January 1 is not New Year to other cultures ...

Our translation of bottom text:  "Not all will celebrate tonight (New Year's eve).  Although the impression is of being a universal celebration, other cultures and faiths will not celebrate the arrival of a new year this evening. Aside from the Gregorian calendar, which governs the western world and the most widespread, the Hebrews, the Chinese and the Arab world have another accounting of the years. For them, this is just another night." 

Source:  El Commercio (2010, December 31). Lima, Peru. Retrieved from http://elcomercio.pe/.

The newspaper El Commercio of Lima, Peru had it in the front page feature (above) that, yes, there are other cultures that do not celebrate New Year on 01 January. People like us whose lives are governed by the Gregorian calendar (actually Christian, which replaced the pagan Julian calendar) marked the coming of the New Year last night with the usual merriment and noise, firecrackers and fireworks, and tables heavy with round fruits and favorite special dishes.

The Chinese will have their new year on 03 February, the Hebrews on 29 September, and the Muslims on 26 November, in the Gregorian year 2011. It's going to be year 5772 among the Jews, year 4709 to our Chinese friends, and year 1433 to our Muslim brothers.

It's only the Gregorians who have a fixed-date New Year (01 January). 

The Chinese move it in accordance with their 12-year cycle, and their new year comes either in January or February. The coming one is their Year of the Rabbit; next year, it's going to be Year of the Dragon, and new year will be 23 January.

The Jewish new year is more popular as Rosh Hashanah, a holiday in the United States, which is a moveable feast based on the day of the Passover, a religious event to Christians who read the Old Testament.  The Rosh is on the 163rd day after the first day of the Passover, and the Jewish year 5772 starts on the Gregorian date 29 September 2011.

The Islamic calendar is shorter by 11 to 12 days than the Gregorian, and it is based on lunar and astronomical calculations.

There is also the Buddhist calendar. Among themselves, the Buddhists have different new years, all lunar festivals.  In the Theravadin countries (Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka,Cambodia and Laos), new year is lunar, and it comes three days after the first full moon day in April.  The Thais, Cambodians and Laotians follow the same Buddhist calendar.  In the Mahayana countries (Tibet, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Nepal and Indonesia), the Buddhist New Year starts on the first full moon day in January. Tibetans usually celebrate one month later than the Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese though (Buddhanet, 2010 at http://www.buddhanet.net/festival.htm ).

In the Philippines, tt's not surprising that most of the Pinoy's superstitions about New Year are Chinese-influenced. The Sangleys were trading with this archipelago long before the Spaniards claimed it to be become Las Islas Filipinas.

The Chinese in the Philippines of course celebrate twice--the Gregorian and their own,which would be in February yet. Last night was Manigong Bagong Taon (Happy New Year); next month will be Kung Hei Fat Choi (Gung Hay Fat Choy).

Today (01 January 2011) in numerics is 1-1-11, which elicited the same lucky-number kind of excitement as 10-10-10 (10 Oct 2010) because it also occurs very, very rarely.