Here are a few that seemingly come out of nowhere, but remain integral pieces of some countries’ annual New Year customs. Many of the customs of New Year festivals note the passing of time with both regret and anticipation. The baby as a symbol of the new year dates to the ancient Greeks, with an old man representing the year that has passed. The Romans derived the name for the month of January from their god Janus, who had two faces, one looking backward and the other forward. The practice of making resolutions to rid oneself of bad habits and to adopt better ones also dates to ancient times.
In Sławatycze, people tour the streets dressed up as bearded men. In Norway New Year’s Eve (Nyttårsaften) is the second biggest celebration of the year, after Christmas Eve. While Christmas Eve is a family celebration, New Year’s Eve is an opportunity to celebrate with friends. Fireworks are very popular in Iceland, particularly on New Year’s Eve.
Make sure to do this with your friends while watching the clock. If you’re inviting you’re school friends over, make a playlist of your favorite old songs together and dance until you can’t feel your feet. Better rinse out that spaghetti sauce stain on your white T-shirt. Many Brazilians believe wearing white clothes on New Year’s Eve will bring good luck and peace in the New Year.
Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Since you’re staying home this year, you’ll have extra time to work on your New Year’s resolutions. Try to cover a range of baskets — things like career, health, finances, and self care — and get ready to have your best year yet. You can also make your vision board online using a website like Canva or PicMonkey. Make sure you print out your vision board and put it someplace you’ll see it every day.
Channel their merriment with noisemakers, tossing tinsel, toasting with cocktails, and looking good while doing it. People believe the noise will keep away any bad luck and evil spirits. Also, wearing clothes with circular designs is considered good luck. This is because the circle is a symbol of good fortune and money. These dolls represent bad events from the past year, and they’re burnt at midnight on New Year’s Eve to release these bad memories and make room for some good ones. Saint Basil was a man who lived long ago, but many people still follow his teachings.
An alternative is to fill balloons with confetti before you blow them up, and then have the kids pop them at midnight. Turn your family room or heated garage into a ballroom with a disco ball, curtains and strings of lights. Gather lots of different kinds of dance music, from Big Band to Top 40, so everyone can have fun dancing. If your kids are small, it’s hard to keep them up for midnight festivities. So celebrate midnight in another country, when it’s still early in your part of the world.
See the skyline sparkle from the riverside restaurant at Sea Containershotel, or head to the rooftop and party to live music at 12th Knot. (‘year-crossing soba’), slurping up a bowl of long buckwheat noodles is considered both auspicious and a way of letting go of the past year. Due to soba being easy to chew/cut through while eating, it’s seen as symbolic for cutting away the hardships of the past year, while the length of the noodles signify longevity.