While the start of the liturgical calendar is the first Sunday of Advent, January 1 remains a popular global holiday for celebrating the new year. (It has Christian origins, too, since the Gregorian calendar was introduced by introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582). Many churches especially those in Wesleyan traditions, hold watchnight services on New Year’s Eve. Other Christians (even those averse to similar abstaining seasons, like Lent) join in the traditional effort to make and keep New Year’s resolutions.