travelwriter

Happy New Year to you all!  I appreciate you reading my blog and hope that you’ll continue to do so in the New Year to come.

Around the world, people are celebrating New Year’s Day.  But not all people celebrate and not all have the same traditions.  Let’s take a look.

In Egypt, for example, the new crescent moon has to be seen by viewers at the Muhammad Ali Mosque atop it’s hilltop in Cairo before the New Year can officially begin.  New Years Day is an official Egyptian Public Holiday and is full of festive celebrations.

The Chinese New Year takes place between January 21 to February 20 and the annual date changes according to the lunar calendar.  This is a time for friends, family and looking forward to a year of good fortune.  The tradition of giving lucky money to single relatives and children is still popular today.

In Sweden, as with much of the world, people celebrate as we do in North America with food, drink and general celebrations. 

In Ireland, the New Year’s festival known as Samhain takes place on Halloween, October 31^st.  This is when political trends are predicted by the blowing winds and traditionally where breads were banged against the outside doors and windows of a house in order to drive away any misfortunes and to attract general happiness in the home.

If you’d like to read more about New Years Day traditions around the world, check out the FatherTimes website.

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