元日
がんじつ · ganjitsu · JLPT N2 · noun
day
🎍 元 = first or origin, 日 = day: the first day of the year
元 also means beginning, as in 元旦 (gantan), another word for New Year's Day. Both words share 元, and 日 is the everyday character for day.
元 — 二 (two) + 兒 variant 儿 (legs/person)
元 originally depicted a person with the head emphasized on top, meaning 'head' or 'origin'. From this came the extended senses of 'first', 'beginning', and 'primary'. It was later borrowed as the name of the Yuan dynasty and the modern Chinese currency unit.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.