Can you imagine watching the countdown crystal ball drop in New York’s Times Square in March? That would be possible if most of the world didn’t adopt the modern calendar, which starts on January 1st. The oldest recorded New Year celebrations date back to 2000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, now Iraq. This festival is called “akitu” and lasts for up to 12 days, starting with the first new moon after the spring equinox (the day when day and night equal each other), usually in March. For the Babylonians of the time, the festival marked the coronation of a new king or the reaffirmation of loyalty to the current king. The…