New Year’s Day refers to the day that the New Year begins—January 1.

The day before New Year’s Day is called New Year’s Eve (December 31).

The term New Year commonly refers to the first day or the first few days of a new year starting on January 1, but it’s also used in the context of the beginnings of years that are based on other calendars, such as a Lunar New Year. For example, the Chinese New Year and the Jewish New Year (known as Rosh Hashanah) are both based on lunar calendars. Still, the term New Year’s Day typically refers to January 1.

The term New Year’s can refer to either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. But if someone asks you what you’re doing for New Year’s, they probably want to know what you’re doing on New Year’s Eve, which is traditionally a time for parties and counting down to the New Year. In contrast, New Year’s Day is often a day for relaxing after such celebrations, though people observe it in different ways—or not at all. It is often seen as a time of new beginnings. For some people, it’s when they start to act on their New Year’s resolution, which is a decision to do something or make some change starting in the New Year (especially to change or start some habit or behavior).

In the U.S., New Year’s Day is a federal holiday and is part of what’s known as the holiday season (sometimes called the holidays)—the period that starts on Thanksgiving and continues until New Year’s Day and includes the holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve.

Example: I like to have a low-key New Year’s Day—I’m usually so tired from having stayed up so late the night before!