New Year Traditions
As at NSM, we become more and more international, in this article, you will learn about some of the ways our classmates are celebrating the evening and day.
The Spanish eat 12 grapes at midnight. The 12 grapes indicate each month of the calendar year. If they are sweet, it means that your year will be a ‘sweet’ one filled with success, good luck, health, and generally good omens. If the grapes are sour, it means that your year is not going to be as sweet as you have hoped it to be.
If you are celebrating the new year with Dutchies, do not be surprised if you find oliebollen on the table and if they go for a swim the next day. I have never done it myself but rumors say it is fun but at the risk of getting sick. So, make sure you bring a towel and a pair of extra clothes.
The Greeks eat Vasilopita on the 1st of January. There is a hidden coin in the traditional bread and whoever receives the coin will enjoy a great year full of good omens.
A very typical Bulgarian tradition on new year's eve is to dance the Dunovsko Horo at midnight. Usually, the Bulgarians will gather at the city centre a bit before midnight and dance it there. However, it is also common to dance it at restaurants, and anywhere in Bulgaria.
The Italians believe that wearing red undergarment, eating pork sausages, and throwing away old things from the window to the streets, is an omen for good luck and new things in life.
In Germany, eating a cake with the shape of a pig symbolizes that life will be sweet in the coming year.
The Muslims celebrate Hijra, aka Islamic New Year, which is followed by a few rituals such as fasting, praying, and self reflection which build up to Ashura: the day when they pay respect and gratitude and remember Prophet Moses. Some also take part in Latyma. Nowadays, many Muslims join the celebrations with their friends from different societies and celebrate the year with their families, friends with music, food, and drinks.
Just like the Muslims,Koreans also follow a lunar calendar. They New Year festivities last for three days, the day before New Year, the New Year Day, and the day after New Year. It is a family celebration so they visit their grandparents, parents, and in-laws. While together they catch up mostly but also play traditional games and endulge in traditional dishes.
The Vietnamese celebrate new year following a lunar calendar. Their celebrations last for three days. On the first day, they would spend it with their family, the second with their friends, and the third-visiting teachers and temples. They believe that by banging gongs and other noisy instruments, they will chase away the evil spirits. During the festivities, they wear their newest clothes, and they believe that the first person to enter their house would bring them either good or bad luck throughout the year. As a result, many families have a family member enter and exit the house, to ensure good luck, shortly after midnight.
New Year Resolutions
Whether you are busy eating 12 grapes, gulping down the ashes of your new year’s wish with champagne, wearing red or white clothes, eating a Vasilopita, dancing a horo, or simply going for a swim once the clock strikes midnight, cheers! Happy new year! If there is one thing that unites us all across cultures, it is that with the new year, new resolutions come to mind. In case your resolutions are never completed, here is your game plan.
- Reflect on your life for the past year. Think about all the things you wanted to do but never did. Think about the things you tried doing but failed achieving. Now, find ways to make it possible.
- Write a simple, concrete, challenging goal. Your goal should follow the SMART14 model yet it has to be challenging enough for you to do it. And prioritize it. Making it your priority is going to make you feel obliged to achieve it. Commit to achieving your goal. Do not forget that you should keep working on all areas of your life, and not solely onto one.
- Start working toward achieving that goal. Once you have committed to achieving your goal, you need a step-by-step game plan. Think of the steps you need to take in order to achieve it
- Reflect. Once monthly, think of all the ways how you spent your time. Did you put enough time and energy into your yearly goal? What went right? What went wrong? What can be improved? Answer these questions and change the game plan if necessary.
- Keep going. You are almost there. Consistency is the key to achieving your new year resolution(s). Keep working on it. Keep going. Do not give up when you are close to achieving it.
- Most importantly: enjoy the process. The last most important ingredient is to enjoy the setbacks, the successes, the victories, the failures. They are all part of life. If you do not take your lessons from all the positives and negatives, and if you do not relax, it is as if you are not committed enough to make it work.
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