Today December is considered as the last month of the year throughout the world and so 1st January is celebrated as the beginning of the new year. So far as the Vaidik culture in Bhaarat is concerned, it doesn't celebrate January as the beginning of the year, rather as per Bhaarateeya calculations Vara Pratipadaa (first day of the year) falls either on the day of Vernal Equinox or Winter Solstice or Summer Solstice. As such a curious mind may a ask a question why there is a difference regarding the commencement of new year as per the Indian view and the view of the rest of world.

Here the answer lies in observing scientific and non-scientific attitudes. This difference also reflects the advancement of science and scientific awareness during Vaidik age. The Vaidik people had enjoyed science and scientific notions to the extent that various rites, rituals, social traditions were developed and organized scientifically in the light of the scientific laws / awareness persisted in that period. Interestingly, in the Vaidik period, science was described and defined by the term Dharm. Dharm had different connotations in different scientific contexts. It stood for the scientific laws sustaining universal creation so far as physical and astrophysical sciences are concerned. In the context of metaphysical sciences, Dharm denoted the moral and spiritual laws sustaining the bio-life in this universe. To the Vaidik seer everything that was in accordance with Dharm was acceptable and everything standing against Dharm was not acceptable. That is why, there became prevalent the concepts of Dharm and A-Dharm. Dharm was never taken in the sense of religion or religious sects as we do it today. The above cited Vaidik notion of Dharm has been pointed out by Yaaska, one of the leading ancient Vaidik scholars, in one of his observations as follows :  sakat ktdharmaaaee ayo babhavuee (Nirukt, 1.20) "That is there were born ÿis who visualized universal laws of nature in the form of Ved."

Following the same Vaidik notion of Dharm and A-Dharm , Dayanand Saraswati, a living embodiment of Vaidik life and thought in the middle of the 50th century of Kali era (19th century of Christ) announced in the fifth principle of Aarya Samaaj : "All the acts should be done in accordance with Dharm ie after deliberation of what is true (scientific) and what is not true (unscientific). Thus the concept of Dharma was having a notion of science behind it, and the same was the very basis of Vaidik life and thought. That is the reason why, all sorts of Vaidik traditions and rituals reflect a kind of scientific attitude of Vaidik people and conveys some scientific significance behind them. The same thing holds true with regard to the traditions inherited by modern Indian society from their Vaidik ancestors.

Now coming to the very question of celebrating the New Year. I have no hesitation to say that howsoever scientifically advanced and developed has become the modern society, it has not come out of its narrow confines of communalism, regionalism, racism and fundamentalism. It is using science in the scientific field and in its personal or social life it is using sectarian and social biases and taboos howsoever unscientific they may be. The old paradigm (ie so far as science is concerned, the Earth moves round the Sun and so far as Bible is concerned, Sun moves round the Earth) is still haunting us. So called modern society is still living with double standards. On one hand we claim to be scientifically advance, on the other hand we want to be dwarfed by the narrow sentiments of communalism, regionalism, racism and fundamentalism. We have not yet started living science in our personal and social life which is governed by the above slogans. Until and unless we do so, we will continue to fight and terrorize each other in the name of various -isms. If we want to get rid of all these problems, we shall have to go back to the Ved, which was once the way of life on the whole Globe.

Vaidik society was the society which lived a life according to Dharm (science). It was not ridden with any sort of taboos governed by any sort of -ism. It tried to live what was Dhaarmik or scientific and shunned what was considered to be opposite to Dharm, ie unscientific. We people in the modern age are undoubtedly using science for our convenience and comforts but are living superstitions, delusions, biases of all kind, hypothetical and preconceived notions ignoring science. Whereas Vaidik people enjoyed science as well as lived science in their lives. The modern world owes a lot to the Ved and Vaidik tradition in spite of its highest scientific advancement. That is why, which cannot be known with the help of modern science, can easily be unraveled with the help of extant Vaidik traditions.

The concept of new year is the glaring example of the above observation. In the early periods, Vaidik calendar system was uniformly prevalent all over the Globe, there being only one Vaidik culture prevalent on the Earth. Later on when the Vaidik people on the entire Globe began to loose their contact with their mainstream in Bhaarat for want of accessibility from one region to another, there started developing variations and changes in the actual Vaidik heritage inherited by people on the various parts of the Globe owing to their particular personal, regional or other reasons.

Thus looking back to Ved we would be able to ascertain the origin and development of calendar system of the world. As indicated earlier, the calendar system in the world was first discovered by Vaidik people during the Vaidik age. Vaidik people were also the first discoverer of the time calculation system in the world. They discovered both solar and lunar calendars. Later they also discovered a Luni-solar calendar based on harmonization of lunar and solar cycles.

This Vaidik calendar was known as Luni-solar or Synodic Lunar calendar, being based on the synthesis of both lunar and solar cycles. A lunation or a Lunar month has a length of 29.530588 days or roughly 29.5 days based upon moon's revolution round the earth. This period of 29.5 days is divided in the subdivisions with round figures of 30 Tithi. Tithi was considered a day. Thus if we divide 29.5 days by 30 Tithi, the quotient will be .983 which shows that the Tithi is shorter by day by .017 days (1 - .983=.017) or .408 hours (.017 x 24=.408) or 24.48 minutes (.408 x 60 = 24.48). Similarly the length of a Lunar month (29.5 days) comes shorter by solar month (365.25 x 12 = 30. 4375 days) by .9375 days (30.4375 - 29. 5 = .9375) or 22.5 hours.

On the other hand, we can say that with the passing of one Synodic (solar) month, a lunation (lunar month) stands in excess of .9375 days or 22.5 hours and so with every 32.46 or say 32.5 solar months exceeds one lunar month. This excess or intercalated month was called Adhik Maas or Mal Maas during Vaidik age. vedamaaso dhtavrato dwaadaa pragyaavataee vedaa ya upajaayate. (Rig Ved 1.25.8) "That is the knower of the natural laws, knows the twelve months and the intercalary month."

The calendars formulated on this principle register dual months like two Pauas, two Maghas, etc after 32.5 months and dropped the second intercalated month thereafter to allow the lunar months go in line with Synodic months. This was one of the method applied in formulating the Synodic Lunar calendar in the Vaidik tradition.

Another method was developed in view of duration of Tithi in Lunar and Solar years. This method used to be applied in the Rig Vaidik tradition as pointed out by ÿgjyotia . Accordingly, if the length of month and year are measured in Tithis , the Lunar year has a duration of 30 x 12 = 360 Tithi or 354 Solar days (29.5 x 12 = 354). If we divide 360 Tithi by 354 Solar days (360/354) we get that one solar day is equal to 1.0169 Tithi. Thus a Solar year will have (1.0169 x 365.25 = 371.09) Tithi, as compare to 360 Tithi of a Lunar year.

Thus a Solar year has 371.09-360=11.09 Tithi extra than a Lunar year, which is called ÿtuea in Vedaang Jyotish . On the other hand we can fairly say that with the passing of one Solar year, one Lunar year stands in excess of 11.09 Tithi. At the end of each Solar year, this ÿtuea of 11.09 Tithi gets added and ultimately when the total of Tithis exceeds 30, they constitute an additional month. Vaidik people found out that the exact harmony of Lunar and Solar years takes place after 19 years where 7 such additional Lunations takes place. For instance, total Tithi of solar year in 19 years will be 371.09x19=7049. 95 and of Lunar year be 360x19=6840. The excess Tithi of Lunar cycle in 19 years are 7049.95-6840= 209.95 days. This number is exactly equal to seven additional months, ie 30x7= 210 days.

Perhaps these results inspired some schools of Ved, as is obvious from Lagadh's Vedaanga Jyotia, to frame a Yug of 19 years with one leap year in each Yug. Lagadha also records 18 years with 371 Lunar days and the 19th year with 372 Lunar days. Thus we see that some schools of Vaidik thought observed a 19 year Yug cycle consisting of 235 Synodic Lunar months.

We also find the above method of harmonizing the Luni-Solar calendar, in addition to 19, into the multiple of 19, such as 95 years in the Yaajua tradition of Ved. But the 19 years Luni-Solar cycle remained a popular base.

Here it may also be noted that the time calculations based on Lunar and Solar cycles led to the origin of Lunar Dynasties and Solar Dynasties among the Vaidik people in Bhaarat. Vaidik civilization in Bhaarat is the oldest civilization on the Earth. The Vaidik people from Bhaarat were the first people who inhabited the entire Globe at various phases of times. These migrations from Bhaarat to various parts of Globe took place in the early ages as well as after nuclear and atomic war of Mahaabhaarat. High radiation generated due to the nuclear war of Mahaabhaarat compelled the people from Northern parts of Bharat to migrate to safer places. Thus wherever the Vaidik people spread on the Earth, they took along with them their Vaidik heritage. Today also Vaidik people on the various parts of Globe can be identified with the remnants of the Vaidik heritage they are carrying along with them. For instance, the Vaidik migrants from the Solar Dynasties to Egypt are still known as the people belonging to Hemitic race and Vaidik migrants from Lunar dynasties are keeping their history of migration alive in the name of Semitic races in China, Arab, Babylon, Syria, Mangolia, Irak, Iran, Tartar, and Judea.

The languages of Semitic people are known as Semitic ones and Hemitic people as Hemitic ones. The word Hema has corrupted from Soorya or Hema as helios. The renowned city of Sun in Egypt is known as "Helispolis" and the first king of Egypt "Menes" came from the race of Sun, Vaivaswat Manu. According to Pococke, the writer of India in Greece (P. 178) edited by the present author as "Indian Origin of Greece and Ancient World", first king of Egypt was associated to the Manu Vaivaswat of Patriarch of the solar race. Thus the entire Bhaarat was divided into lunar and solar dynasties and the entire world also got divided into Hemitic and Semitic races according to the Solar or Lunar class of the migratory people from Bhaarat. That is why, the entire world is having the signatures of Vaidik tradition carried either by the emigrants from Lunar race or the Solar race.

Same is the case with the calendar systems prevalent in various countries. In China the descendants of King Pururavaa (According to Col. Tod, Annals of Rajasthan , Vol. 1. p. 35, "The Genealogists of China and Tartary" declare themselves to be the descendants of "Awar" son of Hindu King "Pururavaa") carried along with them the 19-year Luni-Solar cycle consisting of 235 Lunations which represented the 19-year Yug of 235 Synodic Lunar months developed by Vaidik people.

Yadu people of Lunar race of Bhaarat now known as Jews migrated to Judea after the great war of India (According to Pococke, India in Greece , p.22) "The Tribe of Yudha" is, in fact, the very Yadu of which considerable notice has been taken in my previous remarks. According to Col. Tod, Tod's Rajasthan, p. 529, "The Annals of the Yadus of Jaisalmer" state that long anterior to Vikram, they held dominion from Ghazani to Samarkand). They also carried along with them the Vaidik concept of Luni-Solar calendar based on 19-year cycle with intercalations in 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19 years. The intercalation is made in the months of Adar (February-March).

Vaidik emigrants in Babylonia (According to "Historical History of the World", vol.1, p. 89) "The name of Babylonian storm God was Matu or Martu which, as we have seen, was the same as the Vaidik Marut and must have been taken by the Pais and Cholas (of ancient Bhaarat) to Baylonia. Robert Brown says, "This stellar and originally solar Ram stands at the head of the 10 ante-diluvian Babylonion kings...'. See "Origin of Week" by Sham Shastri published in "Annals of Bhandarkar Institute" vol. iv, Part 1, July 1922)] also used to bring lunar year of 354 days into line with Solar year of approximately 365 days. This was accompanied by the use of intercalated month. The special name given to intercalated month was "iti diring". But due to loss of memory and for want of connection with the mainstream in Bhaarat, the intercalation was operated haphazardly according to real or imagined needs and each Sumerian city intercalated months at its will. Later in 380 BC they succeeded in computing an almost perfect equivalence in a Luni-Solar cycle of 19 years and 235 months with intercalations in the years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19 of the cycle.

The emigrants of Lunar Dynasty in Arab (the name Arab is derived from Sanskrit "arva" meaning horse) followed the Lunar cycle only for their calendar totally ignoring the solar cycle. The Vaidik migrants in Greek (considerable evidences of emigration of Indians to Greece have been given by the author of India in Greece) also used a Lunar calendar consistent with Solar days. They completed the year in 354 days with 12 lunar months, alternatively consisting of 30 days and 29 days. But they lost the heritage and missed the seasons. King Solan therefore tried to introduce an intercalary month to harmonize the Lunar year with seasons, but he was unsuccessful.

In Egypt, the Vaidik emigrants (according to Col Olcott, Theosophist for March 1881, p. 123, "We have a right to more than suspect that India, 8,000 years ago, sent a colony of emigrants who carried their arts and high civilization into what is now known as Egypt.) from Solar dynasty used solar calendar. They kept their heritage intact and remembered that an year consists of 365 days. They divided the year in 12 months consisting of 30 days each, and added 5 days at the end of year. Yet the seasons rotated in a cycle of 1,460 years due to a mistake of about 1/4 day in an year, because 365x4=1460 years. Modern astronomers call the period of 1460 years as Sothic cycle.

Introduction of Months
The Parasoos, the people of Parasu Raam from Bhaarat who migrated to Persia (India in Greece, p 45), also remembered the year of 365 days and so they also used to add 5 days after an interval of 360 days to constitute an year of 365 days. Vaidik emigrants in Rome (Both among Greeks and Romans - the descendants of colonists from India, continued, specially amongst the latter people down to and throughout the most historical periods. "India in Greece, p. 142) totally forget this division of zodiac in 12 parts. They used to count 10 months in a year and left some days uncounted. They begin with a fresh year with Full Moon in spring season as was in their memory. The names of their months were still driven from their original language, the Sanskrit, such as unus from eka, duo from dvau, tria from traya, quinque from pancha, sex from a , septem from Sapt, octo from aau, noven from navan, decem from daan. The presently extant names like September, October, November and December clearly substantiate this fact.

The term Ambar is indicative of zodiac in the Sanskrit language. These 12 zodiac signs were known as 12 Ambar / Raashi or stars and as a result, the names of months were coined by suffixing Ambar / Amber to the numbers. With the passage of time, first to six months were renamed either after some historical personalities or some specific historical events, though the last four months survived in their original form signaling their very origin to the Vaidik system.

The Romulian calendar consisting of 10 months beginning from March as the first month up to December as last month remained in vogue till 452 BC when Numa Pompilius introduced the custom of inserting 23 days at the interval of two years. But the introduction of 23 days became the bone of contention between the religious heads. This was at last removed by Julius Caesar who with the help of Cleopatra, the empress of Egypt reformed the Romulian calendar after the fashion of Egyptian calendar. This reform was known as Julian reform or Julian arrangement of calendar.

The history goes like this. Cleopatra was the empress of Egypt. She was Greek by birth and belonged to the dynasty founded by Tolami, a commander of Alexander. Following the death of Alexander, Ptolemy declared his domain over Egypt. Cleopatra was from his dynasty. She was born in 3033 Kali era or 68 BC. Following the death of her father Ptolemy, the 11th, she took over the reign of Egypt along with her brother Ptolemy, the 12th, but she was overthrown by her brother in the war of succession. She formed an army in Cypress and tried to recapture power. In the meantime, defeated by Caesar and fled to Egypt a brave soldier named Pompeii was guillotined by Ptolemy. With the view to please Caesar he (Ptolemy) presented his body to Caesar, but Caesar got annoyed at this. To make a good use of this event, Cleopatra, hiding herself in the precious carpets purchased by Romans, met Caesar and he was also taken in by her exquisite beauty. He captured the regime from Ptolemy and handed it over to Cleopatra. Afterwards, both Caesar and Cleopatra roamed about the banks of the river Nile for many weeks.

Cleopatra gave birth to a child who was named as Caesarean, ie the Junior Caesar. When the queen of Egypt started the domiciliation of the palace of Rome as a queen - dowager, the artisans, economists and astrologers were sent for from Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Roman taxation system was reformed and a new currency was introduced. Roman calendar was also amended by dividing the whole year into 365 days by adding two more months to the already existing 10 months, after the fashion of Egyptian calendar. Since the time of Julius Caesar (46 BC), the Roman calendar used to have 12 months with the new year commencing with March as the first amber (month).

March continued to be the beginning or the legal year in England until 18th century. In France, it was reckoned as the first month of the year until 1564, when by an edict of Charles IX, January was decreed to be the first month, so that the year may end with December, the month of Jesus Christ's birth. Scotland followed the example of France.

The history goes further and we are told that during this arrangement, the Quintilis Amber (fifth month of Romulian calendar) was named July by the Egyptian astronomers to felicitate Julius Caesar, as he was born on 12th of this month. This month was also assigned 31 days, since Caesar was the most powerful king of Rome. On the other hand Caesar also, in turn, felicitated Cleopatra by constructing a temple of Goddess of Venus. Ill-luckily, Caesar died after two years in 44 BC and Cleopatra had to return to her kingdom, Egypt. Later Julius Augustus also named the sixth Amber (sixtilis) after his name as August and also assigned 31 days to his month, since he considered himself no less brave than Julius Caesar.

Similarly, the first amber was named as Mars or March after the god of war. Actually, this was not only the beginning of the year, but was the open spring season for waging war. That was why, it was named after Mars, the god of war. "Mars" being the powerful god was also assigned 31 days.

The second amber, April, was named after Latin aperire 'to open' in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers beginning to "open" and is supported by comparison with the modern Greek word "opening" for spring. It was given fourth place in Julian calendar.

The third amber was named Maius by Romulus in respect to the senators and nobles of his city, who were called Majores. Being associated with Majores, it was also given 31 days. It became the fifth in Julian calendar, which later came to be known as May.

The fourth amber was called Junius in the honor of the youths of Rome (ie Juniares) who served Romulus in war. Junius later came to be known as June.

Januarius (January) and Februarius (February) were added at the end as 1th and 12th Amber to the series by Numa Pompilius. Though in Julian arrangement their place was changed otherwise and they were considered to be the first and second months of the year. In fact, the name January is also identifiable with Sanskrit Ganesh. Ganesh of Indian tradition is known as Janus in Roman tradition. Since Ganesh is the symbol of beginning of every act in Indian tradition, the month named after Janus as Januarius was also used by Romans as the beginning of the year.

February was spelled by the Romans as Februarius. That also came from Sanskrit Pravar, meaning sage or seer. Thus Pravaresh being the Lord of sages. We know that Sanskrit 'p' was replaced by 'f' in Europe. Consequently Pravaresh became Februarius in Roman. So the term Pravaresh alias Februarius signified God as the Lord of the sages.

This is the actual history of the two months added to the Julian calendar. In practical sense they still continue to be the last months. Since all the additions and subtractions are made to the last member of the series. February, being the last one, always adds a day in case of a leap year. From the foregoing discussion it can unhesitatingly be inferred that all the English months can be traced back to Sanskrit via Greek, Roman and Egyptian ones.

However, the above discussion sheds an ample good light on how the scientific arrangement of months of an year done by Vaidik people got an unscientific and communal coloring at the hands of their emigrant in Europe and else where. The assignment of 31 or 30 days too to various months of the year was done in tune with the slogans of "Might is right" ignoring any justification or norms. Similarly the assignment of the status of the last (12th) month to the 10th month simply because Jesus Christ was born in that month shows the communal bias of Christians to Christianize the whole world or allow the whole world to celebrate and practice the Christian traditions in disguised forms. Here it may not be out of context to inform everybody, even to our Christian brothers, that the word Christ-mas does not signify the birth day of Christ, but the month of the birth of Christ. Since - mas is formed from Sanskrit term "maas" meaning "month".

In Vaidik times, the measurement of month didn't owe either to rotation or revolution of the Earth but it owed to the Moon's revolution round the Earth. The following statement of Rig Vaidikc ÿi is noteworthy:
aruo maasakd vkaee (RV  1.105.18)  -  Moon is the maker of months.
Yaska's commentary is noteworthy here.
aruaee Aarocano maasakn maasaanaa caardha  maasaanaa ca kartaa bhavati chandramaa vkaee
That is, Moon is the maker of months and fortnights.

In fact, the term Maas is formed from -mas of Chandra-maas itself. Maas means to measure - Maasaa Maanaat (Nirukt, 4.27). Since the Moon measures the constellations in the sky, the action of measuring is associated with Moon. Keeping in view the same measuring action, Greeks called it the Moon.

Here it would not be out of context to know as to how the Lunar months were named in Indian tradition. Months in Indian tradition were formed on the basis of Moon's revolution round the Earth. Similarly, names of the months were also given after the asterism which comes into conjunction with Moon at the end of Poornimaa , the Full Moon day. For instance name of the month Chaitra has been given on the basis of conjunction of Moon with Chitraa constellation after the full Moon day. Here one more thing may be remembered that when Moon is in conjunction with a particular constellation at the end of Poornimaa, the Sun is housed 180 degree apart from the Moon or say right opposite to Moon. Thus when the Sun is in Ashwinee constellation, Moon will be in Chitraa at the end of Poornimaa and the month's name will also be Chaitra after Chitraa. Thus one can see during the long span of time the calculation of year and its months came down to us in its most scientific form without any communal, regional, personal, racial or other type of bias.