New Year: how did you celebrate? What are the traditions in your country?

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

I hope you've all had a great New Year's Eve! 

Every country celebrates NYE differently and in the Netherlands, we have a tradition where you eat an Oliebol (a doughnut like pastry with or without raisins). Usually, all neighbours would come out of their houses and wish each other a happy New Year whilst drinking champagne and perhaps lighting some ornamental fireworks. The real hardliners participate in doing a New Year's Day dive (I already feel ice-cold just thinking about it). 

Of course, we would also make our New Year’s resolutions! 

This year, as things were a little different, my girlfriend and I spent the evening at home while observing the fireworks and a show with drones that we could see in the distance! 

Do you have any New Year’s traditions specific to your country or town? What were your New Year’s resolutions? 🙂

Looking forward to reading your comments!

Quincy

[Quincy]

I love them @Angela1056! 

Happy New Year to everyone over there! 🎆 

[Nutth0]

Wow @Jessica-and-Henry0  The Stollen look so premium! 

[Inna22]

This is the biggest holiday for us, perhaps bigger than birthdays. We always have a New Year tree. It really is a Christmas tree but I do not care what Shakespeare says about about a rose by another name smelling just as sweet, It is a New Year Fern and don't you dare call it anything else. We keep it up till the last family birthday in mid January. We happen to have a lot of birthdays in the family in January which makes gift giving rather difficult because I have to come up with several major gifts one after another. This brings me to gift giving. Everyone gets one gift from each other plus one from Father Frost. Who is really a Santa Clause but again, he is not. He is Father Frost. You want Santa, you go to Macy's. You want Father Frost- come to us. He often pays a visit to our house on New Years eve. You must sing or dance for him to get your gift and after that everyone does a circle dance around the tree singing New Year songs. 

The table must have crapes and caviar plus several traditional salads and of course champagne. Everyone stays up till midnight. We never go out to a restaurant and rarely to someone else's house but all are welcome here as long as they commit to staying up till midnight. No party poopers allowed. 

Happy New Year!

[Quincy]

Haha, I love the idea of a New Year tree! @Inna22 My Birthday also happens to be in January 😆

Sounds like you have a great New Year's tradition going! 

Did you see any fireworks? 😃

[Lisa723]

We watched The Apartment (1960).

Now there was a host with some problem guests.

[Nick]

So @Quincy the tradition in Greece for New Year's is to have a big dinner with the family. Then precisely at midnight you which the lights off and back on as a way to welcome the new year.

After the hugging and kissing while enjoying some champagne and fireworks you are supposed to throw (and brake) a pomegranate on the floor for good luck. It is probably not the most practical thing for the one who has to clean it up, but tradition doesn't know convenience (also probably better than breaking plates 😛)

You then leave the family dinner and go out to party until early morning (9 am or 10 am) until you come back and drop dead on the bed.

This year was a tiny bit different. New year resolutions would certainly include losing the extra weight gained during the last lockdown, but will see how that plays out with the new one that just started 😅

[Quincy]

Haha! This sounds like a great way to celebrate (especially like the part where you throw a pomegranate on the floor 😂 @Nick) 

[Mark116]

@Quincy  Hmm, US tradition is mostly have a party, drink champagne. 

This year I read that some cultures believe you should open the windows at midnight to let out the vibe of the old year, so I did that at midnight and on New Years Day ate greens and long noodles for luck.  Would have made a lucky cake but was already inundated with cakes and sweets from Christmas. 

[Liv]

Such a nice thread, @Quincy! I've been having fun reading about different traditions ✨

In Brazil people usually wear white clothes and have lentils for dinner.

It's also not uncommon for Brazilians to watch the fireworks at the beach and then make their way to the ocean in order to jump seven small waves and make 7 wishes. This is done as a homage to Yemanja, the goddess of the sea from Umbanda, a Brazilian religion with African roots.

Some people also wear underwear in the colour that represents the thing they want the most from the new year 😂 for example yellow for money and red for passion.