New Year's Reason

The ancient Babylonians began the year with spring.
(OK, the first new moon thereof would be the closest thing.)
The Romans followed suit by starting off on March the 1st,
Still early for the equinox, but hey, it could be worse.

Alas, they had no designated months beyond December.
I bet the days until that March were tricky to remember.
Then Numa, second king of Rome, appended two months more.
They formed the end at first, so why do those now come before?

It seems the lunar calendar was still a slipping mess,
And Julius Caesar found a solar version a success.
As long as he was changing things, he sought a new beginning,
And Janus, God of doorways, made an easy underpinning,

So January thus became the first month of the year.
It also lined up well with folks’ political careers,
For consuls entered office on that very starting day.
(You’d think they saw it coming from a country mile away.)

But when Rome fell, some countries chose another day to start.
The Feast of the Annunciation spoke to Christian hearts,
So many parts of Europe went for March the 25th.
They thought it bad to pick a day that’s based in pagan myth.

Pope Gregory saw fit to change the calendar again.
The Protestants and Orthodox resisted him, but then
They found his system practical. And that, my friends, is why
Most nations have the January starting date apply.