Do you know when the Chinese New Year is? Or which year it is? Let us tell you, along with many other facts, about the New Year and its various celebrations

Russians celebrate it twice and Brazilians dress in white. Italians wear red underwear, Mexicans burn all the bad things of the past and Greeks play lots of cards and dice. New Year’s Eve is celebrated very differently all around the world and on a variety of dates.

Chinese New Year

In China, the New Year is the most important holiday of the year. This national holiday is celebrated for a week, as people return to their homes to join their families. The next Chinese Lunar New Year celebration will begin on 5 February and last until 10 February. Fireworks, dragon dances and open windows to ward off the evils of the previous year and celebrate the Year of the Pig.

“Gift of Jewels”

Ethiopia follows the Gregorian calendar, which has 13 months: 12 of 30 days and the last of only 5 or 6 days. Enkutatash, meaning “gift of jewels”, it is the Ethiopian New Year and is celebrated on 11 September, except in leap years, as it is the case with 2010, which was celebrated on 12 September.

Rosh Hashanah

Jews celebrate the arrival of the new year on the first two days of the month of Tishrei in the Jewish calendar; this year it was on 29 and 30 September. During these dates the Jewish people think about their moral obligations. It is tradition to dip apples in honey so that the year has a sweet start.

From Mecca to Medina

The Muslim people commemorate the pilgrimage of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 662 AD, the beginning of their calendar. They celebrate this with traditional wind instruments and with foods that symbolise luck, health and well-being. This year it will be celebrated on 31 August, starting the year 1438.