Strangest New Year Traditions of worldIn many countries, there’s a shared belief that specific actions taken on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day or at stroke of midnight when one becomes the other—can influence the fate of the months ahead.
By: Nayayear No matter how odd they may seem to us, though, these customs share an optimism that’s hard not to appreciate. Out with the old, in with the new! http://www.newyear- Spain At midnight on New Year’s Eve, it’s customary in Spain to quickly eat 12 grapes (or uvas)—one at each stroke of the clock. Each grape supposedly signifies good luck for one month of the coming year. In Madrid, Barcelona, and other Spanish cities, revelers congregate in the main squares to gobble their grapes together and pass around bottles of cava. Philippines Round shapes (representing coins) are thought to symbolize prosperity for the coming year in the Philippines; Belarus During the traditional celebration of Kaliady, still-unmarried women play games to predict who will be wed in the New Year. In one game, a pile of corn is placed before each woman, and a rooster is let go; whichever pile the rooster approaches first reveals who will be the first to marry. In another game, a married woman hides certain items around her house for her unmarried friends to find; the woman who finds bread will supposedly marry a rich husband; the one who finds a ring will marry a handsome one. Japan Every New Year’s Eve since 1951, a wildly popular TV music show is broadcast in Japan (and on cable in other parts of the world). Called “Kohaku Uta Gassen” (which translates to English as “Red and White Song Battle”), the show pits two teams of celebrity music stars against one another in a series of dramatic individual sing-offs; both judges and the home audience vote to decide whether the white team (made up of men) or the red team (women) wins. While most of the show’s stars are mainly known in Asia, American performers like Paul Simon and Cyndi Lauper have also competed. http://www.newyear- Denmark Many Danes ring in the New Year by standing on chairs and then jumping off them together at midnight. Leaping into January is supposed to banish bad spirits and bring good luck. Estonia In (leaner) decades past, Estonians followed a custom of trying to eat seven times on New Year’s Day, to ensure abundant food in the coming year. (If a man ate seven times, he was supposed to have the strength of seven men the following year). Modern-day celebrations here, however—especially in the party-hearty capital of Tallinn—tend to revolve as much around alcohol as food. Finland It’s a longtime Finnish tradition to predict the coming year by casting molten tin into a container of water, and then interpreting the shape the metal takes after hardening. A heart or ring shape means a wedding in the New Year; a ship forecasts travel; and a pig shape signifies plenty of food. Panama Effigies of well-known people—called muñecos—are traditionally burned in New Year’s bonfires in Panama. The figures can include everyone from television characters like “Ugly Betty” to political figures like Fidel Castro (last year, Panama’s first Olympic gold medalist, track star Irving Saladin, was burned as a muñeco). The effigies represent the old year; immolating them is meant to drive off evil spirits for a fresh New Year’s start. Scotland During the New Year’s Eve celebration of Hogmanay, “first-footing” Central and South America In Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela, it’s considered lucky to wear special underwear on New Year’s Eve; in cities like Sao Paulo and La Paz, market vendors start displaying brightly colored underpants a few days before the holiday. The most popular colors are red and yellow: red is supposed to bring love in the coming year, and yellow is supposed to bring money. # # # Information about http://kashmirparadise.blogspot.com Kashmir Paradise , History of Kashmir, Fact Files, Culture, Places to visit, in http://jammukashmir.blogspot.com jammu kashmir End
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