🇨🇳 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
🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineVertepвертеп
A two-tiered Ukrainian puppet theatre that mixes the nativity story with satirical comedy and folk music.Performance
🇮🇪 Ireland and 2 moreWren DayLá an Dreoilín
A Saint Stephen's Day custom where groups parade a stuffed wren on a decorated pole through their community.Festival
🇺🇸 Philadelphia, United StatesMummers Parade
An annual New Year's Day street parade in Philadelphia featuring music and costumed clubsFestival
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChapchar KutChapchâr Kût
A spring festival of dance and food kept by the Mizo people in Mizoram, India.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul
A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇫🇯 FijiFiji Week
A week of national celebration in Fiji marking independence and colonial history with cultural performances.Festival
🇺🇸 New York City, United StatesTimes Square Ball
A ball of light slides down a pole in Times Square to mark the start of the new yearFestival
🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiIndependence Day
A national celebration of liberation, freedom, and unity observed every New Year's Day.Ceremony
🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节
A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom and 6 moreBoishakhi Melaবৈশাখী মেলা
A Bengali New Year fair in London each May, with a parade, music and food stallsFestival
🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival
A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual
🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreColindă
A Romanian and Moldovan Christmas carol tradition where village groups sing Nativity songs door to door.Festival
🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, AfghanistanNowruzنوروز
The Afghan spring new year, celebrated with picnics, wheat pudding and dried fruit.Seasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇻🇳 VietnamTếtTết Nguyên Đán
The Vietnamese festival of the lunar new year, welcoming spring with family gatheringsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana
The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 1 moreAbissa
A week-long New Year festival of the Nzema people in Ivory Coast and Ghana, marked by sacred drums, dance, and forgiveneFestival
🇧🇴 Tiwanaku, Bolivia and 2 moreWillkakuti
An Aymara new year at the June solstice, marking the sun's returnSeasonal
🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு
A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 3 moreMalankaМаланка
A Ukrainian folk celebration of masked mummers, feasting and New Year blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreReunion dinner團圓飯
A family gathering meal on lunar new year's eve, kept in China and VietnamTable custom · Dinner
🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey and 5 moreSimit
A sesame-encrusted ring bread sold by street vendors across Turkey and the former Ottoman lands.Table custom · Breakfast
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 3 moreBanitsaБаница
A layered Bulgarian cheese pastry baked for morning meals and holiday fortunesTable custom · Breakfast
🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreNovy GodНовый Год
A secular winter celebration of decorated trees, family feasts and midnight giftsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri)
Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 5 moreTwelve GrapesLas doce uvas de la suerte
A grape for every chime at midnight on 31 December, welcoming the new yearFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇬🇧 United KingdomCalennig
Welsh children carry a decorated apple door to door and sing for New Year giftsFestival
🇮🇸 Iceland and 2 moreYuleġēol (Old English); jól (Old Norse)
The Germanic midwinter festival that Christmas grew out of, kept today by HeathensSpiritual
🇪🇸 Spain and 1 moreTió de Nadal
A Catalan Christmas tradition where a decorated log is fed and beaten to produce small gifts for children.Festival
🇨🇱 Chile and 1 moreWe TripantuWiñoy Tripantu
The Mapuche new year, kept on the June solstice as the sun turns backFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月
An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreChingay Parade妝藝
A lively street procession of floats, giant flags, and performing arts in Southeast AsiaFestival
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePandal
Temporary decorated pavilions and arches built for festivals and gatheringsFestival
🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandBarmbrackbairín breac
A sweet Irish fruit loaf with charms baked in, eaten at Halloween and on New Year's EveTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇱🇧 Lebanon and 2 moreAnnunciationΟ Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου
A Christian feast marking the angel Gabriel's message to Mary about bearing Jesus, kept on 25 March.Festival
🇮🇹 Rome, ItalySaturnalia
A December festival of ancient Rome, with feasting, gifts, gambling and role reversalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreOld New YearСтарый Новый год (Russian), Стара Нова година (Macedonian), Српска Нова година (Serbian), Hen Galan (Welsh)
An informal holiday marking the start of the Julian calendar year, celebrated on 14 January in the Gregorian calendar.Festival · Dinner
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 5 moreNativity of John the Baptist
A Christian feast day on June 24 that marks the birth of John the Baptist and anticipates Christmas.Festival
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreTwelve Days of Christmas
A festive Christian liturgical season linking Christmas Day to the eve of EpiphanySeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 Madurai, India and 4 morePuthanduபுத்தாண்டு (Puttāṇṭu)
The first day of the Tamil solar calendar, celebrated by Tamils with family feasts and auspicious trays.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇰 Denmark and 1 moreQuinquagesima
The last Sunday before Lent in Western Christianity, marking the start of Carnival and Shrovetide.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaMonlam Prayer Festival
A Tibetan Buddhist festival of mass prayers, sacred dances and ritual offeringsSpiritual
🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The Thai solar New Year marked by temple rites, elder blessings and water throwingSeasonal
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day
A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 10 moreEgg decorating
Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
🇸🇾 Syria and 6 moreKha b'Nisanܚܕ ܒܢܝܣܢ
A spring new year on 1 April, kept with parades, poems and dancing by AssyriansFestival
🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreMeteņi
A Latvian pre-Lenten festival marking the turn of time and welcoming spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreJur Sitalजुड़ शीतल
The first day of the Maithil year, kept with a rice meal, gifts and water blessingsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Japanese New Year: No machine-readable author provided. Sixgimic assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Simit: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Abissa: Michaelill16, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Nowruz: Peretz Partensky, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Colindă: Post of Moldova, Public domain, source
- Torch Festival: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Vertep: Микола Василечко, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wren Day: Manx James, CC0, source
- Mummers Parade: Tyler McHenry at English Wikipedia ( Original text: Tyler McHenry (Thi, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chapchar Kut: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sarhul: Gurpreet Singh Ranchi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Boishakhi Mela: Ripon Miah, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
- Yule: Robert Chambers, Public domain, source
- Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Puthandu: Amila Tennakoon, CC BY 2.0, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Kha b'Nisan: Athrakado, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jur Sital: PCNWorld at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Old New Year: ceridwen, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nativity of John the Baptist: Brakeet, CC0, source
- Twelve Days of Christmas: Giotto, Public domain, source
- Quinquagesima: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Songkran: Khunmoohan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Monlam Prayer Festival: Evan-Lovely, CC BY 2.0, source
- Saturnalia: Themadchopper, Antoine-François Callet, CC0, source
- Meteņi: Spekozols, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
- Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
- Annunciation: El Greco, Public domain, source
- Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
- Pandal: SHUBHAM KR SONI, CC0, source
- Chingay Parade: HundenvonPenang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tió de Nadal: Slastic, Public domain, source
- Novy God: Евгений Самарин, CC BY 4.0, source
- Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Times Square Ball: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, source
- Willkakuti: Tuco Quispe, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- We Tripantu: Lonkonao, CC BY-SA 4.0, source