We have seen how in the UK there is a new Prime Minister and House of Commons the day after a (snap) general election, not two months like it is in the US, from Election day in November to Inauguration day in January. It may have been necessary in the US back in 1789 when travel was by horse, but this was true for the English parliament back then also. But the British (and other European countries) have adapted to modernity and get a new government quite quickly, but in the US we get two months of lame duck government.
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It’s all based on old US law and the constitution. The constitution says how often elections must be held, but didn’t specify when. So Congress passed an act specifically stating when elections would be held, the Tuesday following the first Monday of November.
Then, because the first ever federal Congress established by the constitution met on March 4, 1789, it was tradition to have all new terms start on March 4th the year following the election. So for most of US history, it was much worse than it is now. In 1933, the 20th Amendment was ratified which states that for Congress, the term starts January 3rd and for the President and Vice President, their term starts January 20th.
So the answer to the question of why, because that is what US law and the US Constitution say to do.
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