©2011HappyEdugator

Custom: An accepted practice of a community or people; the usual manner of doing something, a tradition - Webster’s Dictionary, 1998 All over the world there are special customs or traditions people use to celebrate the New Year. ©2011HappyEdugator

Why Are There Different Customs? People around the world celebrate the New Year in different ways and at different times. This is because people use different calendars. A long time ago people divided time into days, months, and years. Some calendars were based on the movement of the sun, some were based on the movement of the moon, and some were based on both. ©2011HappyEdugator

United States Here in the United States we celebrate from the evening of Dec. 31 through Jan. 1- New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with fireworks at midnight, all night dance parties, football, and parades. After fireworks at the stroke of midnight, we usually sing an old Scottish song by the poet Robert Burns called “Auld Lang Syne” or Old Long Since…meaning reflection upon days gone by. Some people in the South believe you should eat collard greens for wealth and black-eyed peas for good luck. Many people have a special New Year’s dinner. ©2011HappyEdugator

Canada Jan. 1 Similar to the United States, people in Canada like to watch fireworks at midnight, eat, drink, and dance. Many people in country areas enjoy going ice fishing on January 1. There is also a customary “Polar Bear Swim!” BRRRRRRR ©2011HappyEdugator

England The evening of Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Traditionally, on the stroke of midnight, people open the back door (to let the old year out) and ask the first dark haired man to be seen to come through the front door carrying salt, coal and bread. This means that the following year everyone in the house will have enough to eat (bread), enough money (salt) and be warm enough (coal). The English only started celebrating with fireworks at midnight in the year ©2011HappyEdugator

Scotland Jan. 1- The celebration of New Year's Eve is called "Hogmanay". The word Hogmanay comes from the name of a kind of oat cake that’s given to children on New Year's Eve. The tradition of first footing is also observed, where the first person to set foot in a house in the New Year is thought to control the fortune of everyone who lives there. Strangers are thought to bring good luck. In some places, a dark-haired stranger is better, while in others, a light-haired stranger is luckier. Either way, Scotland is a very welcoming place for strangers at New Year! ©2011HappyEdugator

Wales New Year's Eve is called "Nos Galan" in Welsh, and while they also believe in letting out the old year and letting in the new, they have a different view of who should come in the house. If the first visitor in the New Year is a woman, and a man opens the door, it's considered bad luck. Also, if the first man to cross the threshold in the New Year is a red- head, that is also bad luck! ©2011HappyEdugator

Spain The Spaniards celebrate on Jan. 1. “Aňo Nuevo” means New Year. Everyone feasts and dance to music. At midnight, on New Year’s Eve, everyone eats twelve grapes for good luck. They try to eat them at each stroke of the clock, which is pretty funny as the grapes are not seedless, and everyone ends up with a mouthful! ©2011HappyEdugator

Austria Jan 1 - New Year's Eve is usually celebrated with friends and family. At exactly midnight, all radio and television stations broadcast the sound of the Pummerin, the bell of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. Right after that, the song "The Blue Danube" by Strauss is played. Many people dance at parties or on the street. Crowds gather on the streets of Vienna, the capital city, where the government sets up stages from which bands and orchestras play music. Fireworks are also set off. ©2011HappyEdugator

Belgium January 1 is called Nieuwjaarsdag and the children read their “New Year's letter” to their family. They also give holiday greeting cards adorned with gold angels and colored roses or ribbon-tied garlands to their parents and godparents. All of this is done on fancy paper which they saved money to buy. Belgian farmers also wish their animals a happy New Year for blessings. ©2011HappyEdugator

Italy Jan 1- Capodanno New Year's Eve in Italy La Festa di San Silvestro is celebrated December 31 on New Year's Eve. Families and friends get together for a huge feast. People eat lentils and pork sausage, symbolizing money and good luck for the new year. They also celebrate with fireworks and dancing, and many towns build bonfires. They play a game called Tombola, similar to Bingo. In some areas, people throw old things out the window to get ready for the new year, and everyone is supposed to wear RED underwear to bring them luck in the new year! ©2011HappyEdugator

Mexico Jan. 1 “Aňo Nuevo” Although Mexico shares some of the customs with Spain, such as eating grapes, they also have their own traditions. What you wear on New Year's Eve is thought to shape your destiny during the next 12 months. White clothing is supposed to invite good feelings and assure a good year spiritually. Green clothing attracts a year of good health. It is customary to walk or run around the block with an empty suitcase so you will get to travel in the year to come. Everyone embraces; ladies get air kisses and men get slaps on the back. ©2011HappyEdugator

Argentina Jan. 1 “Aňo Nuevo” in Spanish and fireworks are shot off at midnight. Since Argentina is in the southern hemisphere, Jan. 1 is actually the middle of the summer. It is usually one of the hottest days of the year. Most people go swimming! ©2011HappyEdugator

Brazil Jan. 1 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. (Lentils are small beans, like peas) People wear white for good luck, go to the beach, and watch fireworks. ©2011HappyEdugator

Colombia Jan. 1 According to tradition, when the clock turns twelve, the first step should be made with the right foot only, to ensure making the right decisions in the coming year. People stuff a doll representing the old year with fireworks and things which they don’t want that give them sadness or bad memories. At midnight, they set it on fire. ©2011HappyEdugator

China Celebrated around Feb. 10. People eat dried pumpkin seeds, watch dragon dances, eat a meatless dinner for good luck, and children get money in red envelopes. Fireworks are supposed to scare away evil spirits. People wish each other “ Kung Hey Fat Choy” or Happy New Year! All the lights are supposed to be on in the house to represent warmth and friendship. ©2011HappyEdugator

Japan The Japanese celebrate on Jan. 1. The holiday is called “Shougatsu.” It is a very important holiday and has been celebrated for centuries. Much time is spent the days before preparing for it. Children look forward to this day because parents and relatives give them money. At midnight on Dec. 31, bells in the temples ring 108 times, to get rid of 108 human sins of the Buddhist belief. Families eat special noodles and other dishes and go to shrines to pray for a prosperous New Year. ©2011HappyEdugator

Vietnam Feb. 10 “TET” Ladies wear red and yellow and the men wear black. People go to temple first, then eat earth cake, which is made out of rice, beans, and pork. Children get red envelopes with money like in China, but they also give their teachers red envelopes with money. If the teacher refuses to take it, it is an insult! ©2011HappyEdugator

Australia In Australia they celebrate the New Year on January 1. Many people have picnics and camp out on the beach. (It is summer) They have parties that start on December 31 and at midnight they make noise with whistles and rattles, car horns and church bells to ring in the New Year. Jan. 1 is a day for outdoor activities such as rodeos, picnics, races and surf carnivals. ©2011HappyEdugator

India The new year is celebrated at the end of October. “Diwali” or “Festival of Lights” People light oil lamps and candles to ward off bad spirits. For three days in late October or early November, every town and village shines and glows with thousands of lights. Their homes are decorated with little oil lamps known as diwa. These little lights are found in temples, houses, in windows and by garden paths. In cities, electrical lights are used to light up buildings. These are used to drive out evil and is replace evil with goodness. ©2011HappyEdugator

Iran Mar. 21 “Nowrouz” Children like to get New Year’s presents, and many kinds of cookies are specially arranged on tables in every home. (and eaten!) ©2011HappyEdugator

Israel Celebrated on Oct. 1 “Rosh Hashanah” People eat apples dipped in honey and pray that the new year will be a sweet one. Some people eat pomegranate (so they will have children) and a fish head (so they would be leaders, not followers) They also eat a sweet round loaf of bread called challa, symbolizing a full cycle of life. ©2011HappyEdugator