New Year in Different Cultures by Lingxue

"Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”

This poem by William Arthur Ward speaks of the opportunities each new year brings. From its sentiment it is obvious why New Year celebrations are special for almost all cultures. For Chinese, Muslims and Indians, New Year has different meanings and they celebrate it in their own unique ways.

Firstly, Chinese New Year means the beginning in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is usually celebrated in January or February. On this special day, people wear new clothes from head to feet and have new hairstyles. They have smiles on their faces as they greet each other. The young visit to all their close relatives and bring best wishes; the old wait at home for visitors and distribute red packets to their beloved children. Actually, on the eve of the Chinese New Year, celebrations often have already begun. No matter how far family members are, they try to return home for the annual reunion dinner. At the reunion dinner, dumplings are a necessary part of the meal. After that the whole family would enjoy the Chinese New Year Eve’s TV Special, which lasts for more than four hours. This programmes keeps people awake from the old year to the new year. People call it “Shou Sui”. Usually the Chinese New Year period continues for fifteen days from the first day of lunar calendar and on the last day, Yuanxiao, a ball-shaped dessert is served. It is a rice ball that has a filling of peanut which marks the ending of the festival.

For Muslims, New Year is different. It is the first day in the Islamic calendar. New Year’s Day itself is typically used to remind the Muslims of the significance of the Prophet’s migration. On this day, people would gather in mosques, offer special prayers and listen to special readings form the Koran, a sacred book in Islam. An important part of the prayer service is the narration of the Hegira or the flight of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Apart from that, Muslims almost have no other special celebrations for the New Year. However, recently a number of Muslims have started sending greeting cards to each other as a new trend.

When it comes to Indians, the topic becomes a little complicated as India is a country of great diversity. Since it is made up of numerous regional and cultural variations, festivals are celebrated at different times and in different ways. Though Hinduism is the religion that is followed by the largest percentage of people in India, even within Hindu community New Year is not celebrated at the same time. Neither is it done in same fashion. In the eastern part of India, New Year is celebrated in spring. Houses are decorated with colorful flowers in pink, red, purple and white. Women are in yellow which also stands for spring. Besides, southern people also eat small helpings of a salad made of neem leaves, raw mangoes and bananas. By eating this, the person is symbolically accepting everything bitter and sweet that is likely to come his way throughout the New Year. In Kerala, a southern part of India, on the night before New Year’s Day, mothers prepare a special tray consisting of special food, fruits, flowers and gifts. This tray is one of the first things one sees on New Year’s Day, so as soon as the children are awake, they are led with their eyes closed to the tray. In central India, orange flags are hoisted from buildings and homes. In Gujarat, in western India, New Year is, on the other hand, celebrated in the end of October, on the day that coincides with Dewalee, another important Hindu Festival. People would light little oil lamps on and gather around their houses to welcome Goddess of wealth.

With different backgrounds and different histories, the time and ways of celebrating New Year’s Day in these countries is completely different. Yet, regardless of tradition, people express their sentiment and best wishes for the coming year with similar sentiments as those expressed in the poem above..