The Mexica New Year ( es, Año Nuevo Mexicano or ''Año Nuevo Azteca''; nah, Yancuic Xīhuitl, ) is the celebration of the

new year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

according to the Aztec calendar. The date on which the holiday falls in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

depends on the version of the calendar used, but it is generally considered to occur at sunrise on 12 March. The holiday is observed in some

Nahua The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

communities in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. To celebrate, '' ocote'' (pitch-pine) candles are lit on the eve of the new year, along with fireworks, drumming, and singing. Some of the most important events occur in Huauchinango,

Naupan Naupan Municipality is a municipality in Puebla in south-eastern Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Zongolica Zongolica is a municipality located in the south zone in the State of Veracruz, about 100 km from state capital Xalapa. It has a surface of 63.34 km2. It is located at . The name comes from Nahuatl ''Tzontli-coliuhqui'' 'crafty hair'. ...

, and Xicotepec. The latest and more accepted version was proposed by professor Rafael Tena ( INAH), based on the studies of Durán, Sahagún and Alfonso Caso (

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

). His correlation confirms that the first day of the Mexica year was February 13th according to the old Julian calendar or February 23rd of the current Gregorian calendar. Using the same count, it has been verified the date of the birth of Huitzilopochtli, the end of the year and a cycle or "Tie of the Years," and the New Fire Ceremony, day-sign "1 Tecpatl" of the year "2 Acatl," corresponding to the date February 22nd. This 365-day calendar was corresponded with the solar year, was divided into 18 'months' of 20 days each, plus 5 'nameless' days at the end of the year. Also, there are some codices that show the existence of the leap year. Folio 7r Codex Telleriano-Ramensis (1562-1563), Bibliotheque Nacionale de France. Ms Mex 385, 1995.

References

{{New Year by Calendar Folk festivals in Mexico Indigenous culture of Mexico New Year celebrations March observances Cultural festivals in Mexico Fireworks events in North America Festivals in Mexico Spring (season) events in Mexico