世界各国都是怎样庆祝新年的？

The US, Canada, and most other countries welcome the New Year with celebrations–parades, fireworks and lively merrymaking until tiring out in the wee hours. Certain cultures stand out from the rest in how they ring in the New Year. The popular American image of screaming along with a mob in Times Square while standing in the freezing cold, waiting to watch a ball drop to the tune of Auld Lang Syne seems quite ordinary compared to the imaginative and unusual customs you’re about to read.

Get ready for “Las doce uvas de la suerte,” or “The twelve grapes of luck.”  As the clock strikes midnight, Spaniards eat 12 grapes, one grape for each toll of the bell and for each month of the year.  Grape consumption is symbolic of prosperity and happiness, not to mention a gesture to ward off evil. The grape-eating tradition dates back to the early 1900s when the Spanish king shared his bountiful harvest with the people on New Year’s Eve.

Eating grapes isn’t only a tradition in Spain. People all over Latin America do this, too. They also get a bucket of water and dump it out the window to signify throwing out the old year and ushering in the new. Some people in Latin American countries, especially Mexico and Columbia, also have a tradition of carrying suitcases around the block (or at least around the living room) to welcome new and exciting travels in the coming year. At the stroke of midnight, it’s also tradition to sweep 12 coins into the house from the outside to signify prosperity. Colored underwear donned by women is also part of the Latin American tradition:  Red means love and passion; yellow is for prosperity and happiness; green is for wealth and well-being; and white is for hope and peace. “Un año más” is sung at the stroke of midnight: One year more.

If you find yourself fantasizing about setting fire to a public figure or politician you’re sick of, then you might enjoy the holiday season and particularly the New Year’s Eve celebration in Panama. Think for a moment about that person you’d like to see disappear. Then, imagine making a papier-mache life-size statue of him, placing him on your lawn for the holiday season, and then capping off the season by burning him up in a bonfire (or with an explosion of fireworks) on New Year’s Eve. Setting ablaze the muñecos is symbolic for driving off evil spirits and getting the next year off to a fresh start.

While discussing Latin American countries, Chile shares the above traditions, with an interesting addition which makes them worth mentioning: the tradition of graveyard camps. Many of the locals in Talca, central Chile, prefer to ring in the new year in the company of their dead relatives. A tradition thought to have originated when a family broke into a graveyard one year to be near their dead father, the mayor now opens the graveyard after late-night mass, when thousands sit surrounded by candles and the sounds of classical music plays.

Like the universality of fireworks and champagne, ‘The 90th Birthday, or Dinner for One‘ is the name of an 18-minute sketch by English comedian Freddie Frinton and a TV program which has become a New Year’s Eve institution in Germany, shown every year since 1963. And talk about irony: Dinner for One and its famous line, ‘The same procedure as every year, James!’, known by most everyone in Germany and associated with New Year’s Eve, are almost completely unknown in England.

In Greece, the Pothariko–or “the first foot”– is a popular tradition on New Year’s Eve. A person is chosen to enter the house first to set the stage of good fortune for the new year. A few stipulations: the person must be a good natured sort in order to spread their good fortune throughout the household. Next, the lucky person chosen must enter the house with their right foot first, which is symbolic for things going “right” in the new year. Once in the house, the lucky person smashes a pomegranate to the floor while wishing for health, happiness and good fortune in the near year to all who live there. Another tradition in Greece is to bake a coin into a cake; whomever has the coin in their slice is said to have extra good luck in the new year.

I hate that end table so much, I could throw it out the window! Some people do exactly that. In neighborhoods of Johannesburg, particularly in the Hillbrow area, on New Year’s Eve, residents know that donating to a thrift shop isn’t the only way to rid themselves of cast offs. These residents ring in the New Year by throwing their unwanted belongings out the window (usually appliances and furniture). Gentrification efforts and police crackdowns may finally be putting an end to this age-old tradition of falling furniture and airborne appliances in Johannesburg—symbolically and literally ringing in the New Year by unburdening themselves of rusty stoves and Herculon chairs.

The town of Brasstown, North Carolina, pays tribute to the New Year with a “possum drop,” which involves what you might expect: lowering a captured possum (very carefully in a transparent box) at midnight over a noisy crowd (like that big ball in Times Square). A controversial event, possum dropping continues today, although it has been widely protested by PETA and other animal welfare groups. A documentary has been made about it. It should also come as no surprise that Brasstown is known as “the possum capital of the world.”

There are few times when it’s socially acceptable in Danish culture to throw old plates and glassware against the doors of friends’ and relatives’ houses to show a little love. New Year’s Eve is a notable exception to the rule. The Danish New Year’s Eve extravaganza also includes standing on chairs and jumping off them in unison at 12 a.m.  This literal leap into the New Year is symbolic for… take a guess… good luck in the next 365 days.

A most unusual Romanian tradition may trigger images of Doctor Dolittle: farmers try to hear their animals talk in human language. If the farmers fail, they’ll have good luck in the new year. Mask dances are another colorful Romanian tradition, symbolizing death of the old year and birth of the new. Masks representing the animal world include goats, horses and, most remarkably, bears. The “dance of the bear” features incredibly detailed costumes. A drum beat accompanies the performance.

In the United States and in parts of Canada, New Year’s Day means it’s time for the annual Polar Bear Plunge.  Braving chilly temperatures and fierce winds, the Polar Bears take their January 1st plunge into freezing lakes and rivers. According to tradition, any plunge which takes place close to midnight on December 31st will bring the diver good luck. Anyone can participate, and pro divers (as well as fire departments) are always on hand in case of an emergency.

In Siberia, divers take the Polar Bear Plunge a step further—they carry trees. Participation is limited to professional divers only, who cut a hole in the ice covering Lake Baikal and swim to the lake’s bottom while carrying a New Year’s tree for underwater planting.

No matter your New Year’s traditions, thank goodness for a second chance to begin a new year.