New Year's Traditions Around the World

There are many traditions around the world to celebrate the New Year. Here's a look at a few of them.

Drive off bad luck

Many cultures have traditions meant to scare off bad luck. This often involves using fire or loud noises in the form of fireworks! In Scotland, for example, people hold bonfire celebrations. Men from villages walk through the streets swinging giant burning fireballs over their heads. 【小题1】.

Food for good luck

【小题2】. In the southern part of the United States , people often eat black-eyed peas and pork for good luck in the New Year. In Spain, as the clock strikes midnight, people eat 12 grapes, which represent the 12 months of the year. It guarantees that the year will be filled with good luck.

Clothing traditions

Many people like to wear new clothing to start the New Year. In Romania, there is a tradition that involves dressing up in a bear costume .【小题3】,if this won't! In Brazil, some people wear colorful underwear on New Year's Eve. The most popular colors are red and yellow. 【小题4】. Yellow is supposed to bring you money.

【小题5】

Many use the start of New Year as a time to try something new or change something about themselves. The New Year is a perfect time to change yourself for the better. That is why many people have the tradition of making a New Year's resolution. It is usually about living healthier or having more success in life.

These are just a handful of traditions. Tell us about a New Year's tradition in your culture!

In Cairo, formal education is very important. There are twelve years of formal education in Egypt, and public schools are free, though the government does not have enough money. Many families can afford to send their children to private schools. Toward the end of high school, children planning to go to college should take an exam required. The results of that exam determine which college each student will attend and also which fields of study are open to that student. Top students can attend the American University in Cairo, which teaches its course in English. Other universities in the Cairo area include Cairo University, with over 30,000 students, Ain Shams University and Al–Azhar University. Many Children do not complete school or go on to college but learn a trade or apprenticeship in business instead.

Education comes from the family—this is where children learn about social values. The family is very important in Egyptian society. Though modern families are adopting the idea of the “nuclear family” common in the West, the traditional Egyptian family unit consists of parents, grandparents, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and all sorts of people. Even though the modern family unit tends to be smaller, families usually live close together and visit each other often.

Unlike in the West, children usually live with their parents until they get married, even through college. It is very rare that children move out and establish their independence before they get married. Usually, this only happens if the child goes abroad to save money before getting married. Many young Egyptian men work for a few years in the rich countries of the Persian Gulf, where wages are much higher than they are in Egypt, and this allows them to have a better start when they return to Egypt and get married.

The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival, which is also called the Tomb Sweeping Festival, is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4 — 6 each year (It falls on April 5 in 2018). After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work; it is more a festival of commemoration.

The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.

This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the deceased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.

The Hanshi (Cold Food) Festival was usually one day before the Qingming Festival. As our ancestors often extended the day to the Qingming, they were later combined. 

On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.

In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring Outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.

People love to fly kites during the Qingming Festival. Kite flying is actually not limited to the Qingming Festival. Its uniqueness lies in that people fly kites not during the day, but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or the thread look like shining stars, and therefore, are called “god’s lanterns.”

The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called “Arbor Day”. But since 1979, “Arbor Day” was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.