Welcoming a New Year

Happy New Year! Hopefully 2019 was a wonderful and unforgettable year for everyone. If this year did not go as planned, I hope 2020 treats you much better! Personally, I felt that this year flew by, but either way I am ready to start the new year. On the topic of the new year I was interested to see what customs people follow.

In my own experience, my family doesn’t do too much. We order pizza and watch the ball drop on the TV, but the most important part is we are there as a family.

Around the world people celebrate New Years in their own special way. In Colombia people carry suitcases with them on December 31st so that they have a year filled with travel.

In Canada people jump into the English Bay on New Years, which is named the Polar Bear Swim.

In the UK, after the clock strikes 12, people form a circle and start singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

In France many people start the year by eating crepes while in Germany they start it by eating donuts filled with jam or liquor.

In Turkey people sprinkle salt on their doorsteps, it is thought this will bring peace and abundance to their home.

In Russia, people write a wish down for the new year, burn the paper, and then put it in a glass of champagne which they drink.

In Denmark people save all their unused dishes and break them on New Years.

To earn cash in the following year, people in the Philippines have round food and other round items to represent coins.

In Greece, an onion is placed outside the house on New Years Eve and in the morning parents wake up their children by tapping the onion on their heads.

In Spain, they start the year by eating 12 grapes.

In the Southern part of America, people eat a stew made from black-eyed peas which are symbols of coins.

Of course these are only some traditions around the world out of the many. It really is interesting how people in different parts of the world celebrate the New Year differently, but in the end it’s a way to add a fun twist in an important day.

In however way you celebrated New Year, I hope you had a fantastic day and a wonderful holiday!