»»» New Year Traditions around the world

*New Year Traditions around the world*
**
*How it all started out..........  

The day celebrated as New Year in the modern world was not always on
January
1st.*
*
The holiday for the celebration of the New Year is among the oldest of
all
holidays in the world. It was first observed in ancient Babylon, about
4000
years ago. In the years around 2000 B.C, the Babylonian New Year began
with
the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the
vernal
equinox or the first day of spring since it is the season of rebirth,
of
planting new crops and of blossoming. Even today, most communities
celebrates two new years, one that of English, the other pertaining to
their
own.*
**
* *

*The Romans* continued to observe the new year in late March, but
various
emperors continually tampered with their calendar so that the calendar
soon
became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 B.C,
declared
January 1 to be the beginning of the New Year. But tampering continued
until
Julius Caesar, in 46 B.C, established the Julian calendar. It again
established Jan1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronies the
calendar
with sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days!!!

Although in the first centuries of A.D the Romans continued celebrating
the
New Year, the early Catholic Church condemned as paganism. But as
Christianity became more widespread the early Church began having it's
own
religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations,
and
New Years' Day was no different. New Year's Day is still observed as
the
Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denomination.

During the middle ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New
year.January1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for
only
about the past 400 years or so.

Traditions like making of New Year's Resolutions also date back to the
early
Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to
lose
weight or quit smoking but the most popular resolution in early
Babylonia
was to return borrowed farm equipment!

In most countries that follow the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is
a
public holiday (countries like the *US, UK, and Canada*) Israel and
India
are an exception. In *New York City* the world famous Waterford crystal
ball
located high above Times Square is lowered starting at 11:59:00 PM and
reaches the bottom of its lower t the stroke of midnight(12:00:00 AM)
on
January 1. Other Ball Drops take place in *Copacabana Beach in Rio De
Janeiro and Sydney Harbor and at the Vienna New Year Concert, in
Austria*.
This day is also the occasion of making bonfires of discarded Christmas
trees in some countries. In Scotland, there are many special customs
associated with the New Year. The Scottish name for the New Year
celebration
is Hogmanay. *In US* the New Year is associated with the image of an
old
Father Time with a sash leaving proclaiming the Old Year as an infant
enters
with a New Year sash.

New Years Eve is a separate observance from New year's Day. In 20th
century
Western practice, the celebration involves partying until the wee hours
of
the morning drinking champagne and making merry with loved ones. New
Year's
Eve is a public non working holiday in US, UK, Australia, Spain, Hong
Kong,
Argentina, Germany, Philippines and Venezuela. Sydney is a crowd puller
in
New Year's Eve celebration of over 1.2 million people! Over 80.000
fireworks
are traditionally set off from the Sydney Harbor Bridge and four other
firing points covering 6 km along Sydney Harbor. The event attracts an
average of 30,000 international tourists each year.

In *Hong Kong* people usually gather in Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim
Sha
Tsui harbour front and to count down the New Year at spots like the
Times
Square and Ocean Terminal.
The Big Ben in London is the key to the New Year Celebrations. Around
100,000 spectators gather around Honmanay Street party in Edinburgh,
with
fireworks being set off from the castle and other major hills around
the
city. London Eye is also among other famous places that displays
spectacular
fireworks.

The moment of midnight is marked by the sound of *Big Ben in UK* ; The
traditional song, Auld Lang Syne sung in first moments of the New Year
,
after the final stroke of the of the bell ;The dropping of the "ball"
on top
of One Times Square in New York City, being broadcast world wide ; The
launching of fireworks in Seattle towards the space needle until it
reaches
the top at midnight does the countdown. In Spain a centenary clock is
lowered starting at 23:59:48 at 'La Puerto del Sol' while a grape is
eaten
for each second left to the New Year...,as several hundred thousand
people
party, the New year arrives with new hopes of peace love and prosperity
on
our way...

   The *Chinese New Year
<http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year>*is a lunar holiday
that begins with the arrival of the second new moon
following the winter solstice. It usually starts between mid-January
and
mid-February, (date varies) and lasts for fifteen days. As the New Year
approaches, people clean their home to escape bad luck in the upcoming
year.
Families gather for a feast on New Year's Eve, and stay up late,
believing
that it will prolong the lives of their elders. The Chinese people
believe
that evil spirits come around at New Year, so they let off firecrackers
to
frighten them away. People often seal their windows and doors with
paper to
keep the evil spirits out, as well. On New Year's Day, people dress in
their
best clothes and present one another with small gifts. Chinese people
all
over the world celebrate the first full moon with a colorful street
procession, called the Festival of Lanterns. People fill the streets
carrying lanterns and join a great parade led by an enormous dragon.
The
Festival of Lanterns is believed to light the way for the New Year.

 In *Korea* the first day of the lunar new year is called Sol-nal. This
is
for families to renew ties and prepare for the new year. New Year's
Eve:
People place straw scoopers, rakes or sieves on their doors and walls
to
protect their families from evil spirit sin the new year. Everyone
dresses
in new clothes, the following morning, symbolizing a fresh beginning,
and
gathers at the home of the eldest male family member. Ancestral
memorial
rites are held, then the younger generation bows to elders in the
family.
They wish them good health and prosperity in the coming year. The
elders
often then give newly minted money or gifts afterwards. New Year's Day
food
includes: a bowl of rice cake soup ttokkuk. Koreans believe eating this
soup
will add and extra year of age to your life. Korean age is actually
calculated at the New Year. Everyone becomes a year older on New Year's
Day!
Favorite games: yut nori, a stick game, and see-sawing on large
see-saws
setup in the courtyard or in parks.

 Celebration of the *Japanese New Year* ( Oshogatsu ) occurs on January
1,
as with Western nations. However, the Japanese people also observe some
beliefs from their religion, called Shinto. For happiness and good
luck,
Japanese people hang a rope of straw across the front of their homes.
They
believe it keeps the evil spirits away. Japanese people begin to laugh
the
moment the New Year begins, so they will have good luck the whole year.  
The
*Thai New Year* festival is called Songkran and lasts for three days
from 13
to 15 April according the gregorian calendar. The customs are many such
as
people throw water over one another, under the guise of that it will
bring
good rains in the coming year and all the Buddha statues or images are
washed. They visit the monastery to pray and offer gifts of rice,
fruit,
sweets and other foods for the monks. Another custom to bring good
luck, was
to release birds from their cages or fish from their bowls. They carry
a
fish bowl to the river to release their fish all at the same time as
one
another. They might also play the game known as Saba which is a game
rather
like skittles.

 The *Vietnamese New Year* is called Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short.
The
exact date changes from year to year, but it usually falls between
January
21 and February 19. A common Vietnamese belief is that the first person
to
enter a house at New Year will bring either good or bad luck. The
Vietnamese
also believe that there is a god in every home who travels to heaven at
the
New Year. In heaven, this god will reveal how good or bad each member
of the
family has been in the past year. Thus, the New Year is a time to
reflect on
the past and improve in the future. A traditional Vietnamese belief is
that
the god travels to heaven on the back of a fish, called a carp. Even
today
some people will buy a live carp, and then free it in a river or pond.

 The people of *Cambodia* use the Indian Calendar to calculate the
start of
the New Year festival. The festival starts on the 12, 13 or 14 April
according to the gregorian calendar and lasts for three days. People
clean
and decorate their houses, as well as set up an altar to welcome the
New
Year Spirit Tevada Chhnam Thmey who is said to come down to earth at
this
time. A statue of the Buudha is put on the altar, also flowers,
candles,
incense, a bowl of scented water, food and drink, and banana leaves
shaped
into different figures. Day one of the festival people visit their
local
monastery and offer food to the monks. A special sand mound is built in
the
grounds of the monasteries on this day. The mound is decorated with
five
religious flags, one on top of the mound and four around the sides.
Special
games such as the Tug-Of-War, Angkunh and Boh Choong are played at the
monasteries on each day of the festival. Day two people gather with
their
families to wish each other a happy New Year and exchange gifts. They
might
also visit the monastery again to ask the monks to say a special prayer
for
their ancestors. Day three the Buddha statues of their homes and the
monasteries are washed. It is said this ensures good rains during the
coming
year. Children wash the feet of their parents as sign of respect on
this day
as well.

 Celebration of the *Hindu New Year* varies based on geographic
location.
Most Hindus live in India, but many have different traditions. For
example,
the Hindus of Gujarat, in western India, celebrate the New Year at the
end
of October, at the same time as the Indian festival of Diwali. For the
Diwali celebration, small oil lights are lit all along the rooftops. In
northern India, people wear flowers to celebrate the New Year, commonly
in
pink, red, purple, or white hues. Hindus in central India display
orange
flags, flying them from the top of buildings. In southern India,
mothers put
food, flowers, and small gifts on a special tray. On New Year's
morning,
children must keep their eyes shut until they have been led to the
tray.

 The *Jewish New Year* is called Rosh Hashanah, and falls in the
seventh
month, or Tishri, of the Jewish calendar (September - October). Rosh
Hashanah is a holy time when people reflect on the things they have
done
wrong in the past, so they can improve in the future. Celebration of
the New
Year begins at sunset the day before, and religious services are held
at
synagogues in observation. An instrument called a Shofar, made from a
ram's
horn, is traditionally played and children are given new clothes to
celebrate the New Year. In addition, New Year loaves are baked and
fruit is
eaten to remind people of harvest time.

 The *Muslim New Year* falls eleven days earlier than the previous year
because the Muslim calendar is based on the movements of the moon. In
Iran,
people celebrate the New Year in March. As the New Year approaches,
Muslims
set grains of wheat or barley in small dishes and sprinkle them with
water.
When the New Year arrives, the growth of the sprouted grains reminds
people
of spring and a new year of life.

 The *Bahai* people have their own calendar consisting of nineteen
months of
nineteen days plus a couple of extra days between the eighteenth and
nineteenth months. They have however adopted the Iranian custom of
beginning
the New Year in the spring equinox. The day begins at sunset rather
than
midnight, and the New Year celebrations are held during the evening of
March
20th.

 In *Egypt* the New Year is a public holiday and has a very festive
atmosphere. Although they know in advance when the New Year begins they
still observe the custom of the new crescent moon must be seen before
the
official announcement is made. The sighting is carried out at the
Muhammad
Ali mosque which is at the top of the hill in Cairo. The message is
then
passed on to the religious leader known as the Grand Mufti and he
proclaims
the New Year. The men who have been waiting outside the mosque wish
each
other a happy New Year by saying "Kol Sana We Enta Tayeb!" and then go
home
to tell their families. Then all families sit down for a special New
Year
dinner. On this day even the poorest of family serves some meat. No
alcohol
is served because Muslims do not drink.

*US traditions like the Tournament of Roses Parade* dates back to
1886.Thetradition of using a baby to signify the New Year began in
Greece around 600
B.C.It <http://b.c.it/> was the tradition at that time to celebrate
their
God of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the
annual rebirth of that God as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians
also
used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.
However, Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of
the
baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the church to revaluate it's
position.
The Church finally allowed it's members to celebrate the New Year with
a
baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.
The Germans brought the use of the image of a baby with a New year's
Banner
as a symbolic representation of the New Year to early America. They had
used
the effigy since the 14th century.
Traditionally it was believed that, what they did or ate on the 1st day
of
the year could affect their luck throughout the coming year. For that
reason, celebrating the first few minutes of a brand new year in the
company
of family and friends became more popular. Parties often last into the
middle of the night after the ringing in of a New Year. It was once
believed
that the first visitor in New Year's Day would either bring good luck
or bad
luck the rest of the year. A tall dark-haired man was particularly
lucky
visitor.
Traditional New Year foods are also believed to bring luck. Many
cultures
believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck because it
symbolizes "coming full circle" (completing a year's cycle). The Dutch
eat
doughnuts on New Year's Day for good fortune.

Celebration of the arrival of New hopes and aspirations.....

Many parts of the US celebrate the New year by eating black-eyed pea
dishes.
Either hog jowls or ham typically accompanies these legumes. Black-eyed
peas
and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The
hog,
and thus it's meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes
prosperity.
Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is eaten on New Year's
Day
cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being
representative of paper currency). In some regions, rice is considered
lucky
food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

Traditional New Year is a religious feast, but since 1900s it has
become an
occasion for celebration on the night between December 31 and January
1,called the New Year's Eve. There are often spectacular fireworks
displayed
at midnight.