The New Year

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 New Years is the celebration of the end of the past, and the beginning of the future. New years is celebrated on December 31st, and January 1st. Over the course of those two days, there are many things that happen within. Traditions have changed through the years, and centuries, but it all rounds up to the same thing, New Years.

There are 2 parts to the New Years celebration. There is New years Eve, and New Years Day. But new Years Eve comes first, for real. New Years Eve could have been celebrated before then, but the first known celebration was in 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. At the time, there were only ten months in the year, and nowadays, they would be celebrating around March 25th. They would be celebrating the vernal equinox. Again, at the time there were only 10 months in the year, because of the time, they used the vernal equinox as the time of what they thought of as the new year because it reset the daylight and night in the world. This also signaled the beginning of the planting season.

Traditions are different for New Years Eve. In many Latin American countries, they eat 12 grapes at midnight, each for one toll of the bell, and this will bring good luck in the New Year. In Greece, there are cakes to resemble the circle of life, and there are coins in the cake, it you get one, you are supposed to get luck in the new year. One of the most common traditions in America is the Ball Drop. In New York City, at midnight a giant plastic ball drops, and that represents that it is time for the new year.

New Years Day dates back to the same date as New Years Eve. 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. Back then, they performed tribal rituals, and had feasts to honor the new year, and they felt refreshed as we do now. A very common tradition nowadays is making new years resolutions, this is when you make goals that you want to achieve in the new year, and it makes it more meaningful. 

Overall, New Years is a fascinating tradition all around the world. There are so many variations on New Years for so many different countries. There's Chinese New year, Lunar New Year, Seollal (Korean new year), Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), and so many more than we can count. New Years is meant to have a positive, and sentimental impact on individuals, leaving cleansed with all the faults of the past year, and remembering the times that cannot be recreated. New years the end of a happy time, but the start of a new beginning.

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