New Year Traditions Around the World

by Kaycee Leung (5E) and Hailey Luk (5G)

A new year has arrived! We all planned exciting events this year. But what are traditions like in different countries? In this article, we’ll talk about New Year celebration traditions from 10 different places, including the US, UK, China, Japan and much more. Most of the information is from google researches.

The first country we are going to talk about is The United States. Americans stay up late to count down the New Year with friends, significant others and family. Usually, they have snacks with them as well. Just when it turns midnight, they make New Year's resolutions for the new year which is the most common tradition in America.

Britons have New Year’s traditions as well. For example, they sing a song called “Auld Lang Syne'' just before midnight. After that, they will watch firework shows and drink a fizzy and alcoholic drink called champagne. They also have superstitions like something called ‘‘first footing’’. It means the first person to step into someone's house will have good luck in the following year.

In Japan, it’s a tradition to eat soba noodles on New Year’s. It’s a Japanese dish that is usually eaten with family and friends. Every Japanese family adds their own special twist so all families are different in their own ways. In the first few days of the new year, Japanese people head out for hatsumode, to pray, make wishes, etc.

Danes eat with their friends and/or family and watch the King/Queens New Year Speech. They also have a weird tradition of throwing unused plates at their friends and families to show affection. Another tradition is making loud noises on New Year’s Eve.

In Spain, people have twelve grapes at hand at midnight, when the clock strikes twelve. Every stroke, you eat one grape. You will be lucky in that year if you manage to eat all the grapes before the clock stops striking midnight.

Greeks bake a cake called “Vasilopita” and hide a coin inside it, then they serve it to their family members. It is said that whoever finds the coin will have good luck. They also sing carols and smash pomegranates.

Brazilians wear colorful underwear and white clothes, while also eating lentils. They are for good luck and pomegranates for wealth, but they avoid eating poultry because they walk backwards. They also have a tradition of jumping 7 waves.

Russians celebrate New Year's Eve twice! Once on December 31st like the other countries, and once on the 14th of January. They also make a pretty big deal out of making wishes. First, they write their wishes on pieces of paper. Next, they burn and put the ashes in a glass of champagne and drink it.

Germans watch a TV show called “Dinner for One” on New Year’s Eve and eat carp. They also take a scale from it and put it in their wallet because they believe if they do so, they will be blessed with money.

And last but not least, China! Everyone knows about Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year. It's one of the most popular and longest traditional New Year’s holidays ever! Chinese people have many New Year’s traditions, including eating with family on Yuan Dan. One of the most popular ones for children is when elders give them red packets — a red envelope with money in it.

Feel free to share how your countries celebrate the New Year and your favorite traditions. We would love to hear your opinions and comments on our article!