Different New Years Around The World

From food to various cultural practices, one thing is a certainty: No matter where or how we live, the one constant in all our lives is that of a new year, of a time blossoming out into spiritual and physical rebirth. We are the same yet we have refreshed ourselves. .

• One of the best known symbols of the new year in the United States is the New Year's baby, a tradition brought to early America by the ancient Greeks (c. 600 BC) with a side trip though Germany.
• Early Christians denounced the use of a baby as an act of paganism but since the concept of the baby as a symbol of rebirth was so popular with others, Christians were convinced to add their approval for the baby (in the body of the infant Jesus). Of course, it took many centuries to encompass the thought of a cute baby, complete with a top hat and diaper imprinted with the date of the incoming New Year.

As people are different, so are their ways of greeting the new year. Reaching back centuries, a great many of these celebrations involve food to insure a good, strong harvest. Many center around family and children.

• In Russia, children can visit the New Year Tree at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. This huge fir tree shimmers with an untold number of colored lights. The children can also attend a fairy tale play and to highlight the day, Grandfather Frost and his helper the Snow Maiden distribute gifts. Swedes celebrate the New Year by attending church services in the morning, followed by a big, joyous family dinner.