New Year's Eve

The year will end soon, so I was wondering how you celebrate Christmas and New Year in your countries.
Here in Spain we have a great idea for celebrating the New Year. When it's 31st December, at 00.00 the bells of the churches sound for saying the time (as usual). As it's 00.00 they sound 12 times, and for each "ding-dong" we eat a grape! It's really funny cause it's not easy to get it! It is said the grapes bring good luck for the year is coming, but the tradition comes from far away. A lot of time I go (really, I don't know the year) there was a king who realised the harvest of grapes had been plentiful, so he decided to give 12 grapes to each person for them to eat them on New Year's Eve.
Did you know this? You could try to eat the grapes in Spain once! I'm sure you would enjoy them really much!

So what's typical in your countries? I wait for your responses!


Kisses!

We actually dont have a real "tradition" for New Year's Eve in Austria, except from turning on the radio and dancing the "Midnight-Waltz" to Johann Strauß' "Donauwalzer". With some champaign and fireworks, of course

For Christmas: We have a Advent wreath with 4 candles and each week before the Christmas eve, one more candle is lit. We also do not really believe in "Santa Claus" (still, companies use him for advertising reasons) but in the "Christkind" (Christ Child) who's coming with our presents. When the bell in the (locked) living room rings, its the sign that it has brought the presents and children run into the room, unfortunately missing the "Christkind" We also do not celebrate on the 25th but on the 24th of december.

I guess I would fill one entire ge with the traditions for the New Year's Eve, so many they are.

But, just to write a few: there is always a very nice dinner which starts around 21:00 and ends in the morning. There has to be special food, of the kind you don't eat in any other usual day. In between the dishes we dance, we drink and we try to have fun. It's a tradition, because if you start like that the new year, that mean the year will be good.

You are suppose to be "debtless", if you start the year with debts you will owe money all year. You are suppose to have money in the pocket and to wear something new, so you will be well financially the whole coming year.

I don't know if it works ....

As per Christmas, in Scandinavian countries they celebrate the Christmas Eve, in that evening the children get their gifts, but in Romania, "Mos Craciun" (the so-called Santa and who is actually Saint Nicolaie, one of the saints in the Romanian Orthodox relligion who used to help the children and the poor) brings the gifts during the night. The children are suppose to find them in the morning. And the most important is the meal in the first day of Christmas.

Yes Andreea, you are absolutely right about that Santa Claus is comming on Christmas Eve here. (Sweden)
There is another very long tradition since 1959 in sweden at Christmas Eve. That is 'Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul'. In english= The Walt Disney Christmas Show.
Everybody watch TV at 15,to see this Walt Disney show
(NO ONE will miss it )

In Spain there's isn't Santa Claus neither, even though some families celebrate it (as mine ). Presents are given to children on 6th January and they're brought by The Three Wise Men I forgot to say that in New Year's Eve it's traditional to wear red underwear because it brings good luck!

sottovestiti rossi we learned that in our Italian lessons