Many different religions, countries, and people celebrate New Year’s in a plethora of ways. No matter how you celebrate it, it’s always fun and full of positive energy. Most people think that everyone celebrates New Year’s on the same day, but in actuality there’s more than twenty six different days it’s celebrated on, and more than fifteen ways to do so.

For instance, in Brazil their New Year’s falls January 1st, like ours, but it is called ‘Festa de Lemanjá’; A  a spiritual festival that honors the “Goddess of the Sea”. On New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro, around four million people gather at a famous beach in Copacabana. They believe you have to ward off evil spirits for the year to come and in order to do so, you must wear all white , or throw flowers into the sea and jump over 7 waves.

Another example of how the world celebrates differently is in Chile. For their new year they have to eat a spoonful of lentils and lots of grapes at midnight. They also put money at the bottom of their shoe to bring prosperity for the next 12 months. Another tradition is to spend the night in a graveyard wearing the ring of a deceased loved one.  Much of their rituals are done for hope of good luck.

In America, the most common way we know to celebrate New Year’s is to gather with our friends and family, eat a lot of food, and countdown the seconds until the clock hits 12:00 am. The rooms are full of food, drinks, games, the New York Broadcast of the ball drop, and fun. Schools and businesses are closed for this public holiday, and everyone has a little break for a day of starting fresh, hitting the reset button if you will. 

There are many different ways to celebrate the public holiday. Everyone is different and everyone’s traditions probably are too. It’s a creative holiday and a way to get together and celebrate new comings with each year.