Was April 1 actually new years day? Apparently. From the Az Star today

[OffWithTheirHeads]

Communities that knew the secret of readily verifiable equinox and solstice marker days would start their new years on the vernal equinox, which was a very rational thing to do, since it could never go wrong when they added or took away a day as needed to keep the equinox on a fixed date.
When chart calendars came into vogue in late Egyptian times, the year was divided into 12 months, suggested by lunar cycles, "moonths" (get it?)
The 12 months were separated into four seasons, one hot season, centered on the summer solstice, two changeable seasons centered on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and one cold season, centered on the winter solstice.
This 12-month, 4-season annual arrangement worked out neatly to six 30-day months alternating with six 31-day months, in a 30-31-30-31- et cetera sequence like we see in September through December.
They picked up the extra quarter day by adding a leap day every fourth year to one of the 30-day months. Since the equinoxes and solstices were four reliable markers the chart-calendar originators placed them on the first day of their assigned months, April, July, October, and January, but nature was not kind to their efforts to organize.
It turns out that 365 1/4 days is a tiny bit long for an astronomical solar year, so the equinox and solstice days would be seen to slip back, happening earlier and earlier in the years as their calendar grew older.
In fact, they would slip back one whole day every 128 years.
The vernal equinox, the most reliable marker, had been assigned to April first by the original calendar authors, but by the time of Julius Caesar it was happening about two weeks early, near the ides of March.
But New Year's Day was still April 1, which was a time of raucous joy and gift-giving. March was considered the "first month" because in Roman times it contained the actual visible vernal equinox.

Snip...

The pope's new calendar added some tiny details like the one we all felt on Feb. 29 in the year 2000, which was the only centennial Feb. 29 since the year 1600, the other three having no leap year.
That tiny tweak gives us several thousand more years of smooth sailing without slippage of our astronomical events.
Almost incidentally, he declared the Roman seasons to be henceforth the official seasons world-wide, and so they are to this day, where all four seasons start six weeks late.
But Gregory like Julius Caesar before him had a serious problem of massive public denial that was backed by millennia of tradition.
The Roman "late seasons" got lip service whenever and wherever Christianity took over the culture. But for those outside the church, a clever marketing scheme was launched. It was called in Latin "pro-paganda," meaning "for unwashed peasants."

snip...

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/new-year-s-day-was-celebrated-april---no/article_82cfc0d7-3dd8-510f-bbb3-b267225e5229.html#ixzz1qo6rkT1l

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/new-year-s-day-was-celebrated-april---no/article_82cfc0d7-3dd8-510f-bbb3-b267225e5229.html#ixzz1qo6K2VJE