> No more arbitrary than choosing a random autumnal date. But just because the endings happen quicker than the beginnings is not a good reason to pretend that they're the same thing.
>

Except that we think of the year in terms of a circle. Thus the ending and beginning of the year have to be the same thing. This is not true of the ending and beginning of the growing season (for example) but seasons are generally linear in conception unlike years. The end of winter (for example) cannot be identified with the beginning of the next winter for obvious reasons but the end of one year is identified with the beginning of the next.

I suppose it's somewhat misleading to use the term "New Year" when referring to something that includes the end of the year as well as the beginning.

And besides, my reccommendation that the year start and end in the fall is entirely selfish. Fall is the time that I find it easiest to start and finish things. There's just something about the change in seasons that happens in fall that seems to make it the best time for starting (and finishing) all the other things in life.