New Year Celebrations Around The World

New Year is celebrated all over the world, though not necessarily on 1st of January. It is interesting to note that not all the countries follow the same calendar. Countries like China, India and Israel have their own versions of lunar calendar and celebrate New Year at different periods. Some countries prefer to celebrate New Year in spring, when its time to sow new crops while others in autumn, at the time of harvest. Different countries follow different traditions and customs mostly related to superstitions and chasing away of evil spirits. This is done so that the bad experiences of the past are forgotten and one starts afresh and hopes for the best in the coming year. In Australia, January 1st is a public holiday and at midnight, on New Year's Eve, people make a cacophony using whistles and rattles, car horns and church bells to chase away evil spirits. Next day, it is time for fun- to indulge in outdoor activities such as picnics, camping, rodeos, picnic races and surf carnivals.

In Brazil, they eat lentil soup or lentils and rice so that they usher in prosperity and well being. Europeans look for male visitors with a gift of money, bread or coal to ensure the plenty of these in the coming year. In Europe lots of superstitions take over New Year, which is also the most popular time for fortune telling. In Hungary, people burn effigies known as Jack Straw on New Year's Eve to smother the evils and misfortunes of the past year and usher in an era of well-being and prosperity. Traditional Indian New Year starts with Diwali, the festival of lights and lamps. This festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil. In Japan, the New Year is known as Oshogatsu and they have a public holiday so that people can participate in family celebrations.

They hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses to ward off evil spirits and attract happiness, prosperity and good luck. Laughing is also an important part of their New Year celebrations. For them, laughing on New Year Eve is supposed to bring them good luck in the New Year. The moment the clock strikes twelve at midnight on December 31st, people in Portugal pick and eat twelve grapes from a bunch so that all the twelve months in the coming year are full of happiness and prosperity. Puerto Rican children enjoy throwing water out of the window at midnight, which symbolizes warding off evil spirits while Bolivian families hang beautiful little wood or straw dolls outside their homes so that the coming Year brings good luck. Whatever the customs, traditions or practices, people all over the world wish for prosperity, happiness and stress-free life in the coming year.