Five New Year's Celebrations From Around the World

THE WOODLANDS, TX – The first recorded New Year’s celebration took place in ancient Babylon some 4,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest holidays. Today, cultures from around the world have their own unique celebrations, all of which are united by hope and new beginnings.

• Hogmanay is a Scottish celebration which denotes the ending of the old year and beginning of the new. The most widespread tradition, which starts right after midnight, is called “first footing”. The first person, or first-footer, to enter a household on New Year’s Day brings good fortune to the home for the new year. Traditionally a neighbor or a friend, the first-footer brings symbolic gifts intended to bring different kinds of luck; coal, shortbread, whiskey, and black bun fruit cake are typical.

• The New Year comes during mid-summer in Australia. Thousands gather around the Opera House on New Year’s Eve to watch the Harbour Light Parade, where select cruise boats, beautifully decorated in lights, sail in tandem in an enchanting display. Following the procession, is a magnificent fireworks display sure to dazzle.

• The Silvesterpfad, or New Years Eve Trail in Vienna, is a series of festival sites around City Centre with food, drink, and entertainment. Each site has its own stage, and focuses on a different musical genre, from pop to punk, rock, to R&B. Around 800,000 people in 2019 walked the Silvesterpfad from early afternoon to late at night.

• Egypt celebrates the New Year with a party at the pyramids. A concert is held beneath the 4,500 year old pyramids for guests from around the world to enjoy. The music continues from sunset on December 31 to sunrise on January 1 amidst a laser-lit stage.

• New Year’s Eve wouldn’t be complete without the ball drop in New York City. The first New Year's Eve Ball made its descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square in 1907. Today, millions unite as the Waterford Crystal Ball drops, counting down the final seconds of the year, then celebrating, together, as the new year rings in.

“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives ... not looking for flaws but for potential.” - Ellen Goodman