When was the first New Year celebrated?

The celebration of the new year is actually the oldest of all holidays, but it hasn’t always been observed on January 1. Babylonians first celebrated the beginning of the new year about 4000 years ago around 2000 BC. Unlike our holiday today, the Babylonians marked the beginning of the year on what is now March 23 since that is when spring began and crops were planted. They also celebrated for 11 days.