Akitu is an ancient Mesopotamian festival often identified as an early predecessor of New Year’s celebrations.
The festival was celebrated in Babylon and other Mesopotamian cities in honor of the chief god of the local religious system, especially Marduk at Babylon. In Babylon, Akitu was held during the spring month of Nisanu, rather than on January 1. Its ceremonies renewed kingship, reaffirmed the relationship between the gods and the city, and symbolically restored cosmic order.
A major part of the Babylonian festival involved processions between the city’s temples and the Akitu house outside Babylon’s walls. The king participated in formal rites, while the Enūma Eliš creation epic was recited or referenced in the wider ceremonial context.
Akitu was not identical to the modern civil New Year’s Eve. It is considered a predecessor because it combined a calendar transition with public ritual, renewal, authority, and hopes for prosperity. Later cultures developed different dates and customs for beginning the year.