New 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

🇨🇳 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 written

🇻🇳 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: Ugadi

Compare all 20 places

Traditions 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.

🇪🇪 EstoniaJaanipäev An Estonian midsummer festival marking the shortest night with bonfires, songs and independence memories.Festival

🇬🇧 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

🇳🇴 Norway and 3 moreJulebukkingGå julebukk A Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.Festival 🇬🇧 Hinton St George, United KingdomPunkie Night A Somerset Halloween custom where children carry mangelwurzel lanterns and sing for candles.Festival

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreMumming A medieval European custom of masked house-to-house visits, performances and seasonal revelry.Festival

🇮🇳 Guwahati, IndiaBihu dance A folk dance from Assam that celebrates spring, fertility and the new year with energetic movement and music.Performance

🇰🇷 Jeju, South KoreaGut굿 Sacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansSpiritual

🇧🇹 Thimphu, BhutanArchery in Bhutanམདའ (da) Bhutan's national sport, played with bamboo bows at targets 145 metres awayGame

🇺🇸 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

🇮🇷 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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreYule log A log kept burning on the hearth through the twelve days of Christmas, for luckSeasonal

🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark and 5 moreFastelavn A pre-Lenten carnival in Northern Europe where children dress up, sing for treats, and break candy-filled barrels.Festival · Sweets given and shared

🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreKoliadaКоляда A traditional winter caroling and solstice festival kept across Slavic EuropeFestival

🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreSizdah Bedarسیزده‌بدر An open-air picnic holiday concluding the Iranian New Year celebrationsFestival

🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy Pouring molten lead or tin into water, then reading the shape as an omenFolklore

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDaeboreum대보름 A Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇦🇱 Elbasan, Albania and 3 moreDita e Verës An Albanian spring festival of bonfires, sweets and nature renewal on March 14Seasonal

🇷🇴 RomaniaSorcova Children tap people with a flowered twig on New Year's morning, wishing health and luckSeasonal

🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 3 moreMalankaМаланка A Ukrainian folk celebration of masked mummers, feasting and New Year blessingsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 3 moreBanitsaБаница A layered Bulgarian cheese pastry baked for morning meals and holiday fortunesTable custom · Breakfast

🇰🇷 Seoul, South KoreaYunnori윷놀이 A Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGame

🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节 A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 1 moreAdloyadaעדלאידע A humorous Purim parade in Israel featuring giant puppets and satirical floats.Festival

🇪🇸 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

🇮🇪 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

🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri) Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKallikantzarosκαλικάντζαρος A malevolent goblin of Greek and Balkan folklore, active in the Christmas season.Folklore

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙 (jīnzhǐ) Paper money burned for ancestors and gods, folded and offered in Chinese worshipSpiritual

🇨🇳 China and 5 moreAncestor worship Honouring dead relatives with offerings and prayers, kept in many cultures worldwideSpiritual

🇯🇵 Takasaki, JapanDaruma doll達磨 (daruma) A round Japanese wishing doll: fill one eye to set a goal, the other to mark it done.Folklore

🇰🇷 South KoreaJwibullori쥐불놀이 A Korean New Year game of whirling fire-cans to clear fields and wish good luckGame

🇬🇷 Greece and 4 moreVasilopitaΒασιλόπιτα A New Year bread or cake with a coin baked inside, shared out slice by sliceTable custom · Sweets given and shared

🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreNewrozنەورۆز A Kurdish spring festival and new year celebration marked by bonfires, dance, and the lighting of fires.Festival

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal

🇮🇪 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

🇱🇹 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

🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreFukubukuro福袋 Surprise discount grab bags sold by Japanese retailers for the New YearSeasonal

🇱🇻 Riga, Latvia and 4 moreMeteņi A Latvian pre-Lenten festival marking the turn of time and welcoming spring.Festival · Feasts and festival meals

🇨🇭 SwitzerlandChalandamarz A bell-ringing march on the first of March that sends winter out of the Grisons valleysSeasonal

🇷🇴 RomaniaCapra A New Year's ritual in Romania where a masked dancer visits homes to bring luck and predict the weather.Festival

🇵🇱 Poland and 6 morePolaznik The first visitor to cross the threshold at Christmas, read as a sign of the year to comeFolklore

🇮🇸 IcelandChristmas in IcelandJól A winter festival of mountain folklore, family feasts and thirteen mischievous visitorsFestival · Dinner

🇨🇾 CyprusLimassol CarnivalΚαρναβάλι Λεμεσού A ten-day spring festival in Limassol featuring parades, costumes, satire and foam fights before Lent.Festival

🇨🇺 Cuba and 5 moreLetra del Año Annual prophecies and guidance proclaimed by babalawo priests for the coming yearSpiritual

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Letra del Año: Ìṣẹ̀ṣeAssembly, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Groundhog Day: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0, source
Chaharshanbe Suri: Philippe Giabbanelli, CC BY 3.0, source
Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
Archery in Bhutan: muddum27, CC BY 2.0, source
Fastelavn: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Sizdah Bedar: PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Koliada: Konstantin Trutovsky, Public domain, source
Daeboreum: hojusaram, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
Dita e Verës: Bibiomn, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Korean New Year: Kang Byeong Kee, CC BY 3.0, source
Yunnori: 국립국어원, CC BY-SA 2.0 kr, source
Torch Festival: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Adloyada: ד"ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, source
Tió de Nadal: Slastic, Public domain, source
Wren Day: Manx James, CC0, source
Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
Gut: ReSearcher at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
April Fools' Day: Lars Andersen, Public domain, source
Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
Sorcova: The original uploader was Alex:D at Romanian Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 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
Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
Kallikantzaros: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Ancestor worship: Lyn Gateley, CC BY 2.0, source
Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
Jwibullori: KOREA.NET, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Vasilopita: Μυρμηγκάκι, Public domain, source
Newroz: Salar Arkan - سالار ارکان, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Chalandamarz: Claudio Schneider, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Polaznik: Carlton Alfred Smith, Public domain, source
Limassol Carnival: Sergey Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Meteņi: Spekozols, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Christmas in Iceland: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source
Nativity of John the Baptist: Brakeet, CC0, source
Fukubukuro: Jnn, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Songkran: Khunmoohan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Capra: Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Public domain, source