It kind of was the restoration of an older tradition: http://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start-on-january-1 http://www.britannica.com/story/

It kind of was the restoration of an older tradition: http://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start-on-january-1 http://www.britannica.com/story/why-does-the-new-year-start-... though it is apparently not very clear who exactly started it and why that person did it.