NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
From swingin fireballs to gobbling grapes, here are the wackiest ways of welcoming the year around the world.
What would your wardrobe be for New Years? Nice dress? What about underwear? If you’ve ever been to South America, in places like Sao Paulo and La Paz, wearing colored underwear is part of the tradition. Red, if you are looking for love and yellow for money.
No matter what we wear, though, New Year signifies a new beginning. Flipping open a fresh calendar, filled with unmarked months, a new start and this tradition, is perhaps one of the most universally awaited acts we as humans perform: it is a chance to shrug off all the bad experiences and start all over.
In some countries, New Year’s customs are about driving away the bad spirits of the past year, so that the new one can arrive pure and innocent. The purifying power of fire is often used in such ceremonies: during the Scottish festival of Hogmanay. The weird, but useful act of jumping a chair, is often used for greatness to come and leaving behind all corrupt thoughts.
However we choose to celebrate, we should do it surrounded by the people we love and care the most about. Having a party, resting at home, they are all ways to welcome the year with new goals for the future and fresh starts.
by Majo Martinez
From swingin fireballs to gobbling grapes, here are the wackiest ways of welcoming the year around the world.
What would your wardrobe be for New Years? Nice dress? What about underwear? If you’ve ever been to South America, in places like Sao Paulo and La Paz, wearing colored underwear is part of the tradition. Red, if you are looking for love and yellow for money.
No matter what we wear, though, New Year signifies a new beginning. Flipping open a fresh calendar, filled with unmarked months, a new start and this tradition, is perhaps one of the most universally awaited acts we as humans perform: it is a chance to shrug off all the bad experiences and start all over.
In some countries, New Year’s customs are about driving away the bad spirits of the past year, so that the new one can arrive pure and innocent. The purifying power of fire is often used in such ceremonies: during the Scottish festival of Hogmanay. The weird, but useful act of jumping a chair, is often used for greatness to come and leaving behind all corrupt thoughts.
However we choose to celebrate, we should do it surrounded by the people we love and care the most about. Having a party, resting at home, they are all ways to welcome the year with new goals for the future and fresh starts.
by Majo Martinez