noun
New Year's Day; January 1st
The most common modern meaning: the first day of the year. Often used in greetings and seasonal expressions.
See also: 元日
元旦には家族で初詣に行きます。
On New Year's Day, we go to the first shrine visit of the year as a family.
On the morning of New Year's Day, we eat osechi cuisine.
noun
Original, narrower meaning: specifically the morning of New Year's Day. Now largely replaced by the broader sense, but still understood in literary or traditional contexts.
古い和歌では、元旦の清々しい朝の光が詠まれている。
In old waka poems, the fresh morning light of New Year's Day is celebrated.