New Year Celebrations

New Year Celebrations

Introduction People around the world celebrate the New Year at different times of the year and in many different ways. Some people celebrate with parties. Other people have traditions that might seem strange, such as wearing yellow underwear. Many people make New Year's resolutions. A resolution is a promise to end a bad habit or begin a good one. It can be anything from cutting back on junk food to being a better friend.

North America A New Year's Eve celebration might mean a small party with family and friends. In New York City, however, around a million people come together to count down the last seconds of the year. At midnight, the crowds cheer and celebrate. Many cities, including New York City, set off fireworks at midnight.

In the United States, special football games are played on New Year's Day. The most famous is the Rose Bowl game in California. At the famous Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, thousands of people dress up in fancy costumes on New Year's Day. They spend the day dancing through the city.

Central and South America Eating twelve grapes on New Year's Eve is a tradition in Central and South America. Each grape stands for one month of the coming year. It's good luck to eat all twelve during the last twelve seconds of the year. In many countries, the color of your clothes on New Year's Eve is important-actually, the color of your underwear! In many places, people wear brand-new yellow underwear. They hope for riches because yellow is the color of gold.

In Peru, Panama, and Ecuador, people make figures out of straw, rags, and paper. They decorate these figures and parade them around the streets on New Year's Eve. At midnight, people set them on fire. By burning the figures, people let go of bad memories from the past year.