New Year's day ", "yuan" refers to the beginning, is the first point, the beginning of every number is called "yuan";" Denier, "pictographs, the" day "on behalf of the sun, the" a "represents the horizon below." Denier "that the sun rises from the horizon, symbolizes the beginning of a day. People call" yuan "and" denier "two words together, to start on the first day of the New Year. New Year's day is also called" three yuan ", namely, the yuan, the yuan, at the time of yuan. New Year's day is a word begins with the earliest three sovereigns, tang fang xuanling and others write the Book of Jin upload: "xu emperor for Meng Chun in yuan, at that time is: New Year's day in the spring. "That call on the yuan, the first for the denier. Southern liang people LanZiYun dielectric jas poem or cloud:" new New Year's day, four gas Wan Shouchu today. "
There is a legend, is over 4000 years ago the ancient rao war, yao right in diligent people do a lot of good things for the people, is popular with the masses of the people love, but because his son was not out, he didn't pass "son of heaven" the throne to his son, but rather to shun the character can have both. Yao to shun said: "you in the future must hand getting the devotee, wait for after I die also can be at ease with open eyes." Shun later put mercy to flood active yu, yu also like shun his populist did a lot of good for the people, are very popular. After the death of the yao people later ShunDi sacrifice to heaven and earth and emperor yao first on that day, as the day of the beginning of the year, called the homonym for "New Year's day", or "yuan", this is the ancient New Year's day.
元旦”的“元”，指開始，是第一的意思，凡數之始稱為“元”;“旦”，象形字，上面的“日”代表太陽，下面的“一”代表地平線。“旦”即太陽從地平線上冉冉升起，象征一日的開始。人們把“元”和“旦”兩個字結合起來，就引申為新年開始的第一天。元旦又稱“三元”，即歲之元、月之元、時之元。元旦一詞最早始于三皇五帝，唐房玄齡等人寫的《晉書》上載:“顓帝以孟春正月為元，其時正朔元旦之春。”即把正月稱為元，初一為旦。南朝梁人蘭子云的《介雅》詩也云:“四氣新元旦，萬壽初今朝。”
還有個傳說，是在4000多年前遠古的堯舜盛世之時，堯天子在位時勤政于民為百姓辦了很多好事，很受廣大百姓愛戴，但因其子無才不太成器，他沒把“天子”的皇位傳給自己的兒子，而是傳給了品德才能兼備的舜。堯對舜說:“你今后一定要把帝位傳交好，待我死后也可安心瞑目了。”后來舜把帝位傳給了治洪水有功的禹，禹亦像舜那樣親民愛民為百姓做了很多好事，都十分受人愛戴。后來人們把堯死后，舜帝祭祀天地和先帝堯的那一天，當作一年的開始之日，把正月初一稱為“元旦”，或“元正”，這就是古代的元旦。
