New Year is probably the largest and most celebrated holiday. We traditionally buy champagne, food for Olivier's "basin", decorate the Christmas tree and watch "Enjoy Your Bath".
But in many countries, the celebration takes place in a completely different way. We have collected the most unusual New Year traditions from different countries, so that on the eve of the holiday you can even more imbued with the spirit of the New Year!
Content:
- Traditions of European countries;
- American traditions;
- New Year traditions of Asian countries;
- The customs of the African continent;
- Australia and Micronesia.
Traditions of European countries
European options for celebrating the New Year are similar to the Slavic ones, but Christmas (December 25, according to Catholic tradition) is a more significant holiday for them. However, this does not prevent the existence of interesting customs that accompany his meeting in various countries.
Latvia
If the weather is favorable, unusual competitions are held in Jurmala on the first night of the year:
- skiing the biggest snowball;
- by the accuracy of throwing snowballs;
- snow battles;
- speed sled racing.
Among all this fun, you can choose as a souvenir handmade products from local artisans: straw and wooden figurines, masks, as well as delicious national first and second courses and pastries prepared by professional chefs.
Norway
On the eve of the holiday, the Norwegians visit the temple to receive the blessing to enter the new year. It is not accepted to congratulate with gif.webpts on this holiday, the exception is a box of matches, as a symbol of warmth and prosperity. Children expect gif.webpts from the goat. To lure her in, the toddler's Christmas socks and boots are filled with hay for the animal to eat. And in the morning, instead of goat food, there are sweets for the children.
Residents of the country are limited to a traditional dinner with a family.
Finland
The features of the holiday in Finland generally look like this:
- unlike most countries in the world, in Finland the population listens to the New Year's address not from the president, but from the mayor of the capital;
- fireworks and firecrackers are not yet sold in the country to persons under 18 years of age and adults who do not have a special permit;
- the country is considered the birthplace of Santa Claus and on the first of January of every year you can meet adults who, in all seriousness, talk about how they saw him at night;
- there is a candle on the Finnish New Year's table, washed and peeled turnips, often grown by the head of the family, serve as a candlestick;
- the population of the country says goodbye to all the negativity of the outgoing year, setting fire to barrels of tar;
- during the New Year holidays, the world famous festival of snow and ice sculptures is held.
Denmark
The Danes are lucky to have not one, but two Santa Clauses - the old big Yulemanden and the young little Yulenisse.
An obligatory dish on the New Year's table is a large bowl of rice porridge with a secret - almonds or any other nut. Whoever gets it will certainly be happy next year.
Denmark has an interesting and unusual New Year's way to preserve conifers, it would not hurt to borrow it as well. Foresters treat spruce with a special agent, which begins to smell very unpleasant and harsh in the warm conditions of living quarters. Therefore, no one chops down living trees there.
Albania
It is customary for the Albanians to burn a tree generously sprinkled with herbs on New Year's Eve. They bring it to every home about a week before the holiday. The smoother and more beautiful the tree is, the better according to their beliefs. The ritual is carried out with the aim of driving out negativity and calling well-being into the house.
Greece
Unusual traditions of this country are associated with plants:
- On December 31, it is customary for the Greeks to expose the root of the sea onion beyond the threshold of the house.The next morning, his mother picks him up and knocks all the sleeping family members with it;
- a few minutes before the arrival of the New Year, the entire Greek family goes out into the yard and waits for midnight. With its onset, relatives congratulate each other, and the most successful of them smashes pomegranates on the threshold of the house, and only after that everyone enters the house, always with the right foot.
Italy
Everyone knows that on New Year's Eve it is customary for Italians to throw out everything unnecessary from windows and balconies, including pieces of furniture. In reality, this is a myth to attract tourists. And here's what their celebrations really stand out for:
- costumes: on New Year's Eve, all the inhabitants of the country are dressed in clothes of the colors of the Santa costume. Every Italian has something red - be it socks, underwear or the whole image;
- by eating raisins: Italians have an unusual tradition of eating as much dried grapes as possible directly from the bunches. They believe that this ritual will bring them wealth in the coming year, because raisins are associated with coins.
Austria
The Austrians call December 31 St. Sylvester's Day or Old Year's Day. People in the costumes of Perchten, a mythical character who looks more like a devil, walk the streets. They ring a bell, thereby announcing the departure of the current year. On the first day of January, the Austrians begin the carnival season, which continues until Lent.
Germany
In general, New Year's celebrations in Germany are similar to ours. But they have one amusing and cheerful tradition: to jump on chairs with their feet as soon as the chimes begin to beat and jump with the last knock with joyful shouts and congratulations. Germans of all ages do this.
Netherlands
The only time of the year when fireworks are allowed in Holland is from 10am on December 31st to 2am on January 1st. In addition to them, the streets are lit by fires, in which Christmas trees serve as firewood. So quickly the Dutch are parting not only with Christmas trees - it is customary to present gif.webpts on December 5th, often to receive them you need to go through a whole quest.
It is customary to give bulbs of rare varieties of tulips in beautiful pots or glasses, shortbread cookies with spices, waffles in the form of Christmas wreaths, chocolate letters and souvenirs. Usually, to receive your gif.webpt, you must follow the instructions left on pieces of paper throughout the house or workplace. A surprise can be hidden in the basement, somewhere on the street or in the yard, and sometimes very close in a shoe or stocking, but before you discover it, you need to play the role of a detective.
Also, in order to receive a gif.webpt, you may need to complete several humorous and funny tasks - sing, dance, recite a poem, shout a phrase in a crowded place. In large families, the ritual of exchanging holiday souvenirs can last an entire day. This tradition is especially loved by all Dutch children.
The Sinterclass appears in an interesting and unusual way in the country - it sails by sea on a brightly decorated ship in mid-November. He is met by the floor of the capital, led by the mayor.
American traditions
America is a very diverse country in mentality and customs. Each nationality has its own flavor in celebrating the new year, we will tell you about the most interesting ones.
Celebration in the USA
The New Year's symbol of Americans is a baby (Baby) in a diaper, which, according to their beliefs, grows and ages over the year, transferring its powers to the next baby every December 31st.
The spectacle that attracts more than a billion viewers from all over the world is the fall of a huge colored ball during the last minute of the outgoing year from a 23-meter height in Times Square. The tradition has existed since 1907.
Each state interprets it in its own way and in different parts of the country on New Year's Eve, giant peaches (Georgia), acorns (North Carolina), ping-pong balls (Pennsylvania) descend on the ground.
Canada
Oddly enough, Canadians are close to us by the tradition of swimming in the ice-hole in winter.But they do this not on the Baptism of Water, but on December 31. They call this ritual "bathing a polar bear" and those who perform the ritual will have a healthy year.
Even in Canada, it is not customary to give expensive gif.webpts for the New Year; Canadians are limited to small souvenirs for friends and family.
In addition, residents of the country eat pea soup the day before. They jokingly claim that the "musicality" with the smells it evokes scares away evil spirits on a festive night. This is the custom of Canadians of French origin, who inhabit the largest province of the country, Quebec. The soup should be thick, and yellow peas should be chosen for it.
Argentina
On New Year's Eve in Argentina, it is customary to throw out of the window irrelevant papers: old calendars, statements, documents that lose their validity in a matter of hours. By noon on December 31st, the country's sidewalks are thickly covered with papers. Where and how the tradition arose is unknown.
There is a story about how temperamental Argentines once went too far. Employees of one of the country's newspapers tried so hard to clear their offices of old papers that they threw the entire archive out of the windows.
Brazil
For a Russian person, New Year is associated with a frosty winter with snow slides and cold. In Brazil, this holiday takes place when the weather is hot and sunny. Every inhabitant of the country on this day brings gif.webpts to the goddess Imanji, who is identified with the Christian Virgin Mary: snow-white flowers and small candles. They are allowed into the sea: the flowers are simply thrown, and the lit candles on flat wooden planks are carefully placed on the water. The sight is very beautiful. At the same time, the Mexicans make a cherished wish and firmly believe that it will come true if the flowers float far away, and the candles will not fade out for a long time. These rituals have African roots.
Another curious custom, similar to Italian, is to eat 12 grapes at the last minute of the outgoing year. In Brazil, there is no chiming clock, the population, cheerfully celebrating the New Year in the company of friends, counts the last seconds out loud and in chorus.
Mexico
Mexicans celebrate the New Year for at least nine days. In this state, the holiday is associated with fun and carnivals, during which scenes from the Bible stories are played out.
Like the people of Brazil, Mexicans eat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve.
It is customary here to break clay pots (pinatas) in the form of stars or animals, filled with sweets. The activity is loved by children, although its meaning is grown-up - the vessel symbolizes the sins that are forgiven before the New Year, and the gif.webpts serve as payment for faith in God.
Peru
If in some countries on New Year's Eve it is customary to get rid of old things, then in Peru people at this time discard negativity with the help of fights. On the streets of cities at the end of December, you can find men and women of all ages beating each other - from children to the elderly.
Peruvians who want to travel in the new year must jump out of their accommodation at 11:55 pm on December 31st with a huge suitcase and run around their entire block with it until midnight. Returning home, the out of breath resident of the country, like his neighbors on the continent, eat grapes, but not 12, but 13 berries. They believe that it is the last grape that brings good luck in the new year.
Girls of Peru on a festive night can still choose a pair for themselves - they go out into the street with twigs of willow and those guys whom they touch with them become their chosen ones.
The celebration in the squares of the country is accompanied by the ritual burning of the effigy of the outgoing year. To make it more fun, firecrackers are stuffed into his clothes. Thus, in addition to the fire, you also get fireworks.
New Year traditions of Asian countries
The East is a delicate matter, as everyone knows. Unlike most countries in the world, almost all Asian states celebrate the New Year not only in winter with the whole world, but also in spring and autumn (Israel). Their traditions are varied, original and very interesting.
Japan
Japanese New Year coincides in date with ours since 1873.It is not customary to use natural trees for interior decoration in the country, if this happens, then the plants are cut in specially designated places.
The symbol of the New Year is the composition of bamboo, plum and pine, which symbolize health, help to parents and longevity, respectively. Such a “bouquet” of kadomatsu is called and every house is decorated with it both inside and outside. In the second case, they put two compositions and connect them with a straw ribbon.
Instead of chimes in this country, bells ring as many as 108 times, since the holiday is considered religious. On January 1, most Japanese go to temples to light straw ropes from the sacred fire and bring them to their own fire house - this symbolizes happiness in the coming year.
China
In the Land of the Rising Sun, the New Year is celebrated in late January - early February. The Chinese launch many lanterns into the sky to illuminate the path in the New Year. Firecrackers and fireworks are used to strike fear into evil spirits and unclean spirits.
During the celebration, the inhabitants of China do not use medicines and neglect herbal medicine, otherwise, they believe, the disease will not leave a person throughout the coming year.
It is customary for the Chinese to present sums of money with the first odd digit as gif.webpts for the New Year, the bills must be new and beautiful. They are placed in traditional red envelopes.
Thailand
The one who was lucky with the New Year the most is the Thais: they meet it three times:
- December 31 - January 1;
- Together with the Chinese in late January - early February;
- Your New Year, Songkran - April 13.
The celebration in spring is accompanied by the obligatory pouring of water, absolutely all people on the streets of the country are wet and happy. In addition, on the same day, it is customary to smear each other with clay. It is forbidden to wipe and wash it off, you need to wait until it dries up and falls off by itself.
Vietnam
Vietnamese New Year is celebrated between January 20th and February 20th and is called Tet. On the day of the holiday and a few days after, not a single store is open in the country.
A peach or apricot branch, as well as a tangerine, often serves as a New Year's tree. All these plants bloom during this period.
On the first day of the new year, it is customary to get up early and immediately go to the temple. There, monks give people money in red bags, this is considered a gif.webpt from the Buddha.
Israel
Jews are no less lucky than Thais, they celebrate the New Year three times:
- With the whole world, December 31 - almost no special attention is paid to the holiday, with the exception of Russian-speaking repatriates.
- New Year of Trees - floating date, falls in January. On this day, trees are planted and songs glorifying their fertility are sung.
- The Jewish New Year is celebrated in September-October and is called Rosh Hashanah. It is customary to eat apples, honey and sweet cakes on this day to make the next year happy. Before the holiday, it is customary in the house to audit all things with the subsequent elimination of unnecessary ones.
According to Judaism, it is during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in heaven that a person's fate is recorded for the coming year, therefore the traditional congratulation literally translates as “a good record”.
Cambodia
New Year in Cambodia begins when the harvest season ends and the rainy season has not yet begun. It lasts three days, usually April 13-15. This is essentially the same Songkran that the Thais have.
The holiday is inherently associated with religion, so many residents of the country go to churches on the last day of the outgoing year. There they worship Buddha, thank him for everything, donate money and burn incense sticks. On this day, it is customary to wash your face in the morning, torso at lunchtime, and legs with sacred water in the evening.
On the second day of the New Year, it is customary to engage in charity work and, if possible, help everyone in need.
On the third day, Cambodian Buddhists wash the Buddha sculptures with scented water.
Philippines
The inhabitants of the Philippine Islands believe that all family members will stay alive in the new year if the whole family celebrates the holiday together.
They have circles as a symbol of good luck, so these figures are used in decorations and prints of clothes. On the festive table must certainly lie 12 round fruits that will make you happy every month of the year.
The population of the Philippines is also in a hurry to fill their wallets with paper bills and coins to waste before the New Year. This should bring them wealth and wealth. Some even in order to succeed financially put coins in a saucepan, walk around their own house and shake it, creating a ringing sound.
Filipino children jump up and down, believing that this will help them grow up sooner.
In general, the celebration of the New Year in the country is very noisy, because residents believe that loud sounds scare away evil spirits.
New Year traditions of African countries
Africa is mysterious. This is a separate world with its own beliefs, rules and outlook on life. But the presence of many countries in the colonies of France and Spain left your imprint - despite the frequent refusal of the population to accept the traditions of the ruling country, African states nevertheless "became European" in some issues.
Cameroon
In this country, on New Year's Eve, every adult who is congratulated by a child is obliged to give him a coin. This is how the locals placate the spirits. The kids of Cameroon are happy to try to congratulate everyone, make noise and have fun, emptying the wallets and pockets of passers-by. Therefore, many adult residents even try not to leave their homes on this day.
Nigeria
A feature of the traditions of Nigeria is that only men participate in the festive New Year's parades and masquerades. Theatrical performances are played out, the essence of which is necessarily the victory of good over evil.
Burning torches in the hands of local residents are evidence of the coming of the new year. Nigerians make them with their own hands.
Ivory Coast
A very unusual and interesting tradition of celebrating the New Year in Ivory Coast. Local residents are divided into 63 tribes and one of them is customary to arrange original competitions. Their essence is that the participants run on all fours in a race, carrying a raw egg in their teeth. It acts as a symbol of the birth of the coming year, and its shell reminds of the fragility of life in general.
New Year traditions of Australia and Micronesia
During the New Year celebrations in faraway Australia there is no snow and frost, but, like all year round, there is a warm ocean. Therefore, Santa Claus emerges from the water on the surf in a surfer costume, the colors of which are identical to those of the classic Santa Claus. Mandatory beard and traditional hat, original looking complete with red beach trunks and a large bag of gif.webpts. The spectacle is original, exotic and humorous - just like the Australian mentality in general.
On a festive night, it is customary to visit crowded open-air places where fireworks are let out. Most Australians go to bed at 00:10, right after the New Year, due to their national tradition of going to bed early. But young people can celebrate noisily until the morning.
Until January 6, it is customary to arrange New Year's parties and picnics.
Micronesia
Among all the countries of the world, Micronesia is distinguished by originality.
A mandatory event every year is the change of the name of every inhabitant of one of the Caroline Islands. The goal is to drive away evil spirits and evil spirits. The ritual goes like this: on the morning of January 1, family members cover their mouths with their hands and tell each other their new names. At the same time, a person responsible for protection from evil spirits is appointed, who has the power to color in a tambourine so that the noise does not give them new names. Going out into the street and meeting a neighbor, the inhabitants of this island squat down and tell each other their new names in a whisper.
Our planet is amazing in its diversity and New Year's traditions in different countries are a vivid proof of this. In addition to the listed features of the holiday, each nationality is interesting for its cuisine and outfits. What customs did you like the most?
