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.

🇳🇴 NorwayJul An eight-week Norwegian midwinter season of feasts, family gatherings, and gift-givingSeasonal · Lunch

🇮🇳 India and 2 morePehlwani A traditional discipline of clay-pit wrestling across the Indian subcontinent.Game

🇸🇬 Singapore and 2 moreChingay Parade妝藝 A lively street procession of floats, giant flags, and performing arts in Southeast AsiaFestival

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

🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey and 5 moreSimit A sesame-encrusted ring bread sold by street vendors across Turkey and the former Ottoman lands.Table custom · Breakfast

🇳🇵 NepalMha Pujaम्हपुजा A Newar New Year ritual of self-worship, mandalas and renewal in NepalSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

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

🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia and 5 moreNovy GodНовый Год A secular winter celebration of decorated trees, family feasts and midnight giftsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇳🇵 Bhaktapur, NepalBiska Jatra𑐧𑐶𑐳𑑂𑐎𑐵𑑅 𑐖𑐵𑐟𑑂𑐬𑐵 An annual solar new year festival in Nepal with chariot pulls and tall wooden poles.Festival

🇺🇸 United StatesMakahiki A four-month Hawaiian new year season of peace, harvest gifts, feasts and gamesSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇶 Karbala, Iraq and 4 moreMuharramٱلْمُحَرَّم The sacred opening month of the Islamic year, observed through remembrance and fastingSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇱🇰 Anuradhapura, Sri LankaSinhala New Yearඅලුත් අවුරුද්ද The April solar New Year and harvest festival celebrated across Sri LankaSeasonal

🇨🇮 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 🇲🇬 MadagascarFandroana The Merina new year of Madagascar's highlands, with zebu feasting and a royal bathFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇻🇳 VietnamTếtTết Nguyên Đán The Vietnamese festival of the lunar new year, welcoming spring with family gatheringsFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif, AfghanistanNowruzنوروز The Afghan spring new year, celebrated with picnics, wheat pudding and dried fruit.Seasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇷🇴 Romania and 1 moreColindă A Romanian and Moldovan Christmas carol tradition where village groups sing Nativity songs door to door.Festival 🇬🇭 GhanaAdae Festival A sacred day of rest and ancestral rites observed across the Ashanti Region in GhanaSpiritual

🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreKorean New Year설날 A three-day Korean festival celebrating the lunisolar new year with family and feastsSeasonal

🇰🇷 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 🇭🇹 Port-au-Prince, HaitiIndependence Day A national celebration of liberation, freedom, and unity observed every New Year's Day.Ceremony

🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 1 moreAdloyadaעדלאידע A humorous Purim parade in Israel featuring giant puppets and satirical floats.Festival 🇫🇯 FijiFiji Week A week of national celebration in Fiji marking independence and colonial history with cultural performances.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

🇹🇭 Bangkok, ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์ The three-day Thai New Year festival marked by water rituals and blessings for eldersFestival

🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineVertepвертеп A two-tiered Ukrainian puppet theatre that mixes the nativity story with satirical comedy and folk music.Performance

🇺🇸 Pasadena, United StatesRose Parade A New Year's Day floral parade of natural floats, bands and horses in CaliforniaFestival

🇮🇪 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

🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanJapanese New Year正月 An annual celebration of renewal, seasonal foods, and bell ringing across JapanSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJoya no Kane除夜の鐘 A Japanese Buddhist New Year's Eve ritual where temple bells are struck to cleanse the year of worldly desires.Spiritual

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreTashlikhתשליך A Jewish new year rite of casting sins into flowing water, kept by the watersideSpiritual

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChapchar KutChapchâr Kût A spring festival of dance and food kept by the Mizo people in Mizoram, India.Festival

🇮🇳 India and 2 morePandal Temporary decorated pavilions and arches built for festivals and gatheringsFestival

🇮🇳 Madurai, IndiaJallikattuஜல்லிக்கட்டு A traditional bull-embracing event held during harvest celebrations in Tamil NaduGame

🇮🇳 IndiaSarhul A spring new year festival honoring nature and Sal blossoms across JharkhandSeasonal · 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

🇦🇹 Vienna, AustriaVienna New Year's ConcertNeujahrskonzert der Wiener Philharmoniker A morning of waltzes and polkas on 1 January, played by the Vienna PhilharmonicPerformance 🇨🇳 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

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreChallahחַלָּה A braided Jewish bread, blessed and shared at Shabbat and holiday tablesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreHigh Holy Daysיָמִים נוֹרָאִים The Jewish year's ten days of repentance, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom KippurSpiritual

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

🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaTangzhuang唐裝 (traditional), 唐装 (simplified) A Chinese jacket with a Mandarin collar, worn for formal occasions and holidaysDress

🇪🇸 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

🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ) Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft 🇬🇧 United KingdomCalennig Welsh children carry a decorated apple door to door and sing for New Year giftsFestival

🇱🇰 Sri LankaKiribathකිරිබත් Rice cooked in coconut milk, the dish of Sinhalese New Year and family beginningsTable custom · Breakfast

Photo credits on this page

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

Shabbat meals: Yoninah, Public domain, source
Pehlwani: Prasanna Revan aka. Prasannare at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hogmanay: Robbie Shade, CC BY 2.0, source
Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
Chingay Parade: HundenvonPenang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Banitsa: Sheku80, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Simit: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mha Puja: Karrattul, Public domain, source
Malanka: Viktoriyasechkar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Novy God: Евгений Самарин, CC BY 4.0, source
Biska Jatra: Davide Mauro, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Makahiki: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Muharram: Victor Armand Poirson, Public domain, source
Sinhala New Year: Anna Anichkova, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
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
Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
Vertep: Микола Василечко, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Rose Parade: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view, CC BY 2.0, 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
Japanese New Year: No machine-readable author provided. Sixgimic assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Joya no Kane: Leung Ming Ho (Michael) (MHLeung), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tashlikh: Yaakov Saar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Chapchar Kut: Ramesh Lalwani, CC BY 2.0, source
Pandal: SHUBHAM KR SONI, CC0, source
Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
Sarhul: Gurpreet Singh Ranchi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Boishakhi Mela: Ripon Miah, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Vienna New Year's Concert: Michal Osmenda, CC BY 2.0, source
High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
Tangzhuang: Gobierno de Chile, CC BY 2.0, source
Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
Chinese paper cutting: Lanneixi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kiribath: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Songkran: Khunmoohan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source