Almost all cultures celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some way. Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and at different times on the calendar.

In Western countries, people usually celebrate New Year at midnight on December 31st or January 1st. People may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal clothes, and they may drink champagne（香槟）at midnight. During the first minutes of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness for the year ahead. But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first light of the sunrise.

Many cultures also do special things to get rid of bad luck at the beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from old clothes. The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are gone and the new year can start afresh（重新）.

Other common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new year.

Other New Year traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more grapes a person eats, the more good luck the person will have in the new year. In France, people eat pancakes for good luck at New Year. In the United States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck—but to get good luck for a whole year you have to eat 365 of them！

One theory is that kissing all began when cavemen began licking (舔) their neighbours’ faces for the salt on them. But whatever it might have been for, the fact remains that, in one form or another, kissing has been widespread, though it developed mostly in the West.

Ancient Greek and Roman parents kissed their children, and lovers or married people kissed each other, as did friends. In the Middle Ages (the period in European history between about 1100 and 1500 AD) knights kissed before doing battle. Early Christians were often kissed to express respect.

Kissing is very much a cultural practice, and rules and attitudes vary across the globe. The French, who have had quite a lot of kissing practice, have turned kissing into a fine social art, although these days, even they are not sure when or how to do it. Many French kiss one another three, or even more, times. It can sometimes go on for a long time. Italians are enthusiastic kissers at all times, and they have been for centuries. Arabic men greet one another with kisses, as do Arabic women. Russian men too are often seen greeting one another with kisses, and it is especially noticeable in the world of Russia, where the three-kiss greeting has become a social behavior. The British, though, remain shy about social kissing. The Japanese, along with many Asian peoples, consider kissing, at least in public, as a Western custom and sometimes even offensive (冒犯的). Kissing has, however, become more commonplace in some Asian countries in the past few years.

But kissing does seem to be on the increase. We kiss people we used to hug, we hug people we used to shake hands with, and we shake hands with those we used to nod to.

Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, an early Christian churchman who helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1,700 years ago, but the day that has his name is even earlier than that.

More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweetheart for a year. Today, lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they send each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also send gifts, like flowers or chocolate candy. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some used another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short, “Jane, I love you very much.” Others say more. This one, for example, “Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, Mary.”

Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United States and 90 other countries as well. This means someone can send a Valentine message to a lover in a far-away city or town almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper.