Ring in the New Year ‘Round the World
Some say New Year’s Eve is amateur night... A night when everyone and their mother is out overdoing it on the bubbly and noise makers. To that, we say you’re simply not doing it right. Forget all the overpriced cover charges, pounding champagne hangovers, and lame Dick Clarke specials. If you want a celebration that’s truly unique and exciting, the first thing you’ve got to do is find the right party.
And if there’s anything we know for sure, it’s that foreigners know how to party. So for your celebration’s sake, we’ve amassed a list of the best bashes to bring in the New Year all around the globe. And for good measure, we’ve thrown in a couple other noteworthy events to watch out for this holiday season… ‘tis the season to party abroad.
Madrid
‘Tres… dos… uno… Año Nuevo!’ The packed crowd in Puerta del Sol goes wild as they ring in the first few seconds of the New Year. Aside from finding a cutie from the crowd to enjoy the obligatory New Year kiss, there are a few requirements here if you want to party like a Madrileño. First, be sure you’ve got yourself a chilled bottle of Cava (Spain’s equivalent of champagne) waiting to be popped. Secondly, you’re going to need choke down twelve grapes, one for each of the twelve strikes of midnight.
Fortunately here, you’ve got more than a New Year’s hangover to look forward after the first of the year. Spain’s traditional gift-giving day, Three Kings Day, is celebrated on January 6th and is marked in Madrid by a huge parade throughout the city. During the procession, parade attendants distribute literally tons of sweets to the rowdy revelers. And of course, if wouldn’t be Three Kings Day with a visit from you know who… Santa Claus. What, you were expecting Marky Mark and Ice Cube?
Netherlands
Amsterdam’s Dam Square is always a huge party come New Year’s, but an even bigger celebration in the Netherlands come January is the Eleven Cities Tour (Elfstedentocht). It doesn’t occur every year – only when the conditions are just cold enough – but when it does this legendary marathon attracts the entire country out into the cold to witness Holland’s favorite winter sport: speed skating. The course runs over 125 miles of frozen rivers and canals through eleven cities of the rural, Friesland province. Condition requirements are strict (a minimum of six inches of ice is required for the race to go on), but when it happens, the entire country bursts into a winter wonderland celebration.
Along the way, farmers sit idle while their tractors light the course and food vendors serve up hot beverages to get spectators through to the midnight deadline. The race starts and ends in Leeuwarden, about 140 km north of Amsterdam. Since its inception in 1909, the Elfstedentocht has only been held 15 times, with the last race run in 1997.
Rio de Janeiro
In Rio, New Year’s Eve is one of the country’s biggest celebrations, second only to Carnival. Ano Novo celebrates the official start of the summer holiday season… That’s right. Summer holiday season. Being on the southern hemisphere, Brazil enjoys sun and sand to ring in the New Year while the rest of us up north freeze our asses off in Times Square. If you feel like partying beach side with some Brazilian bombshells this year, there’s no better place to be come midnight than Copacabana beach.
Come New Year’s eve, Copacabana transforms into the ultimate beach party, with live music staged all along the shore and (some say) the finest fireworks display in the world shot from boats anchored along the coast come midnight. It’s tradition to wear all white for good luck, but be sure it’s something you don’t mind getting wet or sandy… it’s also considered good luck to be soaked in champagne come twelve.
Bangkok
Prepare to get soaked at the Thai New Year (Songkran) too. What was originally a tradition of cleansing (observers typically pour a mixture water and Thai herbs over Buddha shrines and images as a means of good luck) has evolved into one of the wildest, annual water fights in the world. The action goes down all over the city, but the biggest showdown is along Khao San Road, where participants roam the streets with super soakers, garden hoses, or buckets of water, waiting to drench the next passerby. The Thai New Year is celebrated between April 13- 15th.
Ecuador
For those of you looking to settle a score, you’re best bet for retribution may be found in Ecuador. Locals here celebrate the New Year with elaborate effigies of enemies or individuals they disagreed with during the last year, referred to as Años Viejos (Old Years). When the clock strikes twelve, the effigies (usualy made out of straw, papier-mâché, and stuffed with fire crackers) are set ablaze as a symbolic burning away of the past year… out with the old, in with the new.
China
The Chinese New Year is arguably the largest New Year’s celebration in the world. Not only it is celebrated in the world’s most heavily populated country (uh… China), but in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines as well (not to mention in the Chinatown of pretty much every major metropolis in the world). Given the sheer number of people who show up for this party, you’ve got to give it up to the Chinese New year as one of the best.
The celebration is the longest and most important of the ancient Chinese traditions, meant to cleanse away the previous year’s bad luck. The holiday celebrates a legendary fight against a mythical beast, which observers defeated with firecrackers and red decoration. Need more incentive to head east this New Year? How ‘bout enough cash to fund the US trade deficit? Gift giving in the form of tiny red packets of cash is considered a lucky practice as well… We told you this was one hell of a holiday. This upcoming year, the New Year starts on February 14th, 2010.
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