Different festivals have different origins.
So, let's take a look at what the origin of New Year's Day is.
In China, New Year's Day has always referred to the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar (the lunar calendar).
"Yuan" means "beginning" and "initial", and "dan" refers to "day", so New Year's Day literally means "the initial day", which is the first day of the year. In various Chinese dialects, it has different names, such as "the first day of the first month", "the first day of the great sky", "the first day of the year", and it is generally called "the first day of the first month".
The starting date of the first day of the first month varied greatly before the Han Wudi period. Therefore, the months and days of New Year's Day differed from dynasty to dynasty.
In the Xia Dynasty, the Xia calendar took the first month (January) as the first month. In the Shang Dynasty, the Yin calendar took the twelfth month (December) as the first month. In the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou calendar took the eleventh month (November) as the first month.
After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified China, he took the tenth month (October) as the first month, meaning that the first day of the tenth month was New Year's Day.
It was not until the reign of Emperor Wu of Han that the first month (January) was officially set as the first month, and the first day of the first month (the first day of the first month in the lunar calendar) was called "New Year's Day", which continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty. However, this was the lunar calendar, also known as the lunar or solar calendar, not the New Year's Day we refer to today.
In 1911, Sun Yat-sen led the Xinhai Revolution, overthrew the Qing Dynasty, and established the Republic of China. Representatives from provinces held a meeting in Nanjing and decided to use the Gregorian calendar, calling the first day of the lunar calendar "Spring Festival" and the first day of the Gregorian calendar "New Year's Day". However, it was not officially announced or named at the time. To "follow the Xia calendar to follow the agricultural seasons, and follow the Western calendar to facilitate statistics", the first year of the Republic of China decided to use the Gregorian calendar (actually used in 1912), and stipulated that January 1st of the Gregorian calendar was "New Year", but it was not called "New Year's Day".

Although all countries around the world have New Year's Day, the customs of celebrating New Year's Day vary from country to country.
United Kingdom
On the eve of New Year's Day, every household must ensure that there is wine in the bottle and meat in the cupboard. The British believe that if there is no leftover wine and meat, they will be poor next year. In addition, the British have a custom of "drawing water on New Year's Day", where people try to be the first to draw water, believing that the person who draws the water first is a happy person, and the water drawn is auspicious water.
Scotland
On the eve of the new year, people put some money outside their doors. No one guards it, and thieves and beggars do not touch it on that night. Because of the local custom, on the eve of the new year, people place money outside the door, and the next morning, when the new year arrives, they open the door early and see the money at the door, which means "seeing money immediately" (a wish for wealth).
Germany
During the New Year period, every household in Germany sets up an fir tree and a horizontal tree, with silk flowers tied between the leaves, symbolizing a profusion of flowers and spring in the world.
Belgium
In Belgium, the first thing in the morning on New Year's Day is to greet the animals. People go to the side of cows, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, etc., and solemnly greet these creatures: "Happy New Year!"
Italy
As the night begins to fall, thousands of people gather in the streets, lighting firecrackers and fireworks, even firing real guns. Men and women dance gracefully until midnight. At home, people clean up old things, smash any breakable items in the house, and throw old basins, bottles, and jars into the street, symbolizing getting rid of misfortune and troubles. This is their traditional way of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new one.
France
They celebrate New Year's Day with wine, and people start celebrating and drinking heavily from the eve of the New Year until January 3rd. The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day predicts the conditions of the coming year.
Romania
On the eve of New Year's Day, people set up a tall Christmas tree in the square and build a stage. Citizens burn fireworks while dancing and singing. Farmers pull plows decorated with various colorful flowers to celebrate the New Year.
Switzerland
Swiss people have the habit of exercising on New Year's Day. They go mountain climbing in groups.
Greece
On New Year's Day, every family makes a large cake, inside which a silver coin is placed.
Japan
On the morning of New Year's Day, members of the family go out to welcome the rising sun, then visit the shrine, or greet relatives and friends.