WHEN IS NEW YEAR’S EVE?

ayeshanoor · December 26, 2020, 7:29pm

When is New Year’s Eve? New Year’s Eve lies on December 31 of every year. So, this year it will be celebrated on December 31, 2020 on Thursday. And, then the New Year’s Day begins. New Year’s Eve is celebrated will full enthusiasm and joy. People make resolutions on this evening.

when is New Year's Eve

NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve is also known as Old Year’s Day or Saint Sylvester’s Day in many countries. According to the Gregorian calendar, New year’s Eve is observed on the evening of the last day of year. But some countries, who still use Julian calendar, celebrate New Year’s Eve on 13th of January. Mostly New Year’s Eve is celebrated in Western countries, whose majority of population is based on Christian unity, but nowadays, Eastern countries are also celebrating New Year’s Eve with full happiness. They celebrate the evening at parties, at concerts – which held on very big grounds – at homes with family and friends and they have many things to do. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year’s Day, 1 January.

HISTORY – WHEN DID THE NEW YEAR’S FESTIVAL FIRST CELEBRATED

Do you ever think how did the tradition and celebration of New Year’s Eve begin? It too has a long, ancient history. So here is the answer to this question.

According to the report, the earliest recorded New Year’s Eve celebration is thought to be in Mesopotamia, around 2000 B.C. the celebration occurred on the mid of march. The New Year was not always celebrated in January. March was considered the start of the year. The Ancient Roman calendar was used at that time which used to follow the lunar cycle. New Year’s festival, at that time, continued for 11 days, which is known as “Akitu”. The early Mesopotamian people performed rituals, celebrated the religious victory of the sky god Marduk over the sea goddess Tiamat and either crowned a new king or allowed their old king to continue his rule. Different rituals were performed each of its days. Later, an astronomer, named Sosigenes, convinced Julius Caesar to follow the solar year, rather than lunar year. Then, from 46 B.C. on, the new year began in January. Starting the new year in January was partially done to honor their God Janus; the January was also named after Him.

NEW YEAR’S EVE TRADITIONS

New Year’s Eve is full of traditions, it depends on the people which they want to follow and which they want to skip. Every culture has its own ways to ring in a new year. Many of these rituals and traditions have ancient roots and are similar around the world, while some are new traditions designed to ward off evil spirits. Some of these traditions are written below:

One classic tradition is to sing the Scottish song “Auld Lang Syne”, which was written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788, during the New Year’s Eve celebrations. The translation of these words, Auld Lang Syne, is “times gone by”.
In, Austria, Hungary, Portugal, Cuba and other countries, people eat pork as they believe it brings progress and prosperity in their culture and in country.
In the countries like Sweden and Norway, rice pudding with an almond hidden inside is served on New Year’s Eve; they believe that whoever finds the almond inside the rice can expect 12 months of good fortune.
Around 1 million people gather in Times Square, New York City, to watch the Eve ball drop at midnight on December 31st and mark the arrival of the new year. The first time the ball was dropped in 1892 in Portsmouth, England. And, in Time Square, the tradition started at 1907.
New Year’s resolutions are made at the evening of last day of the year. A tradition in which person promises himself accomplish any goal. Religiously, it was originated when Romans made promises from their God Jenus at the New Year’s Eve, and when Babylonians, an ancient Akkadian-speaking state, began their year by promising their God that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.
Popping champagne cork at the stroke of midnight is the most common tradition. The celebrations with champagne has its roots in the Christian traditions of consuming wine during the Eucharist as the blood of Christ.
In Spain, people eat a dozen of grapes at or before midnight. According to them this bring good luck in their families. In bigger cities like Madrid and Barcelona, people gather in big group to eat their grapes together and pass around bottles of cava.
In Italy, lentils and in southern part of United States, black eyed peas, because they resemble coins, are eaten for the same reason. They think their next year will be luck filled and prosperous.
Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to enter in the New Year and drive away the 108 evil desires that humans fall prey to. This event is also carried on Japanese radio and it is also known as “Joya no Kane”.
In turkey, Brazil and some other countries, some people wear red or yellow underwear, run the faucet and sprinkle the salt on their doorstep, to ensure prosperity among their family members. Red underwear is thought to bring love among them and yellow, thought to bring money in new year.
Residents of Columbia carry empty suitcases and run around their house, this bring the hopes in travel filled new year.
In Panama, residents burn the effigies or sculpture of well-known people, to drive off the evil spirits. These sculptures are meant to represent the old year.
In Denmark, people break the dishes on the doorsteps of their friends and family; it is said that broken dishes are good thing, the more broken dishes more well-liked and luckier you are.

NEW YEAR'S EVE TRADITION

SUMMARY: New Year Eve is the last evening of the year. According to the ancient Roman calendar, based on lunar eclipse, New Year was celebrated in March and was comprised on 11 days. New Year’s Eve is full traditions, some belongs to ancient era and some are new.

WHEN IS NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve will be observed on the last day of this year, which is December 31, 2020 on Thursday. This is celebrated as a big festival with full of joy, zeal and zest. New Year’s Eve is traditionally celebrated with firework displays across the globe at 00:00 in the local time zones. The celebration continues until the early hours of January 1. Whether you are a kid, who is excited to stay up all night and to see the sky covered from fire crackers and colorful lights, or grown up man, who just came after a long day work, or women, who was busy the whole working for her children, her husband or for herself, all wants to be a part of New Year’s Eve celebrations.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

CELEBRATIONS OF PEOPLE ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve is one of the most celebrated holidays all around the world. New Year Eve is a day of mixed feelings. On one side, people celebrate the end of previous year and welcome the surprises of new year. On the other side, many people experience a sense of nostalgia as they reflect on the events that took place in their lives in the previous 12 months. People have their own ways to celebrate the evening; few of them are discussed below:

Some people celebrate the Eve, while spending their precious hours in Church.
Most popular way to celebrate and welcome New Year is with big fireworks display. Auckland Sky Tower in New Zealand, Nathan Phillips Square in Toronta, Canada, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil; the sky is full of impressive fireworks display.
Some families gather at their homes and tune into watching televised countdowns.
Toasting with champagne. This is one of the main things done during the celebration.
People dress their best and do some bold make over and go to the evening parties.
People write down their New Year resolution list on their notebook.
When the clock strikes the midnight of January 1st, people exchange hugs and kisses and wish Happy New Year to each other.
Families go for movies, dinner or take a road trip while listening to the songs.
People celebrate their New Year’s Eve by decorating their homes, by glittery stars, disco balls, colorful lights, balloons written Happy New Year on them, and add a festive touch in their home.
Some make scrapbook or photo album by putting their favorite photos of past 12 months together. They make photo booth and insta-worthy props and take pictures with these things.

celebrations of New Year

Some people go to the concerts with friends and families and enjoy their best.
The parties held at homes, are full of different games like, scrabble, chess, scattegories, bingo and many more, along with popcorns and other snacks.
New Year’s Eve is celebrated as a festival, so desserts are must. They prepare special cookies, desserts, snacks for day and obviously, for night too.
Children receive gifts and cards by their elders.

SUMMARY: New Year’s Eve will be celebrated on December 31, 2020, on Thursday. The celebration continues until the late night. People welcome the New Year with full enthusiasm.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Why put a dime in Black Eyed Peas?

Hoppin’ John, a mixture of black-eyed peas, rice, and either bacon or ham hock, is the popular dish. Some people throw a dime into the pot and believe that whoever winds up with the dime in their serving gets extra good luck for the coming year.

Do stores close early on New Year’s Eve?

New Year’s Eve is the public holiday in some places while in other countries stores and other working areas are opened for limited hours.

CONCLUSION

When is New Year’s Eve? According to Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Eve will be celebrated on December 31, 2020 on Thursday. People celebrate the last evening at concerts, parties, eating rum cakes, drinking champagne, singing, dancing, gathering with friends and families and many more. New Year’s Eve has its roots with ancient era. The new year is the new beginning which provides you endless opportunities to grow to ourself.