People always have plans for new years and different people around the world celebrate it differently. The following are common and are carried out by those who wish to greet the New Year with a lot of noise and celebration!
1. Lavish Parties
Planning for parties for 31st December starts roughly around the end of October. People make sure that every detail is in place and that their guests have nothing to complain about when the clock strikes twelve!
2. Prayers
Those who believe in God or follow a particular religion like to send a little prayer in God’s direction as soon as 1st January of the new year rolls around. Many families like to come together and carry out these ceremonies with the help of soft music and dozens of candles.
3. Resolutions
We all make new year resolutions. It is always good to make a fresh start and leave all our old problems and worries behind. There is no better time to do this than 31st December when the year is ending and a new one is starting. Even though most of us forget all about them by about 7th January, it is fun to believe that we will stick to them at the time!
4. First Footing
This tradition is followed by Europeans all over the world. They believe that the first person that enters their house when the clock strikes twelve should not only have dark hair but should also be male. He should come bearing gifts which should be symbolic of good luck or good health.
5. Keep Smiling
Many people believe that if they enter the new year laughing or smiling, they will spend the rest of the year the same way. Therefore, even if they are not particularly happy when the clock starts chiming, they start laughing just to keep up with the tradition.
This tradition is native to the Ainu people and they carry out the slaughter of such bears that are hibernating in their caves. They retrieve her cubs and raise them for a few years after which they are choked to death as well. They do this because they believe that bears are god-like creatures that walk amongst us.
This tradition is carried out by an ethnic group of Indonesia. When a person dies, they wrap up the corpse and keep it in the house. They believe that this will help preserve the soul that stays intact till the body is buried.
The Masai Tribe is native to parts of Tanzania and Kenya and their traditions are quite bizarre in the sense that they greet each other on religious holidays by spitting on each other. Also, the men take a new born into their arms and spit on it repeatedly. The belief behind this is that if they don’t, the child will be on the receiving end of some bad luck for the rest of their lives.
It was recently discovered that Romans, in the past, would have meals with the corpses of loved ones and also feed the food to them. They did so with the help of such pipes that were attached to their organs. They then poured food, honey and wine through it.
The Yanomamö are such tribes which belong to parts of Brazil and Venezuela. Because they try to stay away from modern life and stick to their traditions, many of them are still in use. When a family member of the tribe dies, they burn the body thoroughly and then eat the ashes.
