6 minute read
New Year Traditions Near and Far
NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
This season, Family Magazine takes you worldwide to explore the customs and traditions of New Year’s. We can all agree that the holiday is best spent with family, friends and loved ones, so it’s no surprise that family is at the center of every New Year’s tradition regardless of culture.
SPAIN
In Spain, New Year’s Eve is known as “Noche Vieja’’ which translates to “Old Night.” On this night, there is a televised event which broadcasts the clock in Puerta Del Sol (Door of the Sun), the central square in Madrid. During this event, families gather to listen to the 12 chimes that bring in the New Year. This is a widely anticipated moment because it is custom for each person to eat a single grape for each chime of the clock. This is not an easy feat, as one must consume all 12 grapes in time for the end! It is thought that if a person completes this activity, they will have prosperity and good luck in the coming year. Another tradition found in Spain is the eating of lentils and lentil soup. This custom originates in that lentils symbolize coins and prosperity.
JAPAN
Japan also includes food in their New Year’s traditions in the practice of “toshikoshi soba”, or year-crossing noodles. It is thought that this ritual
The Clock of the Puerta del Sol sits atop the Real Casa de Correos, a signi cant building of the City of Madrid.
Tokyo’s oldest temple, Sensoji.
began because the buckwheat plant used to make the noodles is very resilient, so people eat the noodles to symbolize their strength and resilience.
Japan also partakes in a tradition known as “Hatsumode,” or the rst shrine visit of the New Year. On January 1st, 2nd and 3rd, it is customary for people to visit a shrine to pay their respects and wish for a healthy New Year.
CHINA
Other Eastern countries, such as China, emphasize the New Year as a major holiday meant to usher in good luck. The Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration full of rich folklore and ancient traditions. The celebrations were born from the myth of “Nian,” a lion who was said to appear at the end of each year and attack villagers. The story states that the only way to protect yourself was to scare him o with loud noises and bright lights.
This is where China gets their use of reworks during the holiday! On January 1st, it is common for people to put on rework displays across the country in a gorgeous array of sound, light and celebration. Other Chinese New Year rituals include businesses setting o recrackers for prosperity and families sharing red envelopes of money to the younger generations of the family known as “Hong Bao.” In Chinese New Year celebrations, expect to see an abundance of red, as the color is meant to symbolize good fortune.
On the 15th day of the New Year, there is a custom known as the Festival of Lanterns where lanterns are released throughout the towns alongside
dancing dragon performances that represent good fortune and prosperity. A country-wide celebration would not be complete without customary foods that are enjoyed in order to welcome the New Year. In fact, many people in China view the New Year’s meal as the most important dinner of the year! Many families go as far as to hire professional chefs to come to their homes to cook fresh meals for the day. In this important meal, people may eat duck or pork dishes alongside wonton soup, sweet rice cakes and eight treasure rice.
Jewish Traditions
The Jewish have a special holiday centered around New Year’s known as Rosh Hashanah. It is recognized as one of Judaism’s holiest holidays because it commemorates the creation of the world and encourages introspection as well as repentance. The di erence between secular celebrations of New Year’s and Rosh Hashanah is in the dates. According to History.com, “The Hebrew calendar begins with the month of Nisan, but Rosh Hashanah occurs at the start of Tishrei, when God is said to have created the world. For this reason, Rosh Hashanah can be seen as the birthday of the world rather than New Year’s.” Among Jewish traditions commemorating the New Year is a custom of eating apple slices dipped in honey. This practice is often followed by a prayer and is meant to signify hope that the coming year will be sweet!
A mainstay of Rosh Hashana is the sounding of the shofar.
RUSSIA
New Year’s wishes and resolutions are a common practice across a multitude of cultures. In Russia, however, people have put an interesting spin on the tradition. On New Year’s Eve, it is customary to write down one’s wishes for the coming year and then burn the piece of paper into a pile of ashes. These ashes are then saved and put into champagne for the person to drink!
DENMARK
Another interesting tradition is the smashing of plates in Denmark. This is an activity that is meant to usher out aggression in preparation for a happy New Year. The custom entails throwing plates at neighboring houses on New Year’s Eve. It is said that whoever has the largest pile of broken china at their doorstep will have prosperity in the next year.
ICELAND
Other Scandinavian countries, like Iceland, enjoy celebrating with loud traditions. As the end of the year approaches, locals are allowed to purchase commercial-grade reworks for a country-wide rework release based in Reykjavik. Once the clock strikes 12, citizens across the city and neighboring towns release reworks. This tradition is quite the spectacle and has attracted tourists in recent years.
GREECE
Another country that releases reworks in unison on New Year’s Eve is Greece. Among their traditions includes the hanging of onions and pummeling of pomegranates. It is thought, in Greek culture, that hanging onions on one’s door will bring many blessings and good luck in the New Year. It is also custom to smash a pomegranate against the door and count the amount of seeds that scatter. This amount of seeds is said to correlate to the amount of good luck the family will have.
Fireworks shine above Hallgrímskirkja, a church in Reykjavík, Iceland. New Year’s Eve reworks over the Acropolis of Athens, Greece.
SCOTLAND
Singing “Auld Lang Syne” and toasting the bells with whisky are two Scottish New Year traditions that have spread across the world. However, some things have stayed within the country, such as the term “Hogmanay” and the custom of rst-footing.
Since ancient times, households across Scotland have welcomed strangers through their doors with the aim of bringing good fortune for the year ahead. First footing, which stems from the Gaelic practice of “qualtagh,” is still practiced today and while some individuals can bring good luck for the upcoming year —others can be seen as a precursor of ill fate.
Native Scots also celebrate Hogmanay, the Scots word for the last day of the old year and popularly celebrated with a days-long festival and street party. It is believed that many traditional Hogmanay celebrations were originally brought to Scotland by the invading Vikings in the early 8th and 9th centuries.
A traditional Hogmanay re celebration in Edinburgh, Scotland.
So, whether we resolve to return borrowed farm equipment (as did the Babylonians) or drop a few pounds, most traditions around the world are aimed at ringing in the new year with a fresh start and good fortune for the year to come.
