The new year around the world
Happy new year !
The new year is celebrated all around the world, but, how is it celebrated in the different countries ?
I - In Europe :
1- The United Kingdom :
In the United Kingdom, people start with a party and around midnight, all the people watch a clock and they sing “happy new year”. At midnight there is a very big firework. The first person who enters the house is the “first footing” and he comes with coal, wine and bread. He puts the bread on the table, the coal in the fireplace and the wine in the glasses. Nobody talks before "the first footing", or he doesn’t have a happy new year. He enters by the front door and he leaves by the back door.
2-France :
In France, there is a big meal with champagne and “foie-gras” with the family. At midnight the people kiss under the mistletoe. There is sometimes a firework. The different families wish a happy new year to the other families and they give presents.
II - In America
3 - In the U.S.A :
In the U.S.A, the Eve of New Year's Day is an important day. For a century, the falling crystal ball from Times Square in New York has been one of the components of the ceremonies. You can see the falling ball in live on television. The crystal ball, which measures two meters in diameter and weighs 500 kgs, begins to fall at 23:59 and finishes to fall at midnight. It is sometimes called the “Big Apple”. The song Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung at midnight.
Everywhere in the United States, many other cities celebrate the event by lowering symbolic objects before the start of the fireworks. Since an initiative of Boston, in 1976, sixty cities have celebrated this occasion without alcohol.
4 - In Brazil :
The Eve of New Year’s Day ("Vespa Ano Novo") is one of the traditional festivals in Brazil. Everywhere, we can see fireworks at midnight. The festival is the most famous of Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. The city of São Paulo organizes the New Year's Eve race (Corrida de São Silvestre) in the streets.