New year: practices that mark them
Fire, first-footing, divination for the year and the clearing of the old.
The new year is a moment for clearing the old and divining the new. Customs include Chinese red envelopes and firecrackers, Nowruz and its haft-sin table in Persian lands, Scottish first-footing and Hogmanay fire, Japanese bell-ringing and hatsumode, the Thai and Burmese water festivals, Rosh Hashanah foods, Diwali in India and the grapes eaten at midnight in Spain. This page looks at how people across the world mark the turning of the year.
Clearing the old
Many cultures clean and settle debts before the year turns. Chinese families clean the house before the festival, and sweeping on the day itself is avoided so luck is not swept away. In Iran, people jump over small fires on the last Wednesday evening of the year. Japan's temples ring 108 bells, which Buddhists link with human worldly desires. Fireworks and noise are widely said to drive off harm. Many families also pay debts and settle quarrels before the day, so the year can start fresh.
Divining the year
The year is read for omens. Scots say the first person to enter after midnight shapes the household's luck, and their gifts and looks are noted. Greek families break a pomegranate. In Mexico and Italy, foods and colours of clothing are chosen for luck in love or money. Astrologers publish forecasts and diviners in Asia and Africa are consulted at this time. Others take a more reflective path: Jewish families hold a period of repentance, and Zoroastrian and Hindu households light lamps and make offerings.
Politics and calendars
Calendars differ, so there are many new years: lunar in East Asia, solar in Persian lands, tied to harvests in India and Southeast Asia. Governments have banned and revived festivals, as in the Soviet and Cultural Revolution campaigns against old customs. Fireworks are now restricted in many Chinese cities for safety and air quality. These local customs vary widely and are often kept by older relatives. Customs also tend to ask for harmony, such as avoiding arguments, keeping the house tidy and visiting elders.
Commerce and caution
Forecasts and lucky charms are a seasonal market. Resolutions have become secular rites of self-improvement. Fireworks, bonfires and drink bring real injuries each year, and a celebration is no reason to skip care. Public celebration of the new year is often marked by a countdown, music, food and shared greeting, and it provides a regular moment of family contact and new resolve in places as different as Seoul, Lagos, Tehran and Buenos Aires, and the date and the customs may differ from one country to the next.
New year on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇪 Ireland and 5 moreBonfire
A large outdoor fire used in seasonal festivals and religious feasts across many culturesRite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 3 moreYemọjaYemoja
A mother spirit of rivers and oceans worshipped across Yoruba and diaspora traditionsBeing · Protection · Healing Living
🇹🇭 ThailandSongkranสงกรานต์
The Thai solar New Year marked by water rituals and sand pagodasTradition · Cleansing and purification · Luck and prosperity Living
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 5 moreEleguaÈṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára
A Yoruba deity of crossroads and messenger who opens all spiritual pathsBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaNyepiᬜᬾᬧᬶ
A Balinese day of total silence, fasting, and self-reflection to mark the new year.Rite · Cleansing and purification · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇩 IndonesiaOgoh-ogohᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ ᬳᭀᬕᭀᬄ
Balinese sculptures paraded and burned to cleanse the environment before NyepiTradition · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreSky lantern天燈
A paper hot air balloon lifted by flame to carry wishes and blessingsRite · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇷 Iran and 7 moreNowruzنوروز
A spring equinox festival marking the new year across Persianate culturesTradition · Luck and prosperity · Cleansing and purification Living
🇮🇳 India and 7 moreMakar Sankrantiमकरसङ्क्रान्ति
A solar festival marking the sun's northward shift and the winter harvest across South Asia.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇳 IndiaNew moon cleansing (sample)
Smoke and water used to mark a lunar month.Rite · Cleansing and purification Fading
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yemọja: Samuel Tobbytex007, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Elegua: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nyepi: Matt Croxson, Public domain, source
- Sky lantern: Richy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Bonfire: S Marshall, CC BY 3.0, source