The celebration of New Year 2022 on the evening of December 31, 2022 in countries around the world reaches its peak at different times when there is twelve o’clock in the night. But some countries celebrate New Year on different days because they use different calendars.
Whenever the New Year is celebrated, it is intended that this auspicious year should bring blessings.
We have tried to find out how people celebrate New Year in different countries.
The Big Bang
The most popular way to celebrate the New Year is to watch fireworks. Such firework displays are held in many countries around the world when clocks strike midnight in different countries.
A spectacular firework display from the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand, where the sun rises first, is followed by the Sydney Harbor Tower in Australia.
Fireworks light up the sky on New Year’s Eve at the famous Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil. Apart from Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa also tries to outdo other countries with fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Big ball falling
Times Square in New York is the center of the New Year’s celebration and there is a countdown shortly before twelve o’clock.
But what catches everyone’s eye is the ‘ball drop’, when a glittering ball is dropped from the top of a pool to herald the arrival of the New Year.
Pomegranate bursting
In Greece and Turkey, pomegranate is considered a symbol of prosperity and blessing.
And traditionally, many people break pomegranates outside their homes on the arrival of the new year to bring good luck and blessings to their homes in the coming year.
Ringing the bells
In some countries, such as Japan and Korea, it is customary to ring bells to usher in the New Year.
In Japan, the bells are rung 108 times, so be prepared to hear a lot of noise here.
Breaking dishes and plates
If you walk out the door of your house and see a broken plate, it is considered a sign of good luck.
In Denmark people like to see it outside their houses after midnight as it is considered good luck.
If you are from Denmark, you should go to the door of the house of one of your ancestors and break the plate to bring them good luck for the next twelve months.
Eat pulses
Brazil has a tradition of eating lentils on New Year’s Eve.
This is because pulses are considered a symbol of money. Its demand will bring you happiness in the new year if you eat pulses on its arrival.
Twelve grapes
In Spain, people are seen eating grapes at midnight. Because there is a tradition that a grape should be eaten with every chime of the clock at twelve o’clock at midnight.
The idea is that doing this will bring you happiness every month for the next twelve months.
Wearing a bear skin
It is a tradition in Romania that people dance wearing bear skins to ward off evil forces in the coming year.
In Romanian folklore, bears are considered important in warding off evil and curing diseases.
Walking with empty boxes
In some Latin American countries, people will show you empty bags on New Year’s Eve.
Some people believe that ‘suitcase’ means that the coming year will be a year of adventures for you.
Throwing furniture
In Johannesburg, South Africa, people try to start the new year without unnecessary and old things.
Some people even throw their old furniture out the windows.
But the New Year celebrations are not limited to January 1st, as we will read further.
A gift of money
This is commonly called ‘lucky money’ which is distributed by elders to children and young members of their family on the Lunar New Year. This tradition is celebrated by people from China, Korea and Vietnam.
The method of giving money is different in these cultures. In China, gifts of money are given in red envelopes. While in Korea, the child’s name is also written on the white envelope.
By pouring water
Bathing each other in water is part of their rituals during the Buddhist New Year Songkran in Thailand and Thingyan festivals in Myanmar.
Water guns are often used in Thailand and are also a tourist attraction. Young people meet their elderly relatives and pour water on their hands and feet as a sign of respect.
Myanmar has a flood-like situation where people celebrate the New Year by throwing water on each other.
It is believed that the water will wash away the evil of the previous year and start the new year with purity.
Rare dates
Coptic Christians in Egypt celebrate the New Year in September and one of their traditions is to eat red dates.
The red color of this date symbolizes blood and the white inside means purity. While its seeds are considered as a sign of faith.
A chance to look within
The rest of the world may want to party on New Year’s Eve, but in some cultures it’s considered a moment of introspection.
According to the Islamic calendar, the New Year, which falls in July this year, is a holiday in some Muslim-majority countries. It begins with worship and is an occasion when Muslims reflect on their actions. Some Muslims worship and fast with their friends and family for the first 10 days of the New Year.
The same tradition is common on the Indonesian island of Bali. The first day of its calendar is called the ‘day of silence’ when the entire island suspends its worldly activities. On this occasion lights and sounds are switched off for 24 hours and the whole day is spent in silence.
But the day before that, the people of Bali take part in a parade where they carry huge statues. It is a symbol of evil things that have affected the world and the universe. So they are burned.