In Scotland, 1 January 1600 had been recognised as New Year\'s Day after a decree from James VI. Until 1753, this was not the case in England. Because calendrical reform in the sixteenth century had been advocated by the Pope, Protestant England had refused to comply. Only in 1752 were the Gregorian reforms of 1582 fully accepted in Britain (and the American colonies). As a result, New Year\'s Day was decreed to be 1 January and not 25 March and eleven days were removed from the calendar (3-13 September 1752) to ensure that Britain was co-ordinated with most of the rest of Europe.
|