Traditions and Styles of New Year Celebration

New Year’s Eve is celebrated globally because it signifies the final day of the passing year and welcomes the first day of the coming one.

Let’s take a look at the important aspects of this popular holiday.

Global Celebration of New Year

Traditions and styles of celebration differ from country to country, but if there’s one common thing that can be highlighted – the feelings. Many people feel nostalgic before the end of the year because they review the past 12 months in terms of events and achievements. People try to finish all the unsolved concerns by the end of the year and make a new plan for the forthcoming 12 months.

Getting back to traditions, the most popular one is probably the countdown in the last minutes or seconds of the year. Some people do this at home; others join public gatherings to feel the power of New Year’s spirit. It’s rather popular to spend the final hours of the year in the squares and on the central streets of the city (like Trafalgar Square in London or Times Square in New York City).

New Year parties differ in terms of size and style from simple gatherings in the pub to full-fledged masquerade balls for hundreds of people. And, of course, some people prefer cozy gatherings at home with few participants.

When the countdown is over, the coming of the New Year is often marked by firework displays, kisses, hugs, and New Year wishes. In some parts of the world, special New Year songs are sung. New Year’s Eve symbols are different in various parts of the world according to traditions inherent to the country. A Christmas tree is one of a universal Christmas symbols.

As for the history of the New Year, its origins date back to the introduction of the Gregorian calendar by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The UK and the USA started observing the Gregorian calendar only in 1752.

First New Year’s Eve festivities dates back to the period long before Christianity started to spread. After the inhabitants of Europe had become the followers of Christian faith, these festivals merged with new Christian beliefs and transformed into what we call a modern New Year celebration.

Important note: New Year in Jewish, Islamic, Chinese, Hindu, and Coptic calendars is celebrated on different dates than in the Gregorian calendar.