New Year’s Eve signifies a fresh start for many

BY Nova Blanco-Rico

New Year’s Eve, a simple holiday that signifies a fresh start and a new beginning but it also means other things. New Year’s Eve is a time for one to reflect on the past, whether it be the good or the bad, to see what brought them to where they are now. New Year’s Eve is celebrated in many different ways, in other countries, but also having similar traditions like in the U.S.A.

Different countries and cultures all have unique ways of celebrating New Year’s Eve. Examples can be places like China, where they celebrate New Year’s Eve a little different, due to its meaning and purpose. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, was originally connected to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar. The holiday was meant to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It is one of China’s most important traditional festivals. It can begin anytime between late January and mid-February. Just like in America, it is a celebrated holiday that mostly everyone participates in because it means something important. China has a different tradition in celebrating the new year, such as with Spain.

The country Spain has a tradition of eating “lucky grapes” on New Year’s Eve, which is the act of eating twelve grapes. The tradition has it that if one eats all of the grapes, one by one in time with the striking of the clock at midnight, a year full of prosperity and good luck will await them. Tradition is very important; the “lucky grapes” is Spain’s tradition, similar to the U.S.A.’s tradition of the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. It is interesting how these countries celebrate the same thing, but in different ways due to their past traditions being brought along.

While there is a difference in tradition with Spain and China, in Australia and London they are similar to American tradition in celebration. Fireworks, bright lights and crowds of people on one day to celebrate the coming of a new year, a little different from a tradition of eating twelve grapes and celebrating it in a seven-day festival.

Similar to America, London, Australia, and many other countries celebrate New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31, waiting for the clock to strike 12 a.m. Tradition on New Year’s Eve brings joy to many. So, although they are different and sometimes the same, it all ends up bringing something good.

In many countries there are different traditions in all of them, whether it be eating grapes for prosperity, celebrating in a one-week festival, or just shooting fireworks in the air. It all comes up being a gathering of people to celebrate something important, though it is celebrated differently. In the end, the celebration of New Year’s Eve is a celebration with one another, coming together to acknowledge that one year on this earth has passed. It is the time to be looking toward the future for the best to come and looking back to remember the changes that brought them there.