The Western Hemisphere, like the rest of the world, celebrates the two most important winter holidays of the year: Christmas and New Year. And if the first of them is characterized by a quiet family dinner, ancient traditions and a sacred atmosphere, then the second is the complete opposite. We will now find out exactly how the New Year is celebrated in America, what is so special happening here and what traditions have been preserved in these lands. After all, it is worth considering the fact that many European rituals were often mixed with the customs of the Indians.
History in America
Celebrating this celebration on Novaya Zemlya began in the 17th century, when the first European colonies arrived here. The traditions were completely identical to British or Spanish, from the date of celebration to decorations. In the first years of colonization, the rituals of the Indians here were completely ousted from society. Therefore, the country the immigrants came from played a big role, because in accordance with this, the first American social norms were established. So, in the North, the New Year traditions in America were identical to the British or French ones (which are also very similar to each other). Residents Latin America celebrate the New Year in accordance with Spanish and Portuguese customs, but in fairness it is worth noting that in recent years they borrowed a lot from the USA. The Indian cult began to appear on this holiday only in the 20th century. People dress up in these incomprehensible and slightly scary images and walk the streets during demonstrations, parades and carnivals.
What day should we expect the New Year to arrive?
Nowadays, the whole world (with the exception of some African countries) lives according to the Gregorian calendar. In accordance with it, the New Year is celebrated in America. The date of its celebration is from December 31 to January 1. Officially, the celebration falls on the first day of the new year. However, the real bright, unforgettable and simply stunningly beautiful celebration takes place on December 31st. On this day it is impossible to get through the streets due to the large influx of people - locals and tourists. Store shelves are emptying before our eyes, decorations, firecrackers, sparklers and other pyrotechnics sparkle in the air. All houses, both inside and outside, are completely decorated with tinsel, rain and balloons. It is in such splendor and bright colors New Year is passing in America. This date, noteworthy, is not considered a day off. On December 31, all offices are open, as are shops, hairdressers and other establishments.
USA and Canada
Here, preparations for the New Year's celebration begin at the end of November, immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday. Since the New Year is celebrated in America after Christmas, Christmas trees and most street decorations have long been installed here. During the period from December 24 to January 1, Santa Clauses walk along the streets of all cities, taking pictures with children, talking and giving them gifts. New Year traditions in America, particularly in the USA and Canada, are completely borrowed from England. On the night of 31 to 1, Santa Claus enters houses where there are children through a fireplace and leaves his gifts in shoes or socks. The next morning the kids sort out their presents. The traditional dish on the tables is turkey, and it is complemented by pizza, hot dogs, various sausages, salads and much more.
Major US festivals
New Year's noise and sparkle of Central America
In Mexico, Cuba, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the arrival of the New Year is accompanied by the loudest sirens and bells, as well as the brightest fireworks. We already know how the New Year is celebrated in North America - colorful, fun, noisy. But here the real carnival begins, which embraces the beliefs of the Indians, Catholic rituals, and the preferences of modern youth to “have a blast in the clubs.” New Year here is a public holiday, which is usually celebrated on the street, in a bar or in a restaurant. People walk around the cities dressed in different clothes. Men dress in some groups of people, which symbolizes the old, passing year, always complemented by stilts. It is noteworthy that at the moment when the clock strikes 12 times, all the inhabitants of Central America begin to scream, bang spoons and pots. At the same time, all the bells in the cities ring. This is how they greet the New Year.
Features of the celebration in the southern part of the continent
How do they celebrate New Year in America, where there is no snow, ice skating rinks and other winter paraphernalia? Incredibly bright carnivals are organized here, where everyone can demonstrate their choreographic abilities. Just look at the carnival in Rio, which falls right in the middle of winter. Similar, but less spectacular events are organized in Argentina, Ecuador, Chile and Peru. The main thing that all Latin Americans remember: New Year is a public holiday. And on this day you need to have a lot of fun and recharge yourself with positivity for the whole next year.
Conclusion
As it turns out, celebrating the New Year in America is a public matter. Here they visit clubs, restaurants, have fun on the streets, take part in plays and carnivals. And, most importantly, no one gets bored.
When is New Year celebrated in America? and got the best answer
Answer from COSICH[guru]
In the USA, the New Year celebration is closely linked with the celebration of Christmas (December 25, new style). The New Year itself is not such a big holiday for Americans, and it is celebrated mainly by people from other countries (for example, from the CIS). Americans will most likely celebrate New Year's Eve among friends, watching entertainment programs on TV, or in theaters, nightclubs and restaurants.
Although New Year's Day is officially celebrated on January 1st in the United States, celebrations begin on December 31st. According to tradition, everyone sees off until midnight old year, and then they meet the one who has arrived. At exactly midnight, after the ringing of bells, fireworks fly into the air, champagne corks, the howl of sirens and car horns announce the beginning of the New Year. People hug and kiss each other and wish each other happiness. On American tables there is champagne (drinking a glass of fizzy drink at midnight is an established tradition) and snacks - nuts, cheese, cookies. It is not customary to eat or get drunk, and no gifts are given on this night. As the year passes, sentimental Americans sing an old song written back in the 18th century, called “Auld Lang Syne” (roughly translated: “The Good Old Days”). It is a good tradition to sing about friends and old times.
Some major cities in the United States hold parades on January 1st. Admittedly, the most fun and numerous of them is the New Year's parade in New York's Time Square.
Reply from Yatyana Kolupaeva[newbie]
New Year in the USA (English) New Year"s Day) is one of the country's public holidays. Celebrated on January 1 of each year according to the Gregorian calendar. Despite the fact that the New Year is inferior in popularity to Catholic Christmas, especially in more religious and conservative rural regions, in a number of US cities their own new year traditions. By the way, Christmas and New Year in the USA differ greatly in their spiritual content. Christmas is an important family holiday, filled with religious symbolism, and the New Year's celebration is public and often takes place in the form of a party with friends in a club, casino or city square. Most casinos in the country offer New Year's Eve free champagne toasts in their foyers. The English Puritans were introduced to the celebration of the New Year by the more liberal Dutch colonists, the founders of New York, so it is in this city that the New Year celebration is most solemn. Its main meeting place is Times Square, where on New Year's Eve a crowd of more than one hundred thousand awaits the descent shiny ball- symbol of the New Year.
Reply from Dasha Vereyutina[expert]
In general, on the night of December 25-26. But visitors to America celebrate like everyone else on the night of December 31 to January 1
New Year's Day in the United States of America began to be celebrated around the 17th century. This tradition was brought to the American continent by colonists from Holland. New Year is public holiday in the USA. January 1 is an official day off. But still, the main one winter holiday for America - Christmas. Holiday Catholic Christmas is of a spiritual and religious nature. On this holiday, believers must attend church. And they celebrate the holiday with their family, most often in their parents’ house. Unlike Christmas, New Year is a secular holiday that is celebrated with friends in restaurants, cafes, casinos, or simply on the streets and squares.
The brightest, most solemn and crowded New Year celebration takes place in New York in Times Square. For more than a hundred years, there has been a tradition on December 31 at 23.59 to lower the so-called time ball - the Times Square Ball - from The New York Times Tower. This famous attraction was invented by the first owner of the tower back in 1907. New Yorkers liked it so much that since then this ritual descent, which has already become a good tradition, is performed every year. A huge sparkling ball, secured with a special cable, solemnly descends down during the last minute of the outgoing year to the jubilant screams of people gathered in the square and a multi-million television audience. They say that the number of television viewers watching this attraction reaches a billion people around the world.
The Tournament of Roses and Pantomime Parade festivals are very popular among Americans and numerous tourists who come to the United States for the New Year holidays.
The Tournament of Roses has been held annually since 1890 on January 1 in Pasadena, California. As the name suggests, the main theme of the parade is the festival of flowers. This colorful and grandiose show was conceived by the residents of Pasadena to demonstrate the beauty and wealth of their warm state, as opposed to snowy New York in January. Preparations for the parade take place throughout the year, and the celebration ends with the traditional Pink Ball football match.
The "Mime Parade" was first organized in Philadelphia by emigrants from Ireland. This grandiose and very long ten-hour show is a colorful parade of artists, musicians, singers, clowns, mimes and dancers walking through the streets of the city and demonstrating their art to numerous spectators. Tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Philadelphia to see this grandiose, bright spectacle on January 1 of every year.
The custom of celebrating the New Year with a glass of sparkling wine or champagne has taken root in the USA, but they do not give gifts for the New Year, because... a huge number of gifts have already been given for Christmas. In America, people pay attention to decorating their home for Christmas. great attention. Depending on their material capabilities, Americans strive to decorate their home or apartment to the maximum, this is not limited to just installing a Christmas tree, they use a huge number of electric garlands, figures of the baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the Magi, Santa Claus and various fairy tale characters. Often these figures are life-size and can move. The spectacle is fascinating and accessible to everyone, when they are displayed by the owners in front of their houses. Sometimes there are public or secret competitions between home owners to see who can decorate their home and yard for the holiday better, more elegantly, beautifully, wittily and more expensively. It is clear that all this beauty remains until New Year's holiday. Therefore, for the New Year, all of America sparkles and shimmers.
Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!
Americans think about decorating their home both inside and outside long before January 1st. Christmas and New Year's toys and decorations open back in October. Here you can find everything to celebrate the New Year - from napkins and dishes with special patterns to Santa Clauses on the lawn.
New Year in the USA is primarily associated, of course, with New York and Times Square. A huge crowd explodes with a storm of delight, accompanying the traditional ceremonial descent of the famous Ball, sparkling with thousands of neon lights. You definitely need to take part in this - and you will be provided with a full drive. It is noteworthy that mostly foreigners gather there, while the townspeople are catching up on sleep.
Although New Year's Day is officially celebrated on January 1st in the United States, celebrations begin on December 31st. According to tradition, everyone says goodbye to the old year until midnight, and then welcomes the new year. Americans love to celebrate this holiday noisily - in theaters, nightclubs and restaurants. At exactly midnight, after the ringing of bells, fireworks fly into the air, champagne corks, the howl of sirens and car horns announce the beginning of the New Year. People hug and kiss each other and wish each other happiness.
Some major cities in the United States hold parades on January 1st. Admittedly, the most fun and numerous of them is the New Year's parade in New York's Time Square. Thousands of residents of the Big Apple gather here, joined by millions of Americans watching the colorful show on television.
Such popular festivals among Americans as the Tournament of Roses and the Pantomime Parade, the origins of which traditions arose in the middle of the last century, are also associated with the New Year's holiday.
The mime parade, which was first organized in Philadelphia by Irish immigrants, is staged as a ten-hour performance. The parade includes clowns, musicians, and dancers. They all march through the city streets led by the King of Pantomime, dressed in bright costumes, to the music, sounds of pipes and flutes.
The Tournament of Roses, which was first held in Pasadena, California, immediately received large number fans thanks to its beauty and unusualness. The tournament ends with the Pink Ball football match, which is also broadcast on national television. As a rule, this event attracts the attention of thousands of tourists and millions of television viewers.
The obligatory attributes of the New Year's holiday in the United States include an old man, symbolizing the past year, and a baby, symbolizing the new year. There is a clear analogy here with the ancient Roman god Janus, after whom the month of January was named. The legend testifies that Janus was two-faced: one face turned to the past, the other to the future. Many Americans experience similar feelings on New Year's Eve, critically assessing the achievements of the past year and making plans for the coming year.
Practical and sincere at the same time, they even write down “New Year's resolutions” for themselves in which they plan to quit smoking or go on a diet, or wake up earlier, or spend less money on clothes. Usually, when the year comes to an end, “tasks” become an excuse to laugh at ourselves.
By the way, Santa Claus does not always travel on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. For example, in Hawaii, Santa (called Kanakaloka there) arrives on a Christmas boat, and in California - on a surfboard. And what? Santa can afford it! 🙂 In Louisiana, Santa is called Papa Noel (in the French manner, since Louisiana is closely connected with the French, they were the first settlers here).
Santa's house at the North Pole receives about 120 thousand letters a year from more than 20 countries. Interestingly, the letters reach the recipient even without stamps, because they are for Santa! And I remember how in my childhood the Russian Post sent me back a postcard that I sent to Veliky Ustyug, because... there was no stamp on it. This is such a mercantile Russian post.
In one of her letters to Santa, a girl asked for an iPod. After which she asked which sheet she was on - “black” or “white”, that is, what Santa thinks, whether she behaved well or badly. And at the end she clarified: “Santa, how many cookies do you want to eat for Christmas?”... Cookie corruption is obvious! 🙂
Volunteers answer the letters; they never promise anything to the children, and are signed by Santa's elves and helpers.
So how does Santa give gifts? On the night of 31 to 1, he goes down through the chimney of the fireplace and leaves his gifts in shoes or socks that the children previously hung on him.
How many days do Americans rest for the New Year?
My husband took 3 days off this year—December 31, January 1 and 2. I'd say that's standard for Texas. But someone works all these days. For example, grocery stores are open 24 hours a day. Last year we went to Houston on January 2nd. On the 1st they rested. There were tons of people. They collect the main tribute during the holidays, I think. 🙂 Also, all clothing stores are open seven days a week. The US postmen probably didn't work until January 1st. Well, garbage from the streets was already collected from us on the 2nd.
Happy New Year, friends! Let all your plans come true!
Don't forget to stop by the supermarket because they celebrate New Year in the USA with champagne! 😉
Oksana Bryant was with you, bye-bye!
Would you like to receive articles from this blog by email?
