How do different countries celebrate New Year? We've done some research and offer some odd and exciting New Year's traditions in other countries. Of course, we also tell you about countries where we have celebrated New Year ourselves. Have you ever celebrated New Year abroad? Tell us about it!
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New Year in different countries
New Year is a big and important holiday in many parts of the world, but it is celebrated differently. Some countries, with different calendars, celebrate on completely different dates. Others celebrate at the same time ... but just a little differently.
New Year according to the Gregorian calendar
According to the Gregorian calendar, which is used in the Western world, New Year is celebrated on the night between 31 December and 1 January. There are slightly different celebrations in different countries, but some common features are:
- Exclusive dinner or party
- Festive clothing
- Luxury food
- Fireworks
- Toasting champagne on the 12th stroke
- Making New Year's resolutions
New Year according to other calendars
Due to the variety of calendars in the world, some countries celebrate New Year on a completely different date - sometimes in combination with the New Year celebrations on 31 December. According to an article in Kultursmakarna there are more than 45 different chances to celebrate New Year's Eve throughout the year. Here are some examples:
- Chinese New Yearon a new moon between 20 January and 19 February.
- Iranian New Year (Nouruz): at the spring equinox, around 21 March
- Thai New Year (Songkran): 13-15 April
Odd ways to celebrate New Year in different countries
If you believe various online articles, you can find some odd ways of celebrating New Year in different countries. However, most of the articles don't give sources, or simply refer to other similar lists, so it's a bit difficult to know for sure if everything is correct or still practised.
We have no experience of the following traditions ourselves and cannot vouch for their accuracy, but our sources are as follows CBC News, Fodor's and The CuTrip. Do you know any of these New Year traditions?
- Grape eating at midnight in Spain is a tradition dating back to the 19th century, which was supposed to improve the harvest. A total of 12 grapes are eaten, one for each hour.
- Celebration of a possum in Brasstown, North Carolina. is supposed to be a variation on the tradition of firing a ball down over Times Square on New Year's Eve. The possum is then released into the wild.
- The right underwear colour in South America are considered to be able to influence the coming year. Red leads to love and yellow to prosperity and success.
- Bearskin to drive out evil spirits in Romania is supposed to be an old tradition. Apparently you will see people dancing in bearskins in the streets.
- Breaking of porcelain in Denmark is apparently a thing. The china has to be smashed against a friend's door, so if you have a lot of friends, there will be a lot of china smashing.
- Round things in the Philippines is believed to bring money and prosperity, as its round shape resembles a coin. People like to wear flashy clothes and eat round-shaped food.
New Year ... or Sylvester?
Have you heard of "Sylvester" (Silvester) at New Year? The first time we heard about it was when we were in Morocco just before New Year 2010. There were posters everywhere advertising Sylvester, and we wondered what they were advertising? The New Year celebrations of course!
If you look at the almanac, Sylvester's name day is on 31 December. The day is named after Pope Silvester, who died on 31 December 335 and is a saint in the Catholic Church.
New Year in different countries - here's how we celebrated it
As we often travel at this time of the year, we have celebrated New Year's in different countries, but this year we will be celebrating in Sweden. Here are the countries where we have celebrated New Year:
- 2018 – New Year in Sri Lanka
- 2017 - New Year in Israel
- 2014 - New Year in Portugal
- 2013 – New Year in the Philippines
- 2012 – New Year in Malaysia
- 2011 – New Year in Ukraine
- 2010 - New Year in Hungary
- 2009 - New Year in Ukraine
- 2007 - New Year in Kenya
- 2006 - New Year in New Zealand
Have you ever celebrated New Year abroad? Tell us about it!
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dianasdrömmar says:
Happy new year to you <3 hugs
29 December 2019 - 8:57
Helena says:
Thank you very much, Happy New Year Diana!
29 December 2019 - 12:39
Lite mera rosa - Cornelia Tonéri says:
I had to think about it, but it turns out that I've never actually celebrated New Year's abroad.
But last year I came up with an idea that I hope to realise in a year or so and that is to celebrate New Year twice in the same year. In Auckland and in the Cooks Islands. Happy new year of travelling!
29 December 2019 - 9:41
Helena says:
Haha, yes it would be fun! 🙂
29 December 2019 - 12:39
Ann says:
We celebrated last year in Dublin, the year before in Barcelona and tomorrow we're travelling to Athens to celebrate the new year in Greece 🙂.
29 December 2019 - 9:53
Helena says:
Lovely! Wishing you a really nice trip to Athens and Greece!
29 December 2019 - 12:40
Anette says:
Wow, so many countries you have celebrated the New Year in. We almost always celebrate in Sweden. There have been a few times in Italy and of course in Thailand.
The Thai New Year, in April, was celebrated during the years we lived in Bangkok.
Then it is important not to be afraid of clothes or hairstyle, see link at the end of the comment ?
Happy New Year to you.
https://ladyibangkok.blogg.se/2015/april/en-nagot-blot-tillstallning-2.html
29 December 2019 - 9:54
Helena says:
What fun pictures in the post, thanks for the link! Really wet! 😉 Wishes Happy New Year!
29 December 2019 - 12:41
Ama de casa says:
Wow, how many places you have celebrated New Year! Fun! 🙂
I think mainly of the time when Anders THOUGHT he was celebrating the Iranian New Year with an Iranian friend with whom he had travelled to the US.
Much later, at home, we got to talking about it. Anders told his mate something about "that New Year's celebration we went to in California".
Hamid looked very surprised. Anders explained more, and then Hamid says:
- That party was not a New Year celebration, it was a funeral.
HAHAHA!!! How can you think you've been to a New Year celebration when you're actually at a funeral? The Iranian funerals are probably not done in quite the same way as here at home. Not the one that Anders was at anyway 😀.
In his defence, he was not present at the funeral service itself and the time of year was during the New Year for Iran.
PS: I wasn't there. I should have realised right away, of course... 😉 😀.
29 December 2019 - 10:08
Helena says:
Wow, you'd think you'd know the difference between a New Year celebration and a funeral ... but what do I know!!!? Now you get curious about how their funerals ... and their New Year's celebrations ... go! 😉
29 December 2019 - 12:43
Lena i Wales says:
I've often used Sylvester for New Year, because of the name day, but I didn't realise that this was also the case in other countries. I come from the Gothenburg area and maybe it's different how we name New Year in different parts of Sweden!
I've celebrated New Year in Wales, England, Holland, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden and maybe some other place I've forgotten.
Much of the celebration is the same, bubbly, good food, festive dress and so on.
In Spain, I remember the grapes.
There were hardly any fireworks in the UK before the millennium, but now even that is common here and we always sing Auld lang syne, which most people don't know the words to, other than the chorus, so it's mostly humming and dancing.
Happy New Year!
29 December 2019 - 12:23
Ditte says:
Great post! Isn't it fun with different countries and their different traditions. We usually celebrate New Year abroad. Have many times experienced the Chinese New Year in Beijing, in Malaysia and in Thailand. The two different Israeli New Years we have spent on a couple of occasions in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In Sri Lanka we took part in both the Hindu and Buddhist New Year. And in Malaysia, the different New Years are mixed in a wonderful mix. There we have spent a couple of them in K.L.
As for the Western New Year, we have been in Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, France, Gran Canaria, Italy, cruising on the Atlantic, in the USA and even at home in Sweden sometimes (but in different places).
Wishing you a very Happy New Year.
29 December 2019 - 14:48
Lena - gott för själen says:
These factual posts are so fun and interesting to read. You put a lot of time into it for us readers! Thumbs up for that!
I can attest to the Spanish thing. My daughter's partner, who grew up partly in Spain, told me about putting grapes in your mouth at midnight. One grape at each stroke, without chewing or swallowing in between. It's a bit funny because everyone looks like hamsters. Then you toast in champagne. In the glass you have put something of your own in gold (ring, chain etc), which is called "brindar con oro". This is supposed to bring luck and money in the future.
Hug Lena
29 December 2019 - 16:01
BP says:
It was a huge New Year list, which I cannot match;-) But I have celebrated in Florida, Madeira, France, Germany and Spain. Oh, I have actually seen that with grapes in Benidorm and had it explained to me.
New Year is called Sylvester in all German-speaking countries and also in France.
29 December 2019 - 17:05
Eva /Leva som Eva says:
Fun! I have celebrated in the south of France with my family several times, nothing more special than lobster and champagne ? The difference there is that the city manages the fireworks. No private firecrackers or rockets. I think that's good.
29 December 2019 - 17:43
Jossus Travelpics says:
Have celebrated New Year in Lebanon. Saw something flying in the sky and assumed it was fireworks, but they never exploded. Then I was told that it was gunshots, that people were celebrating by taking their weapons and firing into the sky. A moment later, shots started to be fired, passing a few metres from our balcony.
Good thing you were indoors.
29 December 2019 - 17:45
Marianne - Glimt av verden says:
So many places you have celebrated the New Year! I myself have celebrated New Year in Uruguay, Costa Rica and Singapore. This year I will celebrate at home 🙂
29 December 2019 - 19:11
Ann-Louise Paulsson says:
I celebrated New Year at Walt Disney World in Orlando 21 years ago. And we made it back to the hotel room in time to watch the Times Square Ball Drop on TV. (http://www.stadtillstrand.se/2018/12/31/nyarsafton/) Since we have a cat now, we are now always home on New Year's Eve to keep an eye on her so she doesn't get scared by the fireworks.
29 December 2019 - 19:23
Mias Mix says:
Interesting reading! And you've had a few New Year's Eves abroad. My first New Year's Eve abroad was in 1986 in Germany and they called it Sylwester. Then we celebrated New Year's Eve 1992 in New Zealand. At that time we had two small children so there was not much celebration. Then New Year's Eve 2012 in Cairns in Australia probably beats most things. What a party. 20,000 people, young old dark and light, all celebrating together and no one was drunk and the fireworks from the barges in the sea never ended.
Wishing you a very happy new year!
29 December 2019 - 19:43