Strange are the Ways of the World

When we think of New Year each year, the first thing that comes to mind is a celebration. The choice is ours, to make it quiet with a close group of friends or rock on through the night and come back home with the newspaper boy. Though, in ancient Babylon, the New Year feast was long drawn celebration feast going on for eleven days. Today the world begins the New Year carnival in New Zealand and Kiribati at 10 AM London time and continues for over twenty-four hours to end at Samoa and Midway Islands at 11 AM the next day.

As you can see the whole world celebrates…It is a global festival and you have to just see it to believe the strange ways in which they make merry and have fun.

South America and Mexico - Residents all wear brightly coloured underpants. Those who wear red are hoping for love in the New Year.

Those who chose to wear yellow are wishing for money.

Bolivia -This tradition is very similar to the Mexican mentioned above. But this time it’s important when the underwear is changed at stroke of New Year. People in Bolivia, scramble to buy some yellow underwear and to wait for midnight. When it comes they just run to a place to change it and believe that their luck will change as well.

Denmark - Many Danish leap off chairs at midnight, hoping to ban all bad spirits in the New Year. 
They also have a very loud and destructive way of celebrating the new year- they break dishes. People throw their old dishes on their friends’ doors on New Years and the one with the most dishes outside their door usually has the most friends.

Philippines - It is a tradition in the Philippines that Filipinos focus on all things around. They consume round fruits such as grapes and wear clothing with round shapes such as polka dots. The round shape reminds and celebrates the roundness of coins, as they hope for prosperity in the New Year.

Spain - At midnight, Spaniards consume 12 grapes and try to consume all of them by the time the clock stops chiming.

Belarus - In Belarus, unmarried women compete at games of skill to determine who will get married first in the New Year. One game involves setting piles of corn and a rooster before each of the single ladies. Whichever pile the bird approaches first, is believed to be the one who is to be married first.

Germany and Austria - When it comes to strange New Year traditions or any other traditions, Germans and Austrians are true champions. “Lead pouring” is an old tradition which includes using molten lead like tea leaves. The lead pieces are poured into a bowl full of water. The lead forms some shape in it and predicts what’s going to happen in next year. For example, the ball means luck all over the year; an anchor means the eventual need of help, while the cross means death.

Ecuador - Usually when you burn someone’s picture it means bad break up. However, in Ecuador, the fiesta includes all the locals gathering together with pictures that represent something you do not want in the New Year from the last year and burning it.

Chile - This is a really creepy one. In the city of Talca in Chili, people participate in a mass on New Year’s Eve and when it’s over, they all go to the graveyard, set up their chairs and wait for the New Year with the deceased. That’s how a man could celebrate the New Year’s Eve forever.

Puerto Rico - When it’s New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico, they throw buckets of water out the window to “clean” the old year out. They also clean their homes and decorate them, as it is supposed to symbolize the “cleaning” of the spirit

Tibet-Tibetan Buddhist tradition, you don't want to get stuck with the prize. To drive away bad and unhappy memories, the New Year is celebrated by eating Guthok, which is made with a special something - a piece of coal. For the person who receives it, it's a sign that they still have a dark soul.

Turkey -Turkish people believe that taking participation in community service and organizing fundraising events will bring them happiness. Of course, it won’t bring them a new girlfriend, BMW or a lot of money, but certainly, there will be people who will find themselves happy due to these activities.