Step 1 : Introduction to the question "Where did the earliest recorded festivities to honor the arrival of a new year take place?"
Festivals in ancient Rome were an important part of Roman religious life during both the Republican and Imperial eras, and one of the primary features of the Roman calendar. Feriae ("holidays" in the sense of "holy days"; singular also feriae ...
Obon Festival. A traditional Buddhist festival, Obon commemorates lost ancestors, whose spirits are believed to come back during Obon to visit relatives. Sometimes called the Japanese Day of the Dead, Obon was traditionally celebrated during the seventh lunar month, around the 15th day.
Step 2 : Answer to the question "Where did the earliest recorded festivities to honor the arrival of a new year take place?"
4,000 years ago in Babylon:
The first recorded festivities to honor the arrival of a new year date back to the Babylonians some 4,000 years ago. The celebration began with the first new moon after the spring Equinox. This comes every year in late March when the Earth receives an equal amount of sunlight and darkness. The Babylonians marked the new year with an enormous 11-day religious festival called Akitu filled with a variety of rituals. Source: History.com