The Edict of Roussillon () was a 1564 edict decreeing that in France the year would begin on 1 January.
During a trip to various parts of his kingdom, the King of France, Charles IX, found that depending on the diocese, the year began either at Christmas (at Lyon, for instance) or on 25 March (as at Vienne), on 1 March, or at Easter.
In order to standardise the date for the new year in the entire kingdom, he added an article to an edict given at Paris in January 1563 which he promulgated at Roussillon on 9 August 1564. It started being applied on 1 January 1567.
The 42 articles that comprised this edict concerned justice, except the last four, added during the king's stay at Roussillon. Article 39 ruled that henceforth every year would start on 1 January.
List of regions City or territory Previous year starting date Amiens Holy Saturday Anjou 25 December (under English rule) Artois territory Easter Dauphiné territory 25 December (from the 14th century)(previously 25 March) Franche-Comté territory Christmas, 25 March or Circumcision Guyenne territory 25 December (under English rule) Languedoc territory 25 March, Easter or Christmas Limoges 25 March Lorraine Christmas, 25 March or Easter Lyon 25 December Normandy territory 25 December (under English rule) Péronne Holy Saturday Picardy territory 1 January Poitou territory 25 December (under English rule) Provence territory Christmas, 1 January, 25 March or Easter Reims 25 March Soissons 25 December Vienne 25 March
References Dictionnaire Historique de la France, by Ludovic Lalanne, p. 84, vol. 1, 1877, Reprinted by Burt Franklin, New York, 1968. The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge, p. 493, ed. George Ripley, Charles A. Dana. D. Appleton and Company, 1858. Le calendrier grégorien en France by Rodolphe Audette