一年的開始。慶祝新年是世界上最古老的節慶活動之一，約四千年前，巴比倫人率先慶祝新年。然而，不像現代的新年，巴比倫人的新年始於春季，許多西方人可能會對此感到奇怪，但只要想到春季是重生的季節，其實還頗有邏輯的。 西元前153 年時，羅馬人是歐洲最早選擇一月一日成為元旦的民族， 因為那天是新科官員的就職日。其餘的歐洲國家都於春季慶祝新年，直 到1582 年教宗額我略十三世更改了舊制曆法後才有所改變。在教宗將新 曆第一天立為元旦後，人們正式將新年的慶祝活動移到一月一日。 現在世界各地的人們會舉辦派對以迎接新年。在美國，超過一百萬 人會前往紐約市的時代廣場去看知名的「時代廣場降球儀式」，而無法 親自到場的人們則通常會透過電視觀賞該活動。 在午夜前十秒鐘時，人們會開始倒數：十、九、八、七、六......。 當午夜鐘聲響起，人們會吹起哨子、鳴響汽車喇叭並放起煙火，大家都 高聲歡呼並親吻親朋好友（有時候甚至會親陌生人）。 除此之外，在這個時刻立下新年新希望是項傳統。這些新希望通常 是個人目標，像是計劃減肥或戒菸。你現在可能想知道立下新年新希望 是在何時成為傳統的，你猜的沒錯，這跟4,000 年前的古巴比倫人有關！ | 
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