🇨🇳 China
Chunjie, the Spring Festival, is the biggest family holiday, with a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, red envelopes, fireworks, lion dances and a visit to relatives. Dumplings and fish are customary.
Chinese New Year, being writtenNew Year
The new year is celebrated on more days than any other festival.
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The new year is celebrated on more days than any other festival. In January for much of the world, in February for the Lunar New Year, in March for Nowruz, in April for Songkran, Vaisakhi and Pohela Boishakh, in September for Rosh Hashanah and Enkutatash, in October or November for Diwali in parts of India, each culture has a calendar of its own. The customs are strikingly alike: cleaning the house, paying debts, wearing new clothes, eating a lucky meal, visiting family, and making wishes. Fireworks, bells and water play a part in many. Here is how the beginning of the year is welcomed across the world.
What it is for
The turning of the year invites people to leave what was difficult behind and to hope for better days. Customs aim to bring luck, health and prosperity to the year ahead, and to mend relationships. Many also look back, with prayers of thanks and with memorial rites for the dead. New year is also about community, and many people spend it with family or in the streets with strangers. The date is set by the sun, the moon or a mix of both, and the Gregorian January new year is the shared civil date for most of the world.
Common elements across cultures
Houses are cleaned, debts settled and old things thrown away. New clothes are worn and gifts, such as red envelopes or sweets, are given. A first footing, in which the first visitor of the year is chosen for luck, is kept in Scotland and elsewhere. Fire and light, bells, drums and fireworks drive away evil. Water is splashed or sprinkled in South and Southeast Asia, while the Nowruz table is laid with seven items. Special foods, from dumplings to lentils, black-eyed peas and grapes, are eaten at midnight or on the first day.
Food, dress and music
New year food is symbolic: long noodles for long life, fish for abundance, round fruits for fortune, dumplings shaped like ingots, lentils like coins, apples and honey, grapes at the stroke of midnight in Spain, and sweet rice in Korea and Japan. Dress is new, bright and often traditional: red in China, kimono in Japan, white in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka. Music includes the Auld Lang Syne in Britain, drums and lion dances in China, and gongs and bells in Southeast Asia. Parades, concerts and street dancing are held in many cities.
How it is changing
Global events, such as the count-down in Times Square and the fireworks at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, are broadcast around the world. Many cities have shifted from fireworks to drone displays, for the sake of animals and air quality. Migration has brought Lunar New Year, Nowruz and other festivals to cities everywhere, and many are public holidays in new countries. Resolutions and gratitude lists have become popular, while some people now prefer a quiet night at home, and families remain the main heart of the festival.
New Year around the world
🇻🇳 Vietnam
Tet Nguyen Dan brings a family reunion, a cleaning of ancestors' graves, banh chung rice cakes, kumquat trees and peach blossoms, and the first visitor is chosen with care. Families also visit pagodas and temples, and the first three days are for visiting relatives, in a set order.
Tet, being written🇰🇷 Korea
Seollal is marked with bows to elders, called sebae, and a gift of money, a meal of tteokguk, rice cake soup, and games such as yutnori. Families wear hanbok.
Read: Korean New Year🇯🇵 Japan
Oshogatsu is celebrated with osechi, boxed foods with symbolic meanings, the ringing of 108 bells in Buddhist temples at midnight and the first shrine visit, hatsumode. Otoshidama money is given to children.
Read: Japanese New Year🇹🇭 Thailand
Songkran, in mid-April, is a festival of water, with the pouring of water on Buddha images and elders' hands and a joyful water fight in the streets. People visit temples and clean their homes.
Read: Songkran🇮🇳 India
New year is celebrated at many times: Diwali in Gujarat, Ugadi in Karnataka, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Vishu in Kerala and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vaisakhi in Punjab. Each has its own food, such as ugadi pachadi with six tastes.
Read: UgadiTraditions to start with
NowruzThe Persian New Year.
SongkranThe water festival.
HogmanayThe Scottish New Year.
Rosh HashanahThe Jewish New Year.
Korean New YearThe Korean new year.
Twelve GrapesThe Spanish midnight custom.Also part of it, and being written: Chinese New Year (The Lunar New Year.), Tet (The Vietnamese new year.).
Questions people ask
Why do cultures celebrate the new year on different dates?
Because calendars differ: lunar, solar and mixed. January 1 is the Gregorian civil date, while Lunar New Year, Nowruz and others follow older systems.
What is first-footing?
A Scottish and Northern English custom in which the first person to enter the home after midnight brings luck, ideally a tall dark-haired man with gifts of coal, bread and whisky.
Why do people clean before the new year?
To sweep away the old year's troubles, and to welcome luck. In China, sweeping is avoided on the day itself, so as not to sweep away fortune.
Why are red envelopes given?
In China and Vietnam, red symbolises luck, and money in a red envelope is a blessing from elders to the young, and from employers to staff.
Is there a global new year?
The Gregorian new year on 1 January is the civil date in most countries, and is a public holiday almost everywhere, even where another new year is the main cultural celebration.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
New Year on EveryParampara
The traditions written up so far, best known first.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇮🇳 Ayodhya, India and 7 moreDiwaliदीपावली (Dīpāvalī)
A five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇷 Iran and 7 moreNowruzنوروز
The Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsSeasonal
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHanukkahחֲנֻכָּה
An eight-day Jewish festival marking the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day'Festival
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMawlidمولد (Mawlid)
An annual festival marking the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, marked by poetry, processions and feasts.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Mathura, India and 5 moreHoliहोली (Hindi)
A spring festival of colours and bonfires that marks the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil.Festival
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelYom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר
The holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 IsraelRosh Hashanahרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה
The Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foodsSpiritual
🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ
Giant handcrafted statues paraded and burned on the eve of the Balinese Saka New YearFestival
🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBihu dance
A folk dance from Assam that celebrates spring, fertility and the new year with energetic movement and music.Performance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreApple bobbing
A Halloween game where players try to catch floating apples with their teeth.Game
🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿
Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual
🇱🇦 Laos and 1 moreBaciບາສີ (Lao)
A Lao rite that calls the soul home and ties a thread on the wrist for good luckSpiritual
🇦🇫 Kabul, Afghanistan and 1 moreAttanاتڼ
A Pashtun circle dance of drums and clapping, kept at weddings and gatherings.Performance
🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da)
Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame
🇯🇵 JapanToshikoshi soba年越し蕎麦
Buckwheat noodles eaten on New Year's Eve, cut easily to let the year goTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 New York, United StatesRockefeller Center Christmas Tree
A towering spruce lit annually in New York City to mark the start of the holiday season.Festival
🇹🇭 ThailandThai solar calendarปฏิทินสุริยคติไทย
The official solar calendar of Thailand, numbered in the Buddhist EraSeasonal
🇹🇹 Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago and 1 moreDivali Nagar
An annual cultural exposition in Trinidad and Tobago celebrating Hindu traditions during the Diwali season.Festival
🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk
A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaIndian national calendar
India's official civil solar calendar, designed to bring unity to timekeepingSeasonal
🇯🇵 Ōmuta, JapanKarutaかるた
Japanese playing cards from the 16th century, still raced over poems each New YearGame
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreApril Fools' Day
An annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFestival
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreLion dance舞獅
A dynamic ritual dance featuring costumed lions, drums and martial acrobaticsPerformance
🇸🇪 Sweden and 3 moreAdventadventus
A four-week Christian season of waiting and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming.Festival
🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev
An Estonian midsummer festival marking the shortest night with bonfires, songs and independence memories.Festival
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreDragon dance舞龍 / 舞龙
A long dragon puppet on poles, danced by a team at Chinese New Year and other festivalsPerformance
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreTrunk-or-treating
A safer Halloween alternative where treats are handed out from decorated car trunks in parking lots.Festival
🇬🇧 Hinton St George, United KingdomPunkie Night
A Somerset Halloween custom where children carry mangelwurzel lanterns and sing for candles.Festival
🇯🇵 JapanKadomatsu門松
A Japanese New Year gateway decoration of pine and bamboo where a visiting deity can restSeasonal
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming
A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival
🇵🇭 Manila, Philippines and 1 moreSimbang Gabi
A nine-day series of early morning Masses held in the Philippines to prepare for Christmas.Festival
🇩🇿 Algeria and 3 moreBerber calendarⵜⴰⵙⵡⴰⵙⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ (taswast tamaziɣt)
An agricultural timekeeping system used by the Amazigh people of North Africa to mark seasons and farming cycles.Seasonal · Dinner
🇱🇰 Colombo, Sri Lanka and 5 moreVesakVisakha Bucha (Thailand), Visakha Bouxa (Laos), Full Moon Day of Kason (Myanmar)
A day to honor the birth, awakening, and passing of the Buddha, kept by Buddhists across Asia.Festival
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreMaslenitsaМасленица
A seven-day Eastern Slavic festival of pancakes and bonfires marking the end of winter before Lent.Festival · Breakfast
🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany and 5 moreChristmas marketWeihnachtsmarkt
A seasonal street market held during Advent in German-speaking regions and beyond, featuring stalls, food, and crafts.Festival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇺🇸 New Orleans, United States and 5 moreMardi Gras
A festive day of parades and rich foods marking the final celebration before the Christian fasting season of Lent beginsFestival
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreAdvent calendarAdventskalender
A daily countdown to Christmas using doors, images, or small gifts.Festival
🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreGanesh Chaturthiगणेश चतुर्थी
A Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of Ganesha, marked by clay idols, sweets, and public processions.Festival
🇺🇸 Chicago, United States and 4 moreKwanzaa
A seven-day African American celebration of heritage, family and community valuesFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇺🇸 Punxsutawney, United States and 1 moreGroundhog DayGrund'sau dåk
A February ritual where communities watch a groundhog emerge to predict the length of winter.Festival
🇨🇳 Shanghai, China and 1 moreJiaozi餃子
Crescent Chinese dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, eaten for fortune and feastsTable custom · Breakfast
🇮🇳 Amritsar, India and 1 moreVaisakhi
A spring harvest and new year festival kept across India and Pakistan by Hindus and Sikhs.Festival
🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden and 4 moreSaint Lucy's Day
A December festival of light and song held across Scandinavia and Italy to honour a Christian martyr.Festival · Breakfast
🇧🇹 Bhutan and 4 moreLosarལོ་གསར་
The Tibetan Buddhist New Year festival of renewal, offerings, and family feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, Thailand and 5 moreLoy Krathongลอยกระทง
A Thai festival of floating leaf baskets on rivers to honor water and release negativity.Festival
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 morePohela Boishakhপহেলা বৈশাখ
The Bengali New Year festival marking the spring harvest and the start of the agricultural year.Festival
🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 4 moreChaharshanbe Suriچهارشنبهسوری
An Iranian festival of fire and renewal celebrated on the eve of the final Wednesday before spring.Festival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreUgadiఉగాది
A South Indian New Year feast celebrating life with sweet, sour, and bitter tastesSeasonal
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Diwali: Kalli navya, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holi: Jitenderasingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint Lucy's Day: Fredrik Magnusson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Losar: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
- Vesak: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vaisakhi: Michael Clark, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ganesh Chaturthi: Original uploader was MatthieuMoy at fr.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, source
- Loy Krathong: John Shedrick, CC BY 2.0, source
- Advent calendar: Andrea Schaufler, CC BY 2.5, source
- Chaharshanbe Suri: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pohela Boishakh: Abidhasan00, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kwanzaa: Apavlo at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Karuta: Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)., Public domain, source
- Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Dragon dance: Caseman, Public domain, source
- Mawlid: Firdaus Latif, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ugadi: Kalyan Kanuri, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Archery in Bhutan: muddum27, CC BY 2.0, source
- Maslenitsa: Лобачев Владимир, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hanukkah: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jiaozi: Bioniclepluslotr, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Toshikoshi soba: Osamu Iwasaki, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kadomatsu: Nesnad, CC BY 4.0, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Baci: Dalbera, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Indian national calendar: Clemensmarabu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Simbang Gabi: Avito C. Dalan for the Philippine News Agency, Public domain, source
- Advent: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Julebukking: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mumming: Flemish illuminator Jehan de Grise and his workshop, 1338-1344, Public domain, source
- Bihu dance: Digantatalukdar, CC0, source
- Christmas market: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: Praneeth Thalla, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trunk-or-treating: Lance Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki, Public domain, source
- Apple bobbing: Caleb Zahnd, CC BY 2.0, source
- Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
- Songkran: Khunmoohan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mardi Gras: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0, source