The origin of New Year's Day, the origin of New Year's Day

The origin of New Year's Day:

In contemporary times, New Year's Day refers to the first day of the year in the Christian era. Since the introduction of the Western calendar into our country, the term New Year's Day has been exclusively used for the New Year, while the traditional Old Calendar year is called the Spring Festival.

Before this, New Year’s Day always referred to the first day of the lunar year. Yuan means "beginning" and "beginning", and Dan refers to "days". New Year's Day collectively refers to the "initial days", which is the first day of the year.

On September 27, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference resolved: "The Chinese People's Republic of China adopts the AD chronological calendar", which is what we call the Gregorian calendar. To distinguish between the two new years of the lunar calendar and the solar calendar, and because the "beginning of spring" in the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar happens to be before and after the lunar new year, the first day of the first lunar month is renamed the "Spring Festival", and the first day of the first lunar month is designated as "New Year's Day" , So far, New Year's Day has become a happy holiday for people across the country.

New Year’s Day customs in various countries:

The new year always brings beautiful blessings to people. In this day of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new, people from all over the world welcome the new year in their own ingenious and unique ways.

UK: On the day before New Year's Day, every household must have wine in the bottle and meat in the cupboard. The British believe that if there is no food and wine left, they will be poor in the coming year. In addition, there is also a popular custom in the United Kingdom of "drawing water from the well" during the New Year. People strive to be the first to draw water. They believe that the first person to draw water is a happy person and the water drawn is auspicious water. British people often bring cakes and wine to visit late at night on New Year's Eve. They go straight into the homes of relatives and friends without knocking on the door. According to British custom, the person who takes the first step into the house after a thousand nights on New Year's Eve heralds luck in the new year. If the first guest is a dark-haired man, or a happy, happy and wealthy person, the host will have good luck throughout the year. If the first guest is a woman with fair hair, or a sad, poor, or unfortunate person, the host will have bad luck and encounter difficulties and disasters in the new year. People who are guests at the homes of relatives and friends on New Year's Eve should first stir the fire in the fireplace and wish the host "good luck" before talking to each other. In some areas of central England, when going out on New Year's morning, no matter they are familiar with each other or strangers, they will give each other copper coins. They believe that doing so will not only bring wealth to the other party in the year, but also bring luck to themselves.

India: New Year's Day in India is known as "New Year's Day of crying" and "New Year's Day of fasting". On the first day of the new year, no one is allowed to be angry with others, let alone lose their temper. In some places, instead of celebrating the New Year, people hug each other and cry. They believe that at the beginning of New Year's Day, time flies by - life is short, and they express their sighs by crying. In some areas, people fast for a day and night to welcome the new year, starting from the early morning of New Year's Day until midnight.

Mongolia: When the new year comes, the old Mongolian people will dress up like shepherds, wearing a plush leather coat and a fur hat, holding a whip in their hands, and constantly blowing the whip. There was a crackling sound in the air as a blessing to ward off evil spirits.

Brazil: Brazilians hold torches high and flock to climb mountains on New Year’s Day. People are rushing to find the golden birch fruit that symbolizes happiness. Only those who are not afraid of hardships can find this rare fruit. They call it "seeking blessings." There is a unique custom in rural Brazil - tugging each other's ears. When people meet on New Year's Day, they must tug each other's ears hard to express blessings.

Pakistan: On New Year's Day, people in Pakistan run out with red powder in their hands. When they meet relatives and friends, say good luck, they apply red powder on each other's foreheads to celebrate the good luck in the new year.

Afghanistan: Residents in northern Afghanistan hold a fierce goat-robbing competition every New Year's Day to celebrate. Two teams of riders compete for prey. The competition is both intense and festive.

Argentina: Argentines believe that water is the most holy. Every New Year's Day, families of all ages gather in groups to take a "New Year bath" in the river to wash away all the filth on their bodies.

Mexico: In some areas of Mexico, people are forbidden to laugh when the New Year comes. They divide the year into 18 months, with 20 days in each month. Laughing is not allowed in the last 5 days of the year.

Bulgaria: During the New Year's Day meal, whoever sneezes will definitely bring happiness to the whole family. The head of the family will give him the first sheep, cow or foal in the hope that he will bring happiness to the whole family. .

Paraguay: The Paraguayans designate the last five days of each year as "cold food days". During these five days, no one from the head of state to ordinary people can use fireworks and can only eat cold food. It is not until New Year's Day that they can light a fire to cook and celebrate the festival.

Scotland: On New Year's Day, Scots will leave some money in front of every house without anyone guarding it. Thieves and beggars will not do anything if they see it on this night. Because of the local custom, on New Year's Eve, money is first placed outside the door. When the New Year comes the next day, when you open the door early in the morning, you will see money at the door, which means "getting rich at first sight".

Spain: In Spain, on the eve of Yuanqie, all family members gather together to celebrate with music and games. As midnight approaches and the clock strikes twelve o'clock for the first time, everyone is scrambling to eat grapes.

If you can eat 12 Jiaguo according to the sound of the bell, it symbolizes everything goes well for each month of the New Year. On New Year's Day, it is most taboo for children to curse, fight, and cry, as these phenomena are considered to be bad omens. Therefore, adults always try to meet all the children's requirements on New Year's Day. At the same time, people must carry a gold or copper coin with them on this day to show good luck.

Belgium: In Belgium, on the morning of New Year’s Day, the first thing in the countryside is to pay New Year greetings to the animals. People go to cows, horses, sheep, dogs, cats and other animals, and say to these creatures in a serious way: "Happy New Year!"

Turkey: In Turkey, on New Year's Eve, everyone has to take a bath, and then Wearing new clothes, they believe that this can get rid of the bad luck of the past year, get rid of the old and welcome the new, and welcome good luck in the coming year.

Argentina: On the first day of the first lunar month, every household goes to the river to take a "New Year's bath". Before entering the water, the flowers collected were scattered on the river. Then, everyone jumped into the water and bathed happily, while rubbing their bodies with flower petals. In this country, water is regarded as a "holy" thing.

Cuba: On the night before New Year's Day, everyone prepares a bowl of water. When the New Year's bell rings, everyone quickly pours water into the street, which means "New Year's Eve"

Colombia: On New Year's Eve, large puppets - "Old New Year" - are made on every street, and "last words" are announced. The contents of the "last words" are funny and humorous to make people happy. The "puppet" is exploded at midnight. Destroyed, people sang and danced to celebrate each other amidst the explosions that shattered the "puppet" of the old year.

Japan: In the early morning of New Year's Day, Japanese families take to the streets to greet the rising sun, and then go to shrines to pay homage, or to say hello to each other's relatives and friends. They call New Year's Day "the first day". On this day, they have a hearty breakfast, eating sugar squid, buckwheat noodles, etc., and drinking Tusu wine. After that, they eat vegetarian food for three consecutive days to show their piety and pray for good luck in the coming year.

Thailand: Thailand’s traditional New Year is the “Songkran Festival” (“Songkran” is the transliteration of Sanskrit), also called the “Water Splashing Festival”. During the festival, people sprinkle water on each other and happily wish their elders health and longevity. , wish relatives and friends a happy new year. Unmarried young men and women splash water to express their love for each other. On the first day of the new year, Thai people put a basin of water on the window sill or at the door to pray for good luck and good weather in the new year.

Germany: During the New Year's Day, Germans put up a fir tree or horizontal tree in every household, with silk flowers tied between the leaves, which means that the world is full of flowers and spring. They climb on the chairs just before the New Year arrives at midnight on New Year's Eve. When the bell rings, they jump off the chairs and throw a heavy object behind the chair to show that they are throwing away the disaster and jumping into the New Year. There is also a New Year custom spread in rural areas of Germany - "Tree Climbing Competition" to show that you will rise higher and higher.

Egypt: The Egyptians regard the day when the Nile River rises as the beginning of the New Year, which is called "High Water New Year". In some places in Egypt, on New Year's Day, grains of crops such as soybeans, lentils, alfalfa and wheat are served, as well as small buds of green plants to symbolize abundance. The more you give to God, the greater your harvest will be in the new year.