New Year's Traditions from Around the World

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Happy New Year!

Arabic: Kul 'aam u antum salimoun
Chinese: Chu Shen Tan
French: Bonne Annee
German: Prosit Neujahr
Greek: Eftecheezmaenos o Kaenooryos hronos
Hebrew: L'Shannah Tovah Tikatevu
Hindi: Niya Saa Moobaarak
Irish (Gaelic): Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian: Buon Capodanno
Russian: S Novim Godom
Spanish: Feliz Ano Neuvo
Turkish: Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

In the spirit of Nationalities Services Center, whose board I serve on, I am writing my New Year’s post about the New Year’s Traditions from around the world.  Maybe you can incorporate some of these great ideas into your family’s New Year’s Eve and reflect on how small this world is?    Whatever you do, may it be a safe and wonderful holiday for you and yours, and we’ll see you next year!

Belgian New Year:  New Year's Day is called Nieuwjaarsdag at this time of the year the children save money to buy decorated paper for writing holiday greetings to parents and god parents. Motifs are golden cherubs and angels, colored roses, and ribbon tied garlands. On New Year's morning the children read what they have written to their parents and god parents.

Hungarian New Year:  In Hungary they burn effigies or a scapegoat known as "Jack Straw" which represented the evils and misfortunes of the past year to burn on New Year's Eve. Jack Straw is carried around the village before being burnt.

Japanese New Year:  To keep out evil spirits, they hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses, which stands for happiness and good luck. In Japan temple bells usher out the old year, and then comes the joyano-kane which is the "night-watch bell", this is a series of exactly 108 peals. These, it is said, free the faithful from the 108 "earthly desires" lambasted in the Buddhist canon. The ringing of the bell 108 times is done to free the year form evil. For those who follow the Shinto religion the house is decorated with evergreen s which are the symbol for eternal life and bamboo which is the symbol for honesty

Egyptian New Year:  On this day everyone dresses up in special clothes. The children are given sweets. Boys are given a sweet molded into the shape of a boy on horseback. Girls are given one in the shape of a girl wearing a dress. The sweets are surrounded by colored paper shaped like an accordion. The New Year for the adults is a day for visiting friends. In some villages the father or the head of the family goes from house to house wishing each family a happy New Year collecting people as they go, until they end up at the Mayor's house.

Brazilian New Year:  In Brazil the lentil is believed to signify wealth, so on the first day of the New Year they serve lentil soup or lentils and rice. In Brazil on New Year’s Eve priestesses of the local macumba voodoo cult dress in blue skirts and white blouses for a ceremony dedicated to the goddess of water, Yemanja. A sacrificial boat laden with flowers, candles and jewelery is pushed out to sea from Brazil's famous Ipenama beach in Rio de Janeiro.