So, this year is almost done. We all had a long list of purposes for this year. Most of us have failed in accomplish them but that won’t stop us from getting new ones. Besides thinking about the year we leave behind and about how we want the next one to be better, every country and culture has a different tradition to leave behind last year and kick off the new one in the best possible way. I love spending New Years Eve with my family in Spain. And I told you about our special traditions and New Years Eve celebrations last Christmas. Because I know my limitations, I have contacted some fellow travel bloggers. And these lovely ladies will be the ones to tell you about New Years Eve around the World.
Taking off in New Years Eve Around the World : Romania
By Cris Puscas from LookNWalk
The New Year means a new start, resolutions, promises… everyone plans to be better, kinder, warmer. But depending on the country you live in, you should do or shouldn’t do some stuff in order to ensure a good New Year. Hopefully filled with love, wealth, and luck. That’s where the traditions and superstitions come into play. And my native Romania sure has some interesting ones.
It is ideal to pay off all debt before the year changes and to welcome the new year with spare change (coins) in your pocket. This must be done to ensure you will have wealth all throughout the year. In order to be lucky and happy all through the new year, you need to wear red during the night when the years change. Many choose to wear red underwear but anything goes.
There is also the tradition to make a lot of noise during the night in order to ward off evil spirits. In old times, this was done with the help of a whip and bells. Nowadays, we break glasses and throw firecrackers.
Read about Cris’ journey also in her Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
Pitch stop in New Years Eve Around the World : Japan
By Lena Scheidler from The Social Travel Experiment
If you expect fireworks and parties on New Years Eve in Japan, you will most likely be disappointed. While nowadays there are some parties going on, especially in the bigger cities, New Year in Japan is a tranquil affair. I like to compare it to Christmas in western countries.
New Year is mainly a family holiday. Most companies close for a period of 4 to 5 days to allow families to come together. So, naturally, there is a rush to return to hometowns, and trains are packed, and the flights are booked solid many months in advance.
On New Years Eve, the families come together to have the new years eve dinner, called Osechi Ryouri, consisting of many small dishes served in a lacquerware box similar to a bento box. Every dish has a symbolic meaning; the Kurikinto (Chestnut gold mash) symbolizes economic fortune. Tazukuri (Candied Sardines) stand for a bountiful harvest and so on. In the old days, housewives would spend hours preparing this lavish dinner, in today’s more hectic times it is increasingly common for families to order their New Years dinners, but this can cost hundreds of dollars.
Another important element to the Japanese New Year is Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year. Many people will visit their local Shinto shrine at midnight when the new year starts to wish for luck and happiness in the next year. But there is also a tradition to visit more important Shinto shrines between the first and third of January, and popular shrines like Ise Jingu or Meiji Jingu will be very crowded in that period.
Read more about The Social Travel Experiment in her Facebook page and instagram account.
Third stop in New Years Eve Around the World : Rio
By Timon and Yana Peskin from Beard and Curly
Spending New Years Eve in Rio De Janerio is an incredible experience. There are many cultural and spiritual traditions. The biggest party is set in Copacabana Beach. Millions of people congregate in a sea of white for a night full of dancing and fireworks.
It is tradition to wear white which brings prosperity and peace. Then you accent your white clothes with a different color for good luck. Green for health. Yellow for money. Red for love or purple for inspiration. It is also important to eat the right food on NYE. Lentils are very good luck; while turkey and crab are considered bad luck.
On the beach, locals will make shrines for the goddess of the ocean, Lemanja. They light candles and throw flowers into the water; if the gifts do not return that is a good sign. Then later, after the clock turns past midnight, thousands of people run into the water to jump over seven waves. This brings good fortune for the year to come.
It is also important that the first person you congratulate in the New Year is a person of the opposite sex for luck with love. The atmosphere is joyful and visually pleasing. People are elated, dancing, and drinking the night away and the party doesn’t stop till the early morning hours.
Read more about Beard and Curly in her Instagram (@Beard_and_curly) and Facebook
Last stop in our journey through New Years Eve Around the World : Mozambique
By A Restless Traveler
Mozambique, a tropical country in South Eastern Africa is blessed with an spectacular coastline. The centuries of Arabic sea trade on its shores followed by the years of Portuguese colonial rule all played an important role in the local culture and are very evident in its traditions.
When talking about New Years Eve around the world, specially in Mozambique, the first thing you need to be aware of is that this is the only holiday truly celebrated by everybody. Admittedly, Muslims will visit their Christian friends on Christmas and Christians will visit Muslim friends on Eid. But in those circumstances they are always guest at each other’s celebrations. Whereas for NYE everyone is celebrating NYE for themselves. Add to that, that NYE “lands” in the peak of summer, and you have all the ingredients for a massive party along the many incredible beaches.
The party usually begins with friends and family having dinner either at home or out at a hotel or restaurant. The meal will usually consist of a variety of dishes but Cod will definitely be one of the main dishes. Usually prepared in any of the myriad of traditional Portuguese ways. Almost everybody will be wearing white, which symbolizes people’s wish for peace and harmony in the New Year.
As midnight approaches everyone starts heading towards the beach where bonfires might have been lit. At midnight, there will be fireworks, mandatory hugs and kisses, and champagne toasts. Some people will go for a night swim, which is considered good luck, soon after starting the new year. Although most people wait until dawn before the first bath of the new year. Waiting until Dawn is the most beautiful NYE tradition in Mozambique, simply because watching the sunrise over the calm Indian Ocean on January 1st is magical.
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Yeah, in Japan the fireworks are mostly seen during the summer months rather than NYE (which to me is odd given that the sky is still bright late into the evening during that time of year!)
But going to a shrine on New Year’s Eve is popular, even with non-religious people such as myself.
It’s one of my favourite things to do to mark the passing of another year being alive – for which I’m always grateful.
Here’s a post of mine about our annual pilgrimage to our loval shrine:
https://www.therealjapan.com/visiting-a-shinto-shrine-on-new-years-eve/