How Do People Celebrate New Year Around The World?
Night clubs, movie theatres, resorts, restaurants and amusement parks are filled with people of all ages on the new year’s eve. People greet and wish each other ‘Happy New Year’, and exchanging messages, greeting cards and gifts are part of the ‘New Year’ celebration. Yes, it’s an old standby, but we’re constantly taken aback by the number of couples thatdon’tkiss at the stroke of midnight. The more superstitious among us swear that starting the new year locking lips means more love in the 12 months to come. After all, you want to start off the year strong being close to the person closest to you.
By the time everyone gets there, you should be set with everything you need to supply the party. If you’re celebrating outdoors, you don’t have to worry as much about the mess. So go ahead and break out the confetti, streamers, and silly string, and light up sparklers to ring in the new year. No one will miss 2020 when it’s gone—and hopefully, the new year will be bringing brighter days ahead. So this year’s New Year’s Eve parties would be absolutely epic, if there wasn’t a pandemic raging.
To start a new year, connecting with the people in your life is central to LNY. Make your very own holiday crackers (also known as party poppers in the U.S.) with this easy tutorial from Childhood 101. Stuff them with gifts, candy, or trinkets, and share with friends and neighbors.
Because pigs represent progress and prosperity in some cultures, pork appears on the New Year’s Eve table in Cuba, Austria, Hungary, Portugal and other countries. Ring-shaped cakes and pastries, a sign that the year has come full circle, round out the feast in the Netherlands, Mexico, Greece and elsewhere. In Sweden and Norway, meanwhile, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year’s Eve; it is said that whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune.
Create a giveaway pile to drop off at your local donation spot. Hang items on matching hangers and by color for a super-organized and satisfying arrangement. Juliana LaBianca is the SEO editor at Goodhousekeeping.com, where she covers everything from holiday and home to travel and food; previously, she was an editor at Best Life and Reader’s Digest. It doesn’t matter if you’re home alone or not — the best way to get ready for the new year is by busting a move.
Handing out gilded coins or nuts was an old Roman ritual, according to the The Old Farmer’s Almanac, but you could also give eggs for fertility, a Persian practice. Just as in their first-footing tradition, the Scottish apparently also traded shortbread, coal, and silverware, while Egyptians’ specialty was earthenware flasks. For Catholics, January 1st, or the Solemnity of Mary, is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning they have to attend mass on New Year’s Day.