New Year is one of the happiest holidays. People want to believe that on New Year's Eve the world is given a chance for renewal, that a better life begins. New Year's customs of different nations are not only fun, but also attempts to find out the future or even influence it.
"As you celebrate the New Year, so you will spend it" - this principle is subject to the New Year traditions of all nations. No one wants to starve in the coming year, so a plentiful table is required, but each nation has its own New Year's treat. For example, in England they cook a turkey with chestnuts, and in Hungary it is believed that you cannot eat a bird for the New Year - happiness will fly away.
New Year's pies that are baked in Romania are not only a treat, but also a way to tell fortunes about the future: either fortune-telling notes or coins, rings and other small items are baked in them.
The holiday is dedicated not only to meeting the coming year, but also to seeing off the old one. In Colombia, the Old Year is one of the main characters at the carnival. He walks on stilts among the festive crowd and amuses children by telling funny stories.
As a sign of parting with the past in Italy, old things are thrown out through the windows onto the street, even furniture, in Cuba and Peru, water is poured, and in Argentina, employees of various offices throw out old papers. There is a known case when employees of one newspaper were so amused that they threw the entire archive out the window. In Nepal, old things are not thrown away, but burned.
In China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Mongolia, the New Year is celebrated on the first new moon after January 21, in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan - on the night of March 22, October 7 - in Indonesia, and November 18 - in Yemen.
For the coming year to be happy, you need to drive away evil spirits. In England, bells are rung for this, in Hungary they whistle, in Panama sirens and car horns are turned on, in Iran they shoot from guns, in Japan they laugh, in China they beat the gong, light lanterns and arrange fireworks.
If Christmas is a Christian holiday, then New Year brings to mind the ancient pagan customs. In Brazil, people living near the ocean go to the shore to worship the goddess of the sea, Yemanja. At the same time, they put on white clothes and decorate themselves with flowers, depending on what request they intend to turn to the goddess. Anyone who asks for health chooses pink flowers, love - red, wealth - golden. Candles, flowers, mirrors and other offerings are put into boats, which are allowed into the ocean.
For some peoples, the New Year's holiday is timed to coincide with the rainy season: in Laos - to its onset on April 14, and in Ethiopia - to its end on September 11.
New Year is also a time to be responsible for your deeds in the old year. Indonesians ask each other for forgiveness in order to enter the next year with a clear conscience. In Vietnam, it is believed that at this time the home gods go to heaven to tell how their wards lived during the year. The Vietnamese buy live carp and release them into rivers so that the gods can use these fish as a means of transport.
And of course, the New Year is a time of good wishes and hopes for the future. Bulgarians wish each other happiness, lightly hitting with harsh ones - dogwood sticks, decorated with red threads and coins. In Laos, water is poured over each other to avoid drought. In the United States, it is customary to come up with and write down tasks for yourself for the next year: quit smoking, spend less money, etc., and after a year they arrange a comic summing up and write new tasks.
