### Beginning of the Year
The practice of beginning the years of the common era on January 1, according to the modern style (mos) or style of the Circumcision, which is now universally adopted among all Christian peoples, was not immediate, as might be thought, but was gradually imposed and at different times until it completely replaced other styles in European countries. However, previously, even in many places where another system was in force for the beginning of the legal year, January 1 was considered the first day of the current year. The process of replacing the modern style in Italy began to take shape after 1450 (though it was already in use in Reggio Emilia as early as 1379); from the 16th century onward in the rest of Europe. The consistent practice of this style began in Italy in 1459 in the ducal chancery of Milan; in 1476 in Alessandria, Como, Crema, Genoa, and Liguria, Novara, Pavia; in 1486 in Modena, but only among some notaries; in 1510 in Lucca; in 1582 in Rome under the pontificate of Gregory XIII, the reformer of the calendar; in the early 1600s in Sicily; in 1750 in all Tuscan cities by virtue of an edict issued on November 20, 1749, by Grand Duke Francis I of Lorraine to remedy the confusion caused by the use of different styles in public acts, as explained by Zobi in his *Storia Civile della Toscana dal MDCCXXXVII al MDCCCCLXVIII* (I, Florence 1850, pp. 294-95). For France, the practice began in 1568 by virtue of the Paris edict (art. 39) of 1563, issued by Charles IX: interrupted in 1793 when the republican calendar came into force, it was restored by Napoleon I on December 31, 1805; for Germany after 1560 during the reign of Ferdinand I; for England and Ireland in 1752, introduced by Lord Chesterfield; for Spain and Portugal at the end of the 1500s; for Holland from 1576 with a proclamation by the Duke of Requesens on June 16, 1575; for Russia in 1725; for Sweden in 1559; for Switzerland in 1575; for Denmark in 1700, definitively replacing the custom prevalent in many places of beginning the year on August 11, the feast of St. Tiburtius.
1. **Style of the Wind** (*more vento* or simply indicated by the initials *m. v.*), so called because it was officially adopted for the legal year in the documents of the Republic of Venice until its fall in 1797. It computed the year starting from March 1, thus being two months behind the modern style; therefore, all acts dated from January 1 to February 28 or 29 had to be carried over to the following year. Outside Venice, this system is found in France, first under the Merovingians and perhaps again in the 10th century during the reign of Henry I; in Benevento in the 12th century and in Sicily during the Arab domination.
2. **Style of the Incarnation or Annunciation** (*anno dominicae incarnationis* or *ab incarnatione Domini*, "year of the Lord's Incarnation"), which began the year on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. This style was widely used in France from very ancient times, later perhaps employed in the royal chancery from the 11th century; in French Flanders, for example, and in Artois, it is found from the second half of the 9th century onward. Outside France, it is found mainly in Holland and Belgium; in Germany, it was limited to the city of Cologne; in the Apostolic Chancery, it was adopted only under the pontificate of Nicholas IV (1288-92). Scattered traces appear toward the end of the 12th century also in England and Ireland.
3. **Style of Easter** (*anno a Pascha* or *ab Incarnatione ante vel post Pascha*), which began the year on Easter Sunday. This style caused considerable confusion because those appending the date did not always take care to distinguish the repetition with the formulas *ante Pascham* or *post Pascham*. The practice of this style found wide diffusion in France from very ancient times, later perhaps employed in the royal chancery from the 11th century; in French Flanders, for example, and in Artois, it is found from the second half of the 9th century onward. Outside France, it is found mainly in Holland and Belgium; in Germany, it was limited to the city of Cologne; in the Apostolic Chancery, it was adopted only under the pontificate of Nicholas IV (1288-92). Scattered traces appear toward the end of the 12th century also in England and Ireland.
4. **Byzantine Style**, so called from Byzantium, where it began to be used, set the beginning of the year on September 1, thus being four months ahead of the modern computation. It was widely used in the southern Italian regions, particularly in what was known as Magna Graecia, especially in Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, for all documents in the Greek language and also for Latin documents dealing with matters with the East.
5. **Style of the Nativity** (*anno a Nativitate* or *anno Nativitatis Domini*) was the style most widely used during the Middle Ages, especially in Italy, although it competed with other styles. It began the year on December 25, Christmas Day, seven days earlier. Due to its extensive use in Rome, both by notaries and private individuals, and in the papal chancery, though not continuously, since John XIII (965-72), it is also known by the dual designation of Roman (not Roman) or papal style (*stilus romanae curiae*). It is found mainly in Alessandria, Crema, Gallarate, Genoa and Ligurian cities, Vercelli until 1476, Bergamo from 1100, Bologna from 1073, Brescia, Modena, Padua, Novara, Pavia from the 12th century, Chiavenna, Mantua, Naples, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Turin, Voghera from the mid-13th century, Como in the 14th century, Ferrara until the 15th century, Milan from the 11th century, in many Tuscan cities, in southern Italy itself, introduced by the Swabian emperors, and in Sicily. Outside Italy, it was widely used in France and especially in Provence from the 11th to the 13th centuries, in Foix in the 12th, in Avignon and Soissons in the 13th, in Languedoc in the 13th and 14th, in the Dauphiné from 1202; in England and Ireland it was used exclusively until 1066, less frequently until the 13th century; in Germany, already adopted in the chancery of the Carolingian emperors, it enjoyed wide following until around 1550; in Spain and Portugal from the end of the 14th century; in Switzerland from 1550 and in Hungary from the mid-13th century; in Denmark and Holland until around 1559.
In other places, the beginning of the year is presented in a more absolute manner, i.e., not divided into different styles or systems as in the common or Christian era, which, however, sought to honor the most salient dates of Our Lord's life, with the exception of the Byzantine style, which only accidentally falls into this category. Thus, for example, the Spanish era or era of the Caesars begins on January 1, the Masonic or era of true light on March 10, the Olympic era on July 10, the era of the founding of Rome on April 21, the era of Diocletian or of the Martyrs on August 29; for the East, the Byzantine or Constantinopolitan era begins the year on September 1, the Mohammedan era (Hegira) on July 16.
For the rites of the beginning of the year, see **NEW YEAR'S DAY**.
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Niccolò Del Re