New Year's Around the World

I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season as much as we are at Imagine Learning! I can’t believe how quickly the holidays came this year. In only a few weeks we'll be starting off a brand new decade!

New Year’s traditions are so interesting to me. It’s amazing how one holiday can be celebrated in so many different ways. Every family, country, and culture has unique traditions and customs, and it's a lot of fun to learn about the different ways people ring in the new year.

In my family, we all gather around the table with glasses of apple juice mixed with lemon-lime soda. (Nothing else can be substituted for that—it’s tradition!) Each person says a wish for the year to come, and we all toast and cheer then move on to the next person. In Lisa’s family, everyone eats black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for luck. They also eat a traditional Mexican soup with meat, bone, potatoes, and corn on the cob. When Shar was growing up, her family celebrated by making donuts, watching movies, and playing games.

Here are some fun ideas for the classroom:

• Ask your students about fun New Year's traditions they enjoy with their families. If you have English language learners in your class, you can ask them to talk about their culture and what they do for the new year.
• This is also an opportunity to teach students who have recently moved to a new country about the customs in their new country. Have students compare and contrast traditions from their country with the traditions in their new home.
• Teach a special lesson about New Year's traditions around the world. Ask your students to pretend they could go anywhere in the world for New Year's. Have them talk or write about what country they would choose to visit and why.

I’ve been doing a little research of my own, and I thought it would be fun to let you know about traditions from some of the countries that speak the languages we support in Imagine Learning English. Are you ready for your trip around the world?

Arabic
Not everyone celebrates New Year's on January 1. Many people living in Arabic-speaking countries celebrate the new year on the first of Muharram, which is the first month of the Islamic calendar. This year, Muharram begins December 18, though it doesn't officially begin until the sighting of the first crescent moon of the year.

Most people observe Muharram by fasting, offering prayers, reciting fatiha (which is the first chapter of the Koran), and singing elegies to honor the memory of martyrs. In some areas, people have begun to exchange cards and gifts on the first of Muharram as well.

Many families celebrate by wearing special clothes and having holiday feasts with special sweets.

English
In English-speaking countries, the new year is traditionally celebrated with a big midnight party-- either at home with the family, with friends, or with the community at big, city-wide parties that are commonly called First Night.

One tradition is called First Footing. The idea behind First Footing is that the first person to step over the threshold of a house on New Year's day will determine the luck of the family members for the coming year. Tall, dark-haired, good-looking men bring the best luck, and are even better luck if they bring a small gift, like a lump of coal, coins, or an evergreen sprig.

Another English tradition is the song "Auld Lang Syne," which comes from a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns. Do you know all the words?

French
The French celebrate the new year in style with a special feast called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre, which is meant to bring prosperity to the house in the coming year.

There is a huge, two-day festival that takes place in Paris, where thousands of performers parade through the streets and meet under the Eiffel Tower on January 1. In southwestern France, people attend evening mass, then join in a torchlight procession to the vineyards for mulled wine.

Haitian Creole
On New Year's Day Haitians wear new clothing and exchange gifts to bring wealth and prosperity in the coming year. There are also displays of fireworks and community parties with games, contests, and entertainment.

Japanese
People in Japan spend New Year's Eve cleaning their homes and preparing special decorations called Kadomatsu, which are made up of a pine branch that symbolizes longevity, a bamboo stalk that symbolizes prosperity, and a plum blossom that symbolizes nobility.

One fun tradition is the Red and White Year-End Song Festival, which is a singing contest between male and female teams of celebrity singers. Japanese people also send colorful postcards to their friends and family so that they arrive on New Year's, making it a very busy day for the postal system!

Before sunrise on January 1, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so they can see the first sunrise of the new year.

Korean
The Koreans traditionally follow the Lunar calendar, which means that this year, Korean New Year is on February 14. People place straw scoopers, rakes, or sieves on their doors and walls to protect their families from evil spirits in the new year. The next morning, on New Year's Day, everyone dresses in new clothes, which symbolizes a fresh beginning.

Families gather together at the home of the eldest male family member to celebrate together and play games. Ancestral memorial rites are held, and the younger generation bows to elders in the family and wishes them good health and prosperity in the coming year. Parents typically reward this gesture by giving their children money and offering words of wisdom.

Mandarin
Chinese New Year is also celebrated according to the Lunar calendar, which means people all over China will be celebrating on February 14. It is the longest and most important festivity in the Lunar calendar and the most important traditional Chinese holiday.

Within China, there are many different regional customs and traditions for the new year. People wear new clothes, exchange presents, and decorate their homes with red paper cutouts. They also clean the house to sweep away any ill-fortune for the coming year and welcome in good luck.
On the Eve of Chinese New Year, families feast together on delicious food and sweets, then light fireworks. On New Year's Day, children wish their parents a healthy and happy new year and receive money in red paper envelopes.

Marshallese
On the Marshall Islands, people celebrate the coming of the new year by decorating their homes and having large community parties with dancing, traditional food, and entertainment. Friends and strangers alike wish each other a happy new year and prosperity for the coming year.

Portuguese
In Portugal, people traditionally pick and eat twelve grapes from a bunch as the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Eve. This ensures twelve happy months in the coming year. In Northern Portugal, children go caroling from home to home, singing traditional songs to bring luck. They are given treats and coins for their carols.

In Brazil, lentils are believed to signify wealth, because they look like coins. So on the first day of the new year, Brazilians eat lentil soup or lentils and rice to bring good fortune and prosperity.

At the De Iemanjá Festival in Brazil, people wear white clothes and light candles that they send out to float on the water.

Russian
In Russia, some people celebrate New Year's twice-- the official new year on January 1 (according to the Gregorian calendar) and again on January 14 (which is January 1 according to the Julian calendar).

Russian New Year's traditions include a decorative tree known as Novogodnaya Yolka. It is decorated with sweets and has a star on top. Another tradition is the arrival of Father Frost and his granddaughter, the snow girl, who bring gifts to put under the New Year's tree. Children sing songs for Father Frost.

Families come together for delicious meals and fireworks and to listen to the New Year Speech by the president of Russia on New Year's Day.

Spanish
Spanish New Year's Eve celebrations usually begin with a family dinner, traditionally including shrimp and lamb or turkey. The countdown to midnight is focused on the clock on top of the Casa de Correos building in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid. It is traditional to eat twelve grapes, one on each chime of the clock, to guarantee good luck. This tradition is common throughout Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Peru, and Columbia.

Another New Year's custom is to prepare a special cake shaped like a ring, with a prize inside. The cake is divided up, and the lucky person who finds the prize in his or her piece is blessed with good luck all through the year.

Spanish tradition also says that wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve brings good luck.

In many Spanish-speaking countries, it is also common to take baths, clean the house, and even clean cars and pets to ensure a fresh start in the new year.

Vietnamese
The new year in Vietnam is celebrated according to the Lunar calendar on February 14. The celebration lasts for at least three days and has a lot of similarities to the Chinese New Year.

Many Vietnamese prepare for the new year by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. People visit temples and pay their respects to relatives and ancestors, and children receive lucky money for the coming year.