The days of January are some of the bleakest days of the entire year. I mean that figuratively as well as literally with January being one of the coldest months for many across the United States, yet being able to also manage to drag on for what seems like forever. The 31 days of January somehow manage to feel like a hundred. Every. Single. Year.

This seems kinda counterproductive, considering the beginning of the year is considered to be the ideal time to start anew. How can you fulfill your thousands of New Year’s resolutions when every 24 hours feels like hell has frozen over and we all are living in it.

Maybe this is a sign that what we deem New Year’s day should change. The first day of the year should be uplifting, feel good, and begin the next twelve months on a good note. That is why I believe March should be the month to start off our year.

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History Agrees

This calendar I mentioned, the one that starts the new year in March, was actually followed in the past for many years and was referred to as the Roman calendar. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars, to symbolize the start of the military campaign season, Romans followed this calendar which consisted of only ten months, ending in December with a period of unorganized time where January and February are now.

The reason for this is because in ancient times, nothing was more important than agriculture. To bring good tidings to the next trip around the sun, they would start their new year around the time spring starts, which happened to be March.

Even the origins of zodiac signs are based on the year beginning in March, with the first sign, Aries, starting on March 21. It is marked by the Spring Equinox – which in astrology represents new beginnings and fresh starts. Now I am not an astrology girl, but they definitely got one thing right by deciding March is the time for clean slates.

The Season Reason

January is notably more depressing than other months due to less hours of sunlight, colder weather, and the end of prolonged social interaction that comes with the holiday season. Starting the new year off here is just bringing seasonal depression, chilling weather, and bloated bodies from the holidays into the new year.

This is not the case with March. Ever notice how you are not filled with dread and despair when you wake up in March? Maybe it has something to do with the fact there actually is sun outside, unlike in January – which contains the shortest days of the year. It is not some high power that improves your mood as March approaches. It really is just human nature to, you know, want sun and warmth.

Also, keep in mind the seasons of the year are almost divided perfectly with the Roman calendar, instead of splitting the season of winter in half with the Gregorian calendar. Spring starts on March 20, making it the perfect time for us to welcome the new year the same time trees welcome their flowers blossoming.

Leaping and Counting

The organization and naming of the months we use today also make more sense if the year would begin in March, considering their creation was during the time of the Roman calendar and not the Gregorian one. 

If the year started in March, the prefixes in the month’s name will finally make sense. The “Octo” in the beginning of October seems misplaced as the tenth month of the year. But when March becomes the first month of the year, October turns into the eighth month of the year, living up to its name. For the months September, October, November, December, and even April, the numbers these months represent can finally be the number month they are. 

And last but not least: February. Does it not make sense that the month with both the least number of days and the extra day that is added every four years is put in at the end of the year? Imagine how hyped you would be for the last month of the year knowing that it only has 28, or at the most 29, days you need to suffer through.

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Waking up in the morning now is almost perfect, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining through the window, and my existential dread has suddenly vanished. All the same, March is not the beginning of our year and may never be. The reality is, it is pretty hard to change our system of time we have been using for centuries. Yet, I cannot help but mourn what could have been a more sensible start of the new year. 

Perhaps if the calendar never changed, people would be more successful in fulfilling their new year resolutions, feel good going into the new year, and not have to wait to feel the sun for the first time in the year for two wearisome months. Nonetheless, March will always be January in my heart.