NEW YEAR IN NEW YORK!!

Tradicionalmente en el Time Square de New York segundos antes de las 12:00 pm cae una bola de cristal el cual marca el inicio del Nuevo Año. Esta celebración es típica para los neoyorkinos y todos aquellos que residen ahí, asi que me animé a poner la transmisión en vivo del evento que varias veces la he visto en el canal de CNN en Español y que de seguro le será útil a las personas que se encuentran fuera de la ciudad y que varias veces la han realizado solo que tal vez por motivos de trabajo, salud, o etc no están en New York. O también para los curiosos como yo que gusta de ver este tipo de eventos con la familia.

Así que si no tienes la suerte de verlo x TV, aquí te damos una alternativa.

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New Year All Over The World

How and when
do people in other countries
celebrate New Year?

Not all countries celebrate New Year at the same time, nor in the same way. This is because people in different parts of the world use different calendars. Long ago, people divided time into days, months, and years. Some calendars are based on the movement of the moon, others are based on the position of the sun, while others are based on both the sun and the moon. All over the world, there are special beliefs about New Year.

Long Ago Festivals
Ancient Egypt

In ancient Egypt, New Year was celebrated at the time the River Nile flooded, which was near the end of September. The flooding of the Nile was very important because without it, the people would not have been able to grow crops in the dry desert. At New Year, statues of the god, Amon and his wife and son were taken up the Nile by boat. Singing, dancing, and feasting was done for a month, and then the statues were taken back to the temple.

Babylonia

Babylonia lay in what is now the country of Iraq. Their New Year was in the Spring. During the festival, the king was stripped of his clothes and sent away, and for a few days everyone could do just what they liked. Then the king returned in a grand procession, dressed in fine robes. Then, everyone had to return to work and behave properly. Thus, each New Year, the people made a new start to their lives.
The RomansFor a long time the Romans celebrated New Year on the first of March. Then, in 46 BC, the Emperor Julius Caesar began a new calendar. It was the calendar that we still use today, and thus the New Year date was changed to the first day of January. January is named after the Roman god Janus, who was always shown as having two heads. He looked back to the last year and forward to the new one. The Roman New Year festival was called the Calends, and people decorated their homes and gave each other gifts. Slaves and their masters ate and drank together, and people could do what they wanted to for a few days.

The Celts

The Celts were the people who lived in Gaul, now called France, and parts of Britain before the Romans arrived there. Their New Year festival was called Samhain. It took place at the end of October, and Samhain means 'summer's end'. At Samhain, the Celts gathered mistletoe to keep ghosts away, because they believed this was the time when the ghosts of the dead returned to haunt the living.

Jewish New Year

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is a holy time when people think of the things they have done wrong in the past, and they promise to do better in the future. Special services are held in synagogues, and an instrument called a Shofar, which is made from a ram's horn is played. Children are given new clothes, and New Year loaves are baked and fruit is eaten to remind people of harvest time.

Muslim New Year

The Muslim calendar is based on the movements of the moon, so the date of New Year is eleven days earlier each year. Iran is a Muslim country which used to be called Persia. The people celebrate New Year on March 21, and a few weeks before this date, people put grains of wheat or barley in a little dish to grow. By the time of New Year, the grains have produced shoots, and this reminds the people of spring and a new year of life.

Hindu New Year

Most Hindus live in India, but they don't all celebrate New Year in the same way or at the same time. The people of West Bengal, in Northern India, like to wear flowers at New Year, and they use flowers in the colors of pink, red, purple, or white. Women like to wear yellow, which is the color of Spring. In Kerala, in Southern India, mothers put food, flowers, and little gifts on a special tray. On New Year's morning, the children have to keep their eyes closed until they have been led to the tray. In Central India, orange flags are flown from buildings on New Year's Day. In Gujarat, in Western India, New Year is celebrated at the end of October, and it is celebrated at the same time as the Indian festival of Diwali. At the time of Diwali, small oil lights are lit all along the roofs of buildings. At New Year, Hindus think particularly of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.

The Far East
Vietnam

In Vietnam, the New Year is called Tet Nguyen Dan or Tet for short. It begins between January 21 and February 19, and the exact day changes from year to year. They believe that there is a god in every home, and at the New Year this god travels to heaven. There he will say how good or bad each member of the family has been in the past year. They used to believe that the god traveled on the back of a fish called a carp, and today, they sometimes buy a live carp, and then let it go free in a river or pond. They also believe that the first person to enter their house at New Year will bring either good or bad luck.

Japan

In Japan, New Year is celebrated on January 1, but the Japanese also keep some beliefs from their religion, which is called Shinto. To keep out evil spirits, they hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses, and this stands for happiness and good luck. The moment the New Year begins, the Japanese people begin to laugh, and this is supposed to bring them good luck in the new year.

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is celebrated some time between January 17 and February 19, at the time of the new moon, and it is called Yuan Tan. It is celebrated by Chinese people all over the world, and street processions are an exciting part of their New Year. The Festival of Lanterns is the street processions, and thousands of lanterns are used to light the way for the New Year. The Chinese people believe that there are evil spirits around at New Year, so they let off firecrackers to frighten the spirits away. Sometimes they seal their windows and doors with paper to keep the evil spirits out.

New Year in the West

New Year's Day processions with decorated floats and bands are a part of New Year, and football is also played all over the United States on New Year's Day. In Europe, New Year was often a time for superstition and fortune-telling, and in some parts of Switzerland and Austria, people dress up to celebrate Saint Sylvester's Eve. In AD 314, there was a Pope called Saint Sylvester, and people believed that he captured a terrible sea monster. It was thought that in the year 1000, this sea monster would escape and destroy the world, but since it didn't happen, the people were delighted. Since then, in parts of Austria and Switzerland, this story is remembered at New Year, and people dress up in fantastic costumes, and are called Sylvesterklauses. In Greece, New Year's Day is also the Festival of Saint Basil. Saint Basil was famous for his kindness, and Greek children leave their shoes by the fire on New Year's Day with the hope that he will come and fill the shoes with gifts. In Scotland, New Year is called Hogmanay, and in some villages barrels of tar are set alight and rolled through the streets. Thus, the old year is burned up and the new one allowed to enter. Scottish people believe that the first person to enter your house in the New Year will bring good or bad luck, and it is very good luck if the visitor is a dark-haired man bringing a gift. This custom is called first-footing. The song, Auld Lang Syne is sung at midnight on New Year's Eve, and this custom is now celebrated all over the world.

CHRISTMAS IN THE UNITED STATES

Millions of Americans will celebrate Christmas on December 25th.,the most widely celebrated religious holiday in the United States.

For the past few weeks, Americans have been preparing for Christmas. People have been buying gifts to give to family members and friends. They have been filling homes and stores with evergreen trees and bright, colored lights. They have been going to parties and preparing special Christmas foods. Many people think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Many Christians will go to church the night before the holiday or on Christmas Day. They will celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christian ministers will speak about the need for peace and understanding in the world. This is the spiritual message of Christmas. Church services will include traditional religious songs for the holiday.Many other Americans will celebrate Christmas as an important, but non-religious, holiday. To all, however, it is a special day of family, food, and exchanging gifts. Christmas is probably the most special day of the year for children. One thing that makes it special is the popular tradition of Santa Claus. Young children believe that Santa Claus is a fat, kind, old man in a red suit with white fur. They believe that – on the night before Christmas – he travels through the air in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He enters each house from the top by sliding down the hole in the fireplace. He leaves gifts for the children under the Christmas tree. Americans spend a lot of time and money buying Christmas presents. But some people object to all this spending. They say it is not the real meaning of Christmas. So, they celebrate in other ways. For example, they make Christmas presents, instead of buying them. Or they volunteer to help serve meals to people who have no homes. Or they give money to organizations that help poor people in the United States and around the world.Home and family are the center of the Christmas holiday. For many people, the most enjoyable tradition is buying a Christmas tree and decorating it with lights and beautiful objects. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, people gather around the tree to open their presents. Another important Christmas tradition involves food. Families prepare many kinds of holiday foods, especially sweets. They eat these foods on the night before Christmas and on Christmas day. For many people, Christmas means traveling long distances to be with their families.Another Christmas tradition is to go caroling. A group of people walks along the street. At each house, they stop and sing a Christmas song, called a carol. Student groups also sing carols at schools and shopping centers. Not everyone in the United States celebrates Christmas. Members of the Jewish and Muslim religions, for example, generally do not. Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah. And some black Americans observe another holiday, Kwanzaa. Yet many Americans do take part in some of the traditional performances of the season.
GLOSSARY
widely: ampliamente, sumamente.....holiday: día festivo

for the past few weeks: durante las últimas semanas......filling: llenando

evergreen trees: árboles de hoja perenne...Christmas foods:comidas navideñas

ministers: ministros, pastores religiosos.....understanding: comprensión

exchanging gifts: intercambio de obsequios o regalos...white fur: piel blanca

sleigh pulled by reindeer: trineo tirado por renos....sliding down: deslizándose por
fireplace: chimenea, hogar....object to: se oponen a, ponen objeciones

spending: gasto, consumo....volunteer: se alistan como voluntarios

enjoyable: agradable, deleitante, divertido....Christmas Eve: Nochebuena

gather around: se reúnen alrededor de...holiday foods: platos o comidas festivas

means traveling: implica tener que viajar...to go caroling: salir a cantar en grupo

Jewish: judío......Muslim: musulmán, mahometano

Hanukkah: Jánuca, Fiesta de las Luminarias....yet many: aún muchos

Kwanzaa: siete días de celebraciones de los afroamericanos que incluye el encendido de velas en la kinara, un candelabro especial.

Papa Noel - Santa Claus

Why is his name associated with bothgood and evil?

Every legend has some basis in fact. And when it comes to the controversial legend of Santa, here are facts about him that even the most dubious will find compelling.Like many internationally famous individuals, Santa reached his greatest prominence far from the borders of his original hometown. He started in what is today the Middle East nation of Turkey as Saint Nicholas, archbishop of Myra. How he ended up at the North Pole as jolly old St. Nick is lost to the dry pages of history yet unwritten and likely unknown. But let it suffice to be say that the red suited one had to travel about as far as any person in history before he settled into his final career.
Little is actually known about the historical Saint Nicholas, but the legends that surround him provide the template for the character we now know as Santa Claus.
What we do know is this: he was born around the year 245 A.D. to wealthy parents. He devoted his life to the church, eventually becoming the archbishop of Myra. He was tortured for his beliefs until Emperor Constantine changed the official religion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. And he died on December 6, sometime around 350 A.D. The Catholic Church has set aside that date as a feast day in his honor. But even much of this information is suspect. The main source is a biography that was written by a monk some five centuries after he died. More important then the facts, though, are the legends that have grown up around him. Most of these are the run-of-the-mill saintly miracles, such as him calming a particularly nasty storm. But there is also a saintly tale of Saint Nicholas resurrecting three boys who had been murdered and then pickled. (Let's hope the killer went through the trouble of pickling in order to hide his crime and not to keep them fresh for winter consumption).
Still, there are several stories that exist that show Saint Nicholas performing acts that we now come to associate with the lovable figure of Santa Claus. One of the most interesting of these tells of his convincing a group of thieves to return their stolen goods, thus causing him to become the patron saint of thieves (not patron saint in that he helps them rob but, rather, in that he helps them repent). This seems fitting considering Santa Claus, who sneaks into our houses in the wee hours of Christmas morning and leaves us presents, is a sort of anti-thief, undoing the deeds of those nefarious people Saint Nicholas is said to look after.
The most famous tale, though, recounts the story of a once wealthy businessman, who, having lost his fortune, decided to sell his three daughters into prostitution to raise some money. Hearing of this, Saint Nicholas went to the man's house at night and threw three bags of coins into the man's window, one for each of the daughter's dowries. The young women were thus able to find good husbands and avoid the degrading lifestyle to which they seemed destined.
Cementing the connection to the modern day Santa Claus, some versions of this story have Saint Nicholas arriving with the third daughter's gift bag but, finding the window shut, was forced to drop her coins down the chimney and into a stocking hanging on the mantle to dry. This not only seems physically unlikely, but so absurdly similar to today's popular Christmas traditions that it sounds almost certainly false. The legend of Santa Claus grows with time. Whether your own belief is that he is real or that he remains a growing figure of modern mythology, there is no doubt that Santa Claus impacts society with each passing season. His name is associated with both good and evil. As are so many honored names of legend.

Hilary Duff - Jingle Bell Rock

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer