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“Happy New Year!” I texted my mother from Spain.
“It’s not the new year here yet. We still have another six hours to wait!” she texted back from the U.S.
Ringing in the New Year—the whole world celebrates . . . but not at the same time. It depends where you live on the globe and in what time zone you live.
“There are 39 time zones in the world. Based on the International Date Line, the islands of Samoa and Kiribati are the first places on Earth to reach the Gregorian calendar’s new year on January 1.”
Green Global Travels
Not every country follows the Gregorian calendar, however. To name a few, India (Rongali Bihu) and Cambodia celebrate their new year in April, and Israel celebrates Rosh Hashana during the autumn months. Egypt and Bali follow the lunar calendar.
Celebrating in Different Ways
We don’t all celebrate the New Year around the world at the same time, and we don’t all celebrate the New Year in the same way.
In America, I grew up watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Celebration on December 31 with the big, brightly-lit ball dropping at midnight in New York City.
“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (NYRE) is an annual New Year’s Eve television broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City’s Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop event, along with live and pre-recorded musical performances by popular musicians from Times Square and Hollywood.”
Wikipedia
Along with Dick Clark, our family would shout out the countdown.
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”
Midnight Kisses and Wishes
At midnight, we would cheer wildly—celebrating with hugs and “Happy New Year” wishes to each other. We would then go outside on our back porch and bang pots and pans with big metal spoons, screaming at the top of our lungs, “Happy New Year” for all the world to hear.
The following day—New Year’s Day—my mother would make black-eyed peas and ham, and we would each take time to make our New Year’s resolutions.
On the other hand, in France, we would watch special music concerts and funny shows on television on New Year’s Eve—also called “Le Réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre.” At midnight, we would toast with a glass of chilled champagne, give kisses to each other, and wish each other a “Happy New Year.” Fireworks could often be heard in the distant background when we opened our doors and windows.
In every country, people celebrate—but not at the exact time and not in the same way.
That Seems Strange
“As we learn more about the various New Year’s celebrations around the world, we may discover strange cultural twists that seem foreign to us. But these unique variations in the way people celebrate the New Year are part of what makes exploring the world so great.”
Green Global Travels
Green Global Travels reveals a few interesting ways people in other countries and cultures ring in the new year.
—Japan: Families celebrate Oshogatsu by cleaning and decorating the entire house together.
—Denmark: People break old dishes on each other’s front doors as a sign of friendship. People allow the broken dishes to pile up on their front porches to show the world who has the most friends.
—Brazil: People eat lentils to help with finances in the New Year. They also eat seven raisins before midnight.
—Austria: They look for a lucky charm hidden inside a suckling pig. For dessert, they eat peppermint ice cream which represents economic blessings in the new year.
—Switzerland: They don’t eat their New Year’s dessert. Rather, they drop whipped cream on the floor and leave it there.
—Spain: People have to quickly eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve—one for each time the clock chimes. Otherwise, they believe that you’ll miss out on good luck for the coming year.
Now that we are living in Spain for the first time on New Year’s Day, we will get to experience first-hand this fascinating cultural tradition! We better get our grapes and our quick hands ready!
We will have to remember, as I always say . . . “It’s not good or bad. It’s not better or worse. It’s just different!”
For more cultural learning, discover “40 Ways to Celebrate New Year Traditions Around the World.”
Wherever you are in the world . . .
Happy New Year!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
How do you ring in the New Year in your country?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.
