Many new Yorkers, including myself, stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop in times square. Almost everywhere around the world, church bells ring, our whistles blow and sirens shriek. If you live in London, people go to Trafalgar Square. There's many people who drink, dance, eat and watch fireworks on December 31st . New Year's Eve, in the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve is also known as “Old Year's day” or “saint Sylvester's Day”. The Chinese celebrate the Chinese New Year, where many Chinese children dress new clothes to celebrate the lunar new year. People carry lanterns and join in a huge parade led by a silk dragon, which is a Chinese symbol of strength.
According to legend, the dragon hibernates most of the year, so people throw firecrackers to keep the dragon awake. In the Chinese lunar calendar, each of the 12 years are named after an animal. According to legend, Lord Buddha asked all the animals to come before him before he left the earth and only 12 animals came to him to wish him farewell. As a reward, Buddha named a year after each animal. In September or October, Jewish people believe that God opens the book of life for 10 days, starting with Rosh Hashanah - which is the Jewish New Year, then ending with Yom Kippur -which is the day of atonement. During these days, the holiest days in the Jewish calendar year, Jewish people try to atone for any wrongdoings and to forgive others. A ram's horned trumpet, known as the Shofar, is blown before during Rosh Hashanah and at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. In Thailand, a special three-day water festival on April 13th through April 15th marks the Buddhist celebration of the new year. They have awesome parades which feature huge statues of Buddha that spray water on passer-bys. In small villages, young people throw water at each other for fun and people release fish into the rivers as an act of kindness. Songkran people tie strings around each other's wrists to show their respect. So, a person can have as many as 25 to 30 strings wrapped around their wrists- each from a different person. The strings are supposed to be left on until they naturally fall off.
The new year in Brazil falls a spiritual festival that honors the goddess of the sea Yemaya (her color is blue). On New Year's Eve in Rio de Janeiro, around 4 million people gather from early afternoon at the Copacabana beach, dressed entirely in white. As the sun goes down, each person lights a candle so that the crowds form a glowing mass flickering flames. Just before midnight, gifts of flowers, perfumes and rice are offered to Yemaya. Sometimes, they're placed in little tiny boats, which are cast adrift in the waves of the sea at dawn. It is traditional to gather on the sands of the Copacabana beach to see the sunrise before going home to sleep for the whole day.
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