In Japan, they believe that the ringing of bells can eliminate their sins from the previous year. The Watched Night Bell in Tokyo is rung 107 times on the night of the 31st of December and once past midnight.
In Denmark, they like to throw plates at neighbours' houses. The more smashed plates outside your front door, the more good luck you will get in the New Year.
Russians might be famous for their vodka, but on New Year's Eve they write down a wish, burn it and then throw it into a champagne glass. Then they've got to drink it before one minute past midnight.
In Greece, onions are hung on the front door as a symbol of rebirth. Parents then wake up their children the next day by tapping them on the head with an onion.
Italians believe that if they wear red underwear on New Year's Eve, they will meet the year with love, prosperity and good luck
2019, right?
Well yes it is, at least according to the Gregorian calendar.
Pope Gregory XIII introduced this calendar in October 1582, and it is of course the calendar which is used by the vast majority of the world. The Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar with 12 months of 28-31 days; that means a 365-day year with one day added to February every four years, in what is known in English as a leap year. Originally adopted by Catholic countries of Europe, it was developed to correct the Julian calendar and soon spread around the world. Many protestant countries however, considered the change to be a Catholic plot; the UK for example didn't make the change until 1752, when in order to align with the rest of Europe, the British government eliminated September 3-13 for everyone in Britain and its colonies.
In China it will soon be the year 4717. Although the Chinese adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1912, the traditional Chinese calendar is used for festivals and holidays.
Be Buddhist and jump into the future. It is 2561. Buddha passed away 543 years before Jesus Christ so in many south-east Asian countries, they already know what the future is like.
If you want to feel young again and go back in time, start using the Ethiopian calendar. There's a gap of 7 to 8 years here so it's 2010 again baby!
