Is New Year's Day January 1st in Every Country?

With just a few days before the new year, every part of the city is shining with flamboyant decorations and colorful illuminations. We share the excitement of the new year with our loved ones and say hello to a year full of hope.

What does New Year's Eve mean to us? What are the New Year celebrations in Turkey and around the world? Let's look at the answers to these questions and much more before we enter the new year...

What is the Difference Between Christmas and New Year's

The French word Christmas comes from the Latin word natalis (birth). Christmas is celebrated by Christians every year on December 25, the birth of Jesus Christ. The celebrations start on the eve of December 24th and last until December 26th. Speaking of Christmas, we should not forget Santa Claus. He is a memorable figure with his long white beard, red suit and black belt. On the eve of December 24, he is a legendary symbol who enters houses and leaves gifts for children, and whose reality is still unclear.

Christmas celebrations around the world take place from the last week of November to the first week of January with different traditions. This period is known as Christmastime. Germany, Japan, Iceland, Poland are some of the countries that welcome the New Year with Christmas. New Year's Eve is accepted in our country and in many parts of the world as the night connecting December 31 to January 1 according to the Gregorian calendar. The first New Year's celebration in history started with Julius Caesar in 46 BC and has continued until today.

Although New Year's Eve and Christmas are often used interchangeably, they are fundamentally different. While Christmas is celebrated as a religious holiday in Christendom, New Year's Eve is celebrated enthusiastically with various events all over the world. But the purpose of both is to share the excitement of the new year. The New Year is welcomed around the world with the singing of Jingle Bells.

What is Christmas Flower?

When we think of New Year's Eve, the kokina flower comes to mind. It dazzles with its red fruits called silcan, which shine among its lush green leaves. Kokina is a Greek word and means red. Although Kokina flower looks natural, the fruit parts are prepared by planting, so they can remain intact until the next year.

It is believed to bring prosperity and good luck to the house throughout the year. It is even believed that whoever buys a kokina flower at New Year's Eve and keeps it for a year, that family will have a new house next year.

What are New Year's celebrations in Turkey and the World?

New Year is celebrated in different ways in different parts of the world. In Turkey, New Year's Eve on January 1 is considered a public holiday and all employees are given the day off. On the last night of December, long tables are set with the whole family, pine trees are decorated, gifts are bought, the national lottery draw is expected, games are played and snacks are eaten. The aim is not only to have a pleasant time, but also to share the excitement of the New Year with our loved ones. People gather in the most crowded streets of the city and have fun until the first hours of the new year. When the clocks show 00.00, the New Year is welcomed with fireworks by counting down from 10 in unison.

If we take a look at New Year's traditions in different parts of the world, the Japanese do not cook at home for the first three days of the year because they believe that cooking at home will bring bad luck. In India, mango and banana trees are decorated because pine trees do not grow. In Spain, when the clocks show 00.00 at night, 12 grapes are eaten with a wish. In Mexico, there is a tradition of painting houses in different colors. Each color has a different meaning. For example, green means money, red means love, yellow means work...

New York is a city that never sleeps. It welcomes the new year with fascinating concerts and colorful shows in Times Square until the first hours of the new year. Paris welcomes the New Year with all its enthusiasm, enjoying the splendor of the Eiffel Tower and spectacular light and stage shows.

What are some interesting Christmas celebrations around the world?

Sweden is one of the countries with the most extraordinary Christmas celebrations. The Yule Goat is erected in the center of the town every Christmas Eve, and is believed to protect the town from evil throughout the year. The strange thing about this tradition, which dates back to the 60s, is that every time it is erected it is set on fire by arsonists.

Christmas is celebrated in Italy between December 24 and January 6. A witch named Befana, depicted with a broomstick and a sack on her back, is believed to enter the chimneys of houses and put presents in children's stockings.

In Iceland there is a different tradition at Christmas time. This tradition is called Jolabokaflod. It is the tradition of family members gifting books to each other. This tradition dates back to the 1940s and has been going on since the Second World War, when paper was almost impossible to obtain.