End of year Celebrations around the world

The end of every year is a time of celebration all around the world: religious or international celebrations take place in a festive atmosphere, as we welcome the New Year. Other celebrations take place at the end of the year in many religions: Article2 wishes to recognise these different cultures that celebrate the same thing in very different ways.

Christmas, a time of glee and merriment, a time for gathering

“It’s about love, health, wealth, Jesus, religion and friendship” says Doc from Serbia and Montenegro. Even though Christmas is today an immensely popular holiday, it is first and foremost a religious celebration of the birth of Christ. Christians from all over the world gather to celebrate the coming of the Messiah. Lucy emphasizes the importance of singing carols in Romania: “Singing Christmas carols is a very important part of the Romanian Christmas festivities. The tradition in Romania is for children to travel from house to house singing carols and reciting poetry and legends throughout the Christmas season”. In Ukraine, carolling is also very popular, according to Shabanu, who lives in the United States but celebrates Christmas with her family from Ukraine. “Many children and teens go carolling from house to house, and they get money for it. However, with family, we just carol together after we finish eating our dinner”.

Christmas time is a season for traditional meals. “Three days before Christmas, one may detect a heavy aroma of freshly baked walnut and raisin cakes”, explains Lucy. Cakes, dried fruit, turkey and potatoes can usually be found in traditional Christmas meals. Camille from France speaks about what the French like to cook for Christmas: “Around Christmas time, you can usually find in supermarkets huge displays of typical French food like snails, sea food and foie gras which are common in French Christmas meals. In my family, we like to cook truffle omelettes, shrimps with spices, stuffed turkey, sweet potatoes and gingerbread cookies”.

Christmas is also a celebration for children: the myth of Santa Clause that delivers toys to children all around the world, riding a sleigh tugged by reindeers and climbing down each home’s chimney fascinates every child. “Christmas carols are sung and Santa Clause is expected to leave presents under the tree; families with small children are likely to receive a visit from Santa Clause in person. Christmas Day is celebrated among friends and family. Remind your children to clean their boots or shoes and leave them out so Santa Clause can fill them with small presents”, says Lucy.

But what would Christmas be like if it were celebrated without the surrounding and gathering of friends and family in an atmosphere of merriment and joy? Lucy says that a tree and good food is not enough to have a merry Christmas: “Invite family and friends to come back to your home after the special Christmas mass and tell stories about Jesus’ birth in front of the Christmas tree. Sing, laugh and tell stories together with all your dear ones.” Indeed, Christmas is a time for communities to come together explains Doc: “We usually pay fifteen minute visits around the neighbourhood and almost everyone goes to church for midnight worship”.

Rosh Hashanah in a nutshell

The festival of Rosh Hashanah – the name means " Head of the Year" – is observed for two days beginning on Tishrei 1, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in the world.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance; for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance, and serves as the first of the "Ten Days of Repentance" which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to God; we evoke Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity. Altogether, the shofar is sounded 100 times in the course of the Rosh Hashanah service. Additional Rosh Hashanah observances include: Eating a piece of apple dipped in honey to symbolize our desire for a sweet year, and other special foods symbolic of the new year’s blessings; blessing one another with the words “Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim” ("May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."); Tashlich, a special prayer said near a body of water (an ocean, river, pond, etc.) in evocation of the verse, "And You shall cast their sins into the depths of the sea".

Muslim Celebrations

The Islamic calendar began in the year CE 622, marking the Prophet Muhammad’s emigration from Makkah to Madinah. This event is known as the Hijra, and dates in the Muslim calendar are marked by the Latin notation “AH,” for anno hegirae (the year of emigration). The calendar has twelve lunar months, which means that each month is equal to the number of days it takes the moon to orbit the earth. Because a lunar month varies in length from 29 to 30 days, the Muslim year is about eleven days shorter than the 365-day Gregorian year, which is based on a solar calendar. Because the Islamic year is shorter, however, seasons will begin and end at different times from year to year, and Muslim holidays occur in different seasons over the years.

(“festival of the sacrifice”) commemorates Abraham’s submission to God’s will, represented by his willingness to sacrifice his son Isma`il (Ishmael) at God’s request. According to the Qur’an, as well as the Bible and the Torah, just as Abraham was about to lower his knife, God mercifully replaced the boy (Isma`il in the Qur’an, Isaac in the Bible and Torah) with a sheep to be sacrificed in his place. Abraham had stood the ultimate test of faith, and this holiday celebrates his piety. `Eid al-Adha begins on the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, which is the twelfth month in the Islamic calendar. It marks the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Makkah. It is the custom on `Eid al-Adha to sacrifice a sheep, as Abraham did in place of Isma`il. Many Muslim families divide the meat into thirds, keeping one-third for themselves, giving one-third to their relatives and friends, and donating one-third to the poor. Eid festivities include giving gifts—usually money—to children. Muslim families spend the holiday visiting neighbours and friends, exchanging greetings and salutations of peace.

The Islamic New Yearis celebrated on the first day of Muharram, the beginning of the Muslim year. Schools and businesses close in observance of the year, and the celebration—which is not as extravagant as the secular New Year – consists of gathering for dinner with family and friends.

Celebrations occur all around the world to celebrate the New Year. They don’t all occur at the same period as we don’t all follow the same calendar. However, no matter what our religion or nationality is, we know that the world celebrates the New Year, each of us wishing for prosperity, luck and good things to come for the next year.