HAPPY NEW YEAR!
As the
clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, we all hope for a great year, and
there are many New Year's traditions which are believed to bring good luck.
Here are some of our favourite traditions from around the world.
In Denmark,
people jump off chairs at midnight because they believe it's lucky to jump into
the New Year. Another Danish tradition is to save your old dishes and plates
until the 31st of December, then break them against the doors of your friends
and family. If you have a big pile of plates outside your door, you have a lot
of friends.
In Belgium,
farmers wish their cows a happy new year, and in Romania, farmers try to
communicate with their animals. Some people think that it is good luck if the
animals respond! Other Romanian traditions include throwing coins into the
river and dressing in bear costumes to perform a special dance.
In some
South American countries, the colour of your underwear is very important on New
Year's Eve. People believe that red underwear will bring love into your life,
yellow will bring you wealth and white will bring you peace.
Food plays
an important part in New Year's traditions too. In Bolivia, people bake coins
into cakes. The people who find the coins have good luck for the next year. In
Estonia, some people try to eat seven, nine or twelve meals on New Year's Eve
to bring them the strength of that many men in the coming year. In the
Netherlands, people eat dumplings or apple fritters on New Year's Eve, and the
French celebrate the New Year by eating delicious pancakes.
Some New
Year's traditions can be a bit messy. In Switzerland, people drop a little bit
of cream on the floor, and in Ireland, people hit the walls of their homes with
bread to chase away evil spirits. In Greece, people smash pomegranates against
their front doors so that the seeds fall out. Lots of seeds on the floor means
lots of luck in the New Year.
Other
traditions are quite dangerous. In some parts of Johannesburg, South Africa,
people welcome the New Year by throwing old furniture out of their windows.
This used to be an Italian tradition, too, although not many people practice it
these days. In Stonehaven, Scotland,
people parade through the streets on New Year's Eve swinging balls of fire
above their heads. This was originally a Viking tradition.
Some people
prefer to start the New Year with a cold swim. In Saundersfoot, Wales, people
swim in the icy sea to raise money for charity. In Siberia, people cut a hole
in the ice covering Lake Baikal. Then, professional divers dive to the bottom
of the lake carrying a New Year's tree.
Every
country has its own special New Year's customs. However you chose to start your
new year, we hope 2019 will be a happy, lucky year for you and your loved ones.
Vocabulary
Coin a small, flat piece of metal used as
money
Dumpling
a small ball of
dough (flour, fat and water) that is usually cooked and served with meat dishes
Evil
spirits the
wicked and cruel souls of beings that have lived on after death
Fritter a piece of fruit meat or vegetable
that is covered in batter and fried
Icy very cold
Messy dirty and / or untidy
Pomegranate
a round fruit with
thick, smooth skin and red flesh full of large seeds
Seeds the small, hard parts produced by
plants, from which new plants can grow
Swing to make something move with a wide,
curved movement
Wealth a large amount of money that a
person or country owns
Text taken Oxford University Press
