New Year (01/01)

A bright and cheerful holiday — New Year — is celebrated in most countries according to the Gregorian calendar, on the night of December 31 to January 1. Find out where and how it is celebrated, what traditions and features exist, how residents of different countries and peoples congratulate their loved ones on New Year’s Day.



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• The Ethiopian New Year Enkutatash is celebrated on September 11 or 12, and is called the Jewel Offering Festival. By the way, currently Ethiopia is perhaps the only state in the world where they still use the Julian calendar not only in church life, but also in secular life, and the Ethiopian calendar lags behind what we are used to by seven years and eight months. • Waisaki, the Sikh New Year, is celebrated in mid-April in the Indian state of Punjab. • Indian Ugadi – sliding holiday – is celebrated on the first day of the lunar month of chaitra (March-April Gregorian calendar). In addition to Ugadi, Hindus celebrate the onset of the new year 3 more times: the Holi Spring Festival, the beginning of the Gudi Padva agricultural cycle and the day of the victory of good over evil Diwali. • Nowruz – The Persian New Year falls on the vernal equinox and is celebrated on the night of March 21-22. • Another floating New Year is celebrated in Bali. The local name of the holiday, Niepi, symbolizes the beginning of a new era and takes place in complete silence. Life on the island freezes on this day: the airport does not work, loud music is prohibited, residents talk to each other only in whispers. • Oceania's New Year arrives later than everyone else. There this holiday falls in mid-November.



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One of the oldest holidays on earth dates back to ancient centuries. The exact date of its appearance is unknown, but there are records that the tradition of celebration, the patron god and the rituals of celebrating the New Year existed under Julius Caesar. Centuries-old rituals formed the basis of the modern holiday and reflect the national peculiarity of each state.

New Year's Day in Japan, called O-shogatsu, was formerly celebrated according to the lunar calendar, but from the late 19th century the Japanese switched to celebrating according to the generally accepted Gregorian calendar. Today it is the most beloved and colorful holiday, and the New Year holidays from December 28 to January 4 are days of rest for everyone. At this time, almost all business life in the country freezes.

According to old Italian traditions, New Year's Eve – is the best time to cleanse your home of old and unnecessary things. The Italians throw unnecessary rubbish into the windows, making room for new acquisitions. And in order for happiness to reign in the house all year, it is necessary to bring water from the spring on New Year’s morning. Another Italian New Year's tradition is – eating raisins dried right on bunches. Grape berries resemble coins, and it is believed that those who eat more of them will earn more money in the coming year.

In Burma, the New Year falls at the hottest time, so in the tradition of celebrating it there is a – water festival.

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If you want to get a lot of new impressions from the holiday, go on a trip to the New Year's articles Calend.ru!



In most Western European countries, Christmas is celebrated much brighter and larger. The New Year ends with Christmas celebrations, so there are almost no festive events on New Year's Eve – with the exception of magnificent fireworks, which mark the coming of the year.

If you go there, for example, to Germany, then it is better to choose dates on the eve of Christmas (until December 24), or after the New Year (January 3-4). On December 25-26, everything is closed, the holiday is celebrated in families, there is almost no social activity.

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In Russia you can go anywhere – everywhere the New Year holidays are celebrated magnificently, solemnly and brightly. Veliky Ustyug, the home of Father Frost, is waiting for families with children to visit. And if you want to escape from boring Olivier and «The irony of fate», you should pay attention to country holiday homes, warm coastal regions and ski resorts.



In 1699, Peter I set the date of celebration for January 1, and since 1700 Russia began to celebrate the New Year « of the Nativity of Christ». By the highest order, on this day fireworks were fired and spruce trees decorated with sweets and gingerbread were placed in houses. After Peter's death, the tradition of dressing up the fluffy beauty was gradually forgotten. And only in 1852, according to the newly revived tradition, a public Christmas tree was decorated for the first time in St. Petersburg.

After the 1917 revolution, Christmas and New Year celebrations in Russia were cancelled. This tradition was revived only in 1935 as a children's holiday. At the beginning of January 1937, the first Soviet Christmas tree was solemnly erected in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. The report from the audience was shown in the film magazine «Soviet Union». The following year, hundreds of holiday trees shone across the country. But only in 1947, January 1 officially became a day off in the USSR.

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Start small: congratulate loved ones, friends, colleagues, parents on this day right now!

We even came up with texts for you, funny and different, depending on who the congratulations are addressed to. Free, by the way. Let this be the first pleasant step in a series of New Year's surprises.





Other public holidays in 2024 are: • On Defender of the Fatherland Day, we rest from February 23 to 25; • In celebration of International Women's Day — from 8 to 10 March; • May holidays — from April 28 to May 1, in honor of the Spring and Labor Day, and from May 9 to May 12 in connection with the celebration of Victory Day; • Russia Day celebrations will last one day — June 12; • In November, National Unity Day will be celebrated by Russians on — November 3 - 4, 2024.

For full information about vacation days in 2024, see section «Production calendars».

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