Read Time: 5 min 53 sec | Reading Level: 7th Grade

HISTORY

Solar-Powered Time

Have you ever wondered why we start the year on January 1?

These days, our calendar is based on Earth’s orbit around the sun. But early calendars often followed the moon’s phases. Without careful adjustments, lunar months could drift through the seasons. July would end up with winter weather, and January would bring summer’s heat.

So, in 46 B.C., Emperor Julius Caesar took the whole Roman Empire solar. His Julian calendar had 365 days and a leap year every four years (so, 365.25 days per year). January 1st was set as the calendar’s beginning to honor Janus, the Roman god of beginnings.

The Julian calendar was a big improvement, but it wasn’t perfect. It actually takes 365.242199 days for the Earth to orbit the sun, meaning Julius’s calendar would be off by 1 day every 128 years. This time, the Catholic Church stepped in to set the dates straight. 

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII and some mathematicians created the Gregorian calendar. They subtracted some dates and made new rules for leap years. Catholic countries adopted their leader’s calendar quickly, while others took hundreds of years. Great Britain and its colonies didn’t hop on board until 1752! (See who adopted the calendar when.) Frankly, it was a mess.

While many cultures celebrate the new year on different dates (like Lunar New Year in East Asia or Rosh Hashanah in Judaism), the Gregorian calendar is now the international standard for governments.

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CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
A new year often makes us look ahead with resolutions, goals, and the pursuit of new habits. But Scripture reminds us of something even better: new beginnings don’t depend on a calendar date, but on the God who makes everything new. 

“Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!”
Lamentations 3:22-23 (CSB) (read full passage)

What do I want to make sure my kids know in light of this story?
A new year isn’t meaningful just because the calendar changes. 

It’s meaningful because it’s an opportunity to celebrate God’s faithfulness, maintaining order in His creation and sustaining us through all of life’s seasons. The Lord has carried the earth on its path around the sun yet again; He’s seen us through spring, summer, fall, and winter; He’s guided us in the big and in the ordinary parts of our lives.

No matter what this year brings, God walks with us, guides us, and gives us new mercies every single morning. Give thanks for His faithfulness.

What gospel lesson can be taught through this story?
We love dreaming about the “new me” that comes when we change the calendars, make resolutions, and get our fresh dose of willpower at the start of each year. But our willpower can’t quite make us who we want to become. Only the Holy Spirit can truly make us new.

Because of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, we become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Spirit gives us power for a life of love, joy, and peace (Galatians 5:22-23). A new year helps us remember the bigger truth of the gospel: God is making all things new—including us!

• Sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” together, celebrating God’s goodness. Then, as you make your resolutions, consider how the “new year, new you” can align with the new heart God has given you.
   

• Memorize Lamentations 3:22-23, “Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (CSB).
   

• Offer a prayer like this one: “Open our eyes and our hearts, O Lord, to your words and truth… Prepare our bodies for the labors of this year. Give us strength and health to complete them. Prepare our minds for the demands of this year. Grant us clarity, creativity, and discernment. Prepare our souls for those sorrows and joys and celebrations and disappointments we will encounter, that every circumstance would serve only to draw us nearer to You. May our words, our choices, and our actions this year be offered as true expressions of worship.” Every Moment Holy, Volume I, adapted from “The Hours: Daybreak.”

CREAM AND SUGAR

Gen Z Word of the Week: We’re going into 2026 with main character energy.

Family Fun: Want to test your calendar knowledge? Take this quiz (no judgment if you give up after question 10).

Whipped Cream on Top: His New Year's resolution is to eat healthier...

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