By Brian Roulston
Our planet Earth has been on a remarkable journey over the last year, traveling at the speed of 30 km/sec for 940 million kilometers around the sun. We, as cosmic passengers on this 4 ½ billion-year-old ancient spaceship, believe it warrants a huge celebration. Relax and enjoy as we discover some of the diverse New Year’s traditions of this amazing journey around the world.
Here in Canada, we are fortunate to have a great diversity of New Year’s traditions, from all those who call Canada home. Some like to celebrate by going to upscale restaurants, traveling to popular destinations such as Ottawa, Niagara Falls, or Vancouver for their New Years festivities, and at the stroke of midnight, exchanging hugs and kisses. On New Year’s Day, a few brave souls will venture into the cold Canadian waters for a Polar Bear Dip, although not this soul. Brr!
Thirty-two atolls make up the tiny island nation of Kiribati, home to 120,000 people. It is the first nation on this big blue marble to welcome the new year, with the Hawaiian Islands being the last. However, this joyous occasion is rarely observed in Kiribati. New Year’s Day is well celebrated throughout the Land of the White Clouds, New Zealand, 45 minutes after Kiribati. The Kiwis are in the middle of their summer season. Visiting relatives and friends and taking part in outdoor activities like camping, swimming, picnics, and fireworks.
Filipinos in the Philippines celebrate the New Year with noise, using firecrackers, horns, music players, and pots and pans to signal the start of the new year to scare off evil spirits. They also believe that round objects bring good luck and prosperity, and so they serve round foods and wear polka-dotted clothes on New Year’s Eve.
Due to the time difference between Greenland and Denmark, the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’ gets to celebrate New Year’s Eve twice! The first countdown is at 8:00 pm local time, which is midnight in Denmark. The next is, of course, their own midnight. Greenland’s festivities involve drinking, watching fireworks, and giving hugs. In Denmark, the Danes have two truly unique rituals to celebrate the start of their new year. One of them involves jumping off chairs or low steps at the count of midnight. This symbolizes a leap from the old year into the new one. Another custom that seems rather strange is that on New Year’s Eve, Danes shatter old dinner plates on the doorsteps of their friends and relatives. The more dishes piled up on the doorstep, the luckier the new year will be for the homeowner.
In Siberia, it is tradition to plant a tree and take a plunge into a frozen lake, similar to our very own Polar Bear swim. Siberians plant what is known as the yolka (fir) or Siberian New Year Tree, a decorated tree that symbolizes the New Year holiday season in Russia and other countries. Sometimes they skip the tree planting part and go straight for the swim. According to them, these traditions symbolize new beginnings.
In Spain and Portugal, it is a tradition to eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the year, on New Year’s Eve right at midnight. The challenge is to finish all 12 grapes before the final stroke of the clock. It is believed that if you’re successful, you can look forward to a great deal of luck and prosperity in the coming year.
Throughout Japan, bells toll 108 times at Buddhist temples on New Year’s Eve. This number represents worldly sins and desires according to their religion. By ringing the bells, they are purging their sins and ringing in good luck.
On the eve of New Year’s, Brazilians wear white to attract peace and happiness. They also head to the beach to offer the Goddess of the Sea white flowers. White symbolizes purity, while the flowers are given to the goddess hoping that in turn, they will receive prosperity for the upcoming year.
The Hogmanay Festival is a New Year celebration with a Scottish flair that starts on New Year’s Eve and can last for days. It is believed that the Scots inherited the celebration of Hogmanay from the Vikings and their celebration of the shortest day of the year. The name “Hogmanay” is thought to have come from the French word “hoginane,” which means “gala day”. The festival includes fireworks, torchlight procession, street parties, concerts, and ceilidhs (traditional Scottish dances and storytelling).
China and Italy both consider red to be a lucky color. During Chinese New Year, many people paint their doors red and wear red clothing to celebrate. Additionally, they give away small red envelopes containing money to spread good luck. Meanwhile, Italians wear red underwear for good luck in love for the coming year.
Junkanoo is a Bahamian festival that celebrates their African heritage and culture. It is often referred to as the ‘Caribbean Mardi Gras’ due to the many similarities of New Orleans. It’s held on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and there is also a Junkanoo on Independence Day on July 10th. However, the New Year’s celebration is by far the largest. Bahamians wear colorful costumes that will capture your eyes and parade on the streets with music and dancing. Junkanoo traces its roots to the West African John Canoe Festival. It started in the Bahamas in the 17th century as a way for enslaved Africans to disguise themselves with flour paste and celebrate on the days after Christmas. It is a lively and festive celebration with rhythmic sounds of cowbells, goat skin drums, and whistles, accompanied by a large group of brass instruments, creating a happy and laid-back musical beat.
New Year’s Eve in Jamaica is a time for unique traditions. The Jonkonmu parades feature animal headdresses, smoked salmon, vegetables, and oyster shells for good luck. The parties are ear-ringing affairs, aimed at driving away evil spirits. Families enjoy traditional Jamaican foods, such as curried goat meat and rice with red beans.
The Cubans love a good party and will find any excuse to have one, New Year’s is no exception. New Year’s Eve is celebrated with a lavish feast of slow-cooked pork leg, black beans and rice, cassava with garlic sauce, fried plantains, salad, and doughnuts for dessert. They also drink plenty of beer and Cuban rum to toast the occasion. Their celebrations are full of joy and energy, with music, dancing, and socializing from the early evening until midnight when they count down the seconds to the new year. Then they kiss and hug their loved ones and watch the fireworks along the Malecón, a favorite meeting point for lovers, poets, folk singers, philosophers, and fishermen. They also have various rituals to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year, such as cleaning their homes thoroughly and throwing away the dirty water, which symbolizes throwing out the bad. They also paint their homes with fresh colors, set fire to rag dolls that represent the old year, or toss notes with their wishes into the ocean at the Malecón. Some Cubans even carry a suitcase and walk around the streets at midnight, hoping to travel abroad in the new year.
Happy New Year to all the great North End Breezes volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year and to our readers for loving what we do.
