welcoming the new year
1. every culture and every country in the world celebrates new year, but not everyone does it the same way. the countries of the americans and europe welcome the new year on january first. this practice began with the romans. julius caesar changed the date of the new year from the first day of march to the first day of january. in the middle east, new year is when spring begins. people in china and vietnam celebrate it on tet, which is the first day of their calendar based on the moon. tet usually comes between january 21 and february 19. rosh hashana, which is the jewish new year, comes at the end of summer. the hindus in india celebrate the first day of each season, so they have four new years.
2. in all of these cultures, there is a practice of making noise. people made noise in ancient times to drive away the evil spirits from the home. today, making noise is more of a custom than a religious ritual. many people do it with fireworks. in japan, people go from house to house making noise with drums and bamboo sticks. yong people in denmark throw broken pieces of pottery against the sides of friends' houses.
3. in the united states, many people stay up until midnight on new year's eve to watch the clock pass from one year to the next. friends often gather together at a party on new year's eve, and when the new year comes, all ring bells, toot horns, blow whistles, sing, and kiss each other. a favorite scottish song which everyone sings together is "auld lang syne." the words tell of old friends and good times. black-eyed peas, which are eaten immediately after midnight, are a favorite food. they are supposed to bring good luck to the person who eats them as his or her first food in the new year.
4. on new year's day, pork is a popular food in the united states, as it is in many other parts of the world. the custom of starting the year with pork began among farmers a long time ago. because a pig digs with its nose while looking and walking forward, people believed that eating pork was a symbol of a "fat future". they also believed that no one should eat a bird such as a turkey or a chicken on new year's day. birds walk and scratch backwards while looking for food, so eating them would bring bad luck.
5. in past years in the united states, there was a strong tradition of visiting relatives on new year's day. lately, however, the custom has changed. now people stay home and watch parades on television. later in the day, they watch a football game between two college teams. the games are called bowls, such as the orange bowl, which is played in miami, florida; the cotton bowl, in dallas, texas; and the sugar bowl, in new orleans, louisiana. one of the parades which people watch is called the tournament of roses. it is held in pasadena, california, just before the rose bowl football game.
6. one of the most interesting parades is mummers' parade in philadelphia, pennsylvania, people wear masks and fantastic costumes with hundreds of feathers. thousands march for miles, often in snow and ice, singing and playing music. no one knows for certain how the parade began, or when or why. but every year, most of the city goes out to watch this colorful event.
7. in all cultures, new year's day is time when people think of new beginnings. they want to make the coming year better than the last one. many people in the united states make new year's resolutions. these are specific promises that they make to improve their behavior, change their habits, and become better people. there are many jokes about how long a person can keep his or her new year's resolutions.
8. there are many interesting customs in various other countries for celebrating the new year. there are also new year's customs practiced by people of certain religions both in the united states and in other parts of the world.
9. in spain and portugal, people gather just before midnight on new year's eve and select twelve grapes from a large bunch. as the clock tums to the new year, each person eats one grape and wishes good luck to everyone else. the twelve grapes are symbols of the twelve months of the year.
10. on the eve of rosh hashana, people in jewish homes will put a piece of apple in honey and say, "may god grant us a good and sweet year." there are festive candles, but this is a time when people do not celebrate with joy. instead, jews look deeply inside themselves and decide whether they are good people. 11. in iran, new year's day is called no-ruz. it begins on march 21 and lasts for thirteen days. no-ruz is a happy time because winter is ending and spring is beginning. each member of a family usually reads from the koran and then all embrace each other and say, "may you live 100 years."
12. the spring new year celebration among the hindus of india is also called the fire festival. boys and girls throw colored water on each other to symbolize the coming of the heavy rains. millions of people also go to the ganges riven they believe that if they go into the water, it will protect them from evil and bad luck. the muslims of india have a special new year's festival called maharram. on this day, holy men and boys, called dervishes, perform special dances.
13. songkran is the buddhist new year in thailand. it begins on april 15 and lasts three days. this celebration is also called the water festival because thais spend a lot of the time throwing water on each other during these days. songkan is also a time for freeing birds. children buy birds several days before new year and then set them free. they believe that this act of kindness will help them become better people.
14. new year is a very important time in japan. everyone tries to clean his or her home and to start the year with some new clothes. pine branches are hung on the front doors of japanese homes for good luck, and adults stay up on new year's eve for a special buddhist ceremony. in this ceremony, a bell is rung 108 times to help the people chase away the 108 weaknesses. this is a time for visiting friends in japan, and it is very festive. there is usually no one on the streets or at work for about three days.
15. in many parts of africa, new year is a celebration of new water. it comes at the end of the dry season, in may, when the heat has taken all of the water from the land. the new season will bring rains, and thus life, to the land. the people give thanks for the water which is to come.
16. one of the most beautiful new year's eve celebrations takes place on copacabana, a beach in rio de janeiro, brazil. women dress in long white robes and go onto the sand to place thousands of candles to honor the sea queen. then they go into the water and throw flowers into the ocean.
17. in ecuador, the new year's celebration is actually called the celebration of the old year, the afio viejo. the family gathers on december 31 and builds an old man. they use straw and old clothes, and they put the "man" outside the house on a chain children dance around him singing songs. one member of the family writes a list of all the family faults which must leave with the old year. then at the end of the evening, the list is read. the family members laugh and joke when they hear their faults, and then they all burn the old man and the list. after the ceremony, there is usually a large meal with special foods which are prepared only on this day.
参考译文：欢迎新年
1．世界上的每一种文化和每一个国家都庆祝新年，但不是所有人都用同 一种方式来庆祝。美洲和欧洲国家在1月1日庆祝新年。这种做法起源于罗 马人。朱利叶斯·恺撒把新年这个日子从三月的第一天改到一月的第—天。 在中东地区，新年是春天开始的日子。中国人和越南人在春节时庆祝新年。 春节是他们根据月亮的变化制定的历法的第一天。通常在1月21日和2月19 日之间。犹太人的岁首节(roshhashana)则是在夏季的末期。印度的印度教 徒在每个季节的第一天都举行庆典，所以他们有四个新年。
2．就所有这些文化而言，都有新年制造响声的习惯。在古代，人们制造 噪声以便把邪魔鬼怪驱逐出家门。而在今天，制造响声与其说是一种宗教仪 式，不如说是一种风俗习惯。许多人都用放烟火的方式制造响声。在日本， 人们通过敲鼓和击打竹杖，挨家挨户地制造响声。丹麦的年轻人则将陶器的 碎片掷向朋友的房屋。
3．在美国，许多人在新年前—天晚上一直熬到午夜，以便看着时钟从今 年走到下一年。朋友们通常在新年前一天的晚上聚在一起开个晚会。当新的 —年到来时，大家敲钟、吹喇叭、吹口哨、唱歌，还互相亲吻。有一首由所 有人合唱的很受欢迎的苏格兰歌曲叫做“美好的昔日”。歌词是关于老朋友和 美好时光的。午夜刚过，人们开始吃黑眼豌豆，那是一种很受欢迎的食品。 人们相信如果新年吃的第一种食品是黑眼豌豆，它可以带给人好运气。
4．元旦这天，如同在世界上其他许多地方一样，猪肉在美国也是很受欢 迎的食物。以吃猪肉作为新年的开始这一风俗，很久以前起源于农民。由于 在觅食和走动的时候，猪都用它的鼻子向前拱，人们相信食用猪肉就象征着 “远大前程”。他们还认为在元旦这天不能吃禽类，比如火鸡或者鸡肉。禽类 在觅食时都是往后走和往后刨东西，所以吃禽类将带来坏运气。
5．过去在美国，元旦这天有一个根深蒂固的传统——走亲访友。但是， 这个风俗渐渐地变了。如今，人们都呆在家里看电视里的游行。在这天的晚 些时候，他们会观看一场两个大学校队之间的橄榄球比赛。这种比赛都被称 为“杯赛”，比如在佛罗里达州的迈阿密举行的“桔子杯”比赛，在德克萨斯 州的达拉斯举行的“棉花杯”比赛，以及在路易斯安那州的新奥尔良举行的 “蜜糖杯”比赛。人们观看的游行中，有一种叫做玫瑰花车大游行。这个游 行在加利福利亚州的帕莎蒂娜举行，恰好是在“玫瑰杯”足球比赛之前。
6．最有趣的游行之一是在宾夕法尼亚州的费城举行的化装表演。人们戴 上面具，穿着由成千上万种羽毛制成的奇特服装。上万人通常在冰天雪地里 行进数里路，唱着歌、奏着乐。没有人确切地知道这个游行是何时、为什么、 怎样形成的。但是每年的这个时候，费城的大部分市民都会出来观看这一华 丽的表演。 7．在所有的文化中，元旦都被人们认为是新的开始。他们希望来年比过 去的那一年更好。许多美国人会在新年许下承诺。多是些特定的承诺，他们 希望以此来改进自己的品行，改变自己的坏习惯，从而变成更好的人。(承诺 大多成为泡影)关于一个人信守其新年承诺的时间之短往往成了笑话。
8．在其它国家，庆祝新年也有各种各样有趣风俗。也有一些新年风俗是 具有某种宗教信仰的人所遵循的，无论他们是在美国还是在世界上的其它地 方。
9．在西班牙和葡萄牙，人们在新年前一天的午夜即将来临时聚在一起， 从一大串葡萄中挑出十二粒。随着时针指向新年，每人吃一粒葡萄，并且祝 福其他人好运。十二粒葡萄就象征着一年的十二个月。
10．在岁首节的前夜，犹太家庭的成员会将一片苹果放进蜂蜜里，并且说： “愿上帝赐予我们美好而甜蜜的一年。” 点上节日蜡烛，但并非人们都在庆 祝新年时满心欢喜。反之，新年时犹太人要深深反思，判断自己是否是个好 人。
11．在伊朗，新年被称作诺鲁兹节，始于3月21日，持续十三天。诺鲁 兹节是一段欢乐时光，冬天即将结束、春天正在到来。通常每个家庭成员都 会朗读一段《可兰经》，然后彼此拥抱并且互道“祝你长命百岁”。
12．印度的印度教徒所举行的春季新年庆典也被称作火节。男孩女孩将五 颜六色的水泼向人们，以此象征雨季的到来。许多人会来到恒河。他们相信 如果自己浸到水里，就会免遭邪恶和坏运气的侵袭。印度的穆斯林有一个叫 做马哈兰节的特殊新年。在这天，那些被称为苦行僧的献身宗教的男子们会 表演特殊的舞蹈。
13．松克兰是泰国的佛教新年。它于4月15日开始，持续三天，也被称 作水节，因为在这些日子泰国人花很多时间互相泼水。松克兰节还要放飞鸟 儿。孩子们在新年前几天买来鸟儿，然后放飞，他们相信这样的善行会帮助 他们成为一个更好的人。
14．在日本，新年是个重要的日子。每个人都要打扫自己家，并要在新年 伊始穿新衣。(新年时)日本人在家的前门上悬挂松枝以求好运，成年人则要 在新年前一天彻夜不睡，举行特殊的佛教庆典。在这个庆典上，将会敲钟108 次，其意为帮助人们赶走108项弱点。日本新年，这是个拜访朋友的时间， 这非常喜庆。三天的时间里，通常街上没有行人，亦不工作。
15．在非洲的许多地方，新年是欢迎新雨的日子，开始于旱季末期的五月， 此时，热气带走了土壤中的所有水分。新的雨季将给土壤带来水，带来生机。 人们感激即将到来的雨季。
16．最美丽的除夕夜庆典之一，在巴西里约热内卢一个名叫科巴卡巴娜的 海滩举行。妇女身着白色长袍来到沙滩上，点燃成千上万只蜡烛(虔诚地) 向海后致敬。然后她们进入水中，将鲜花抛进大海。
17．在厄瓜多尔，新年的庆典(an oviejo)实际上是旧年的庆典。12月 31日这天，家庭成员聚集在一起用是稻草和旧衣裳制造一位“老者”，并将这 个“人”放在屋外的一张椅子上。孩子们围着“他”唱歌跳舞。一名家庭成 员列举一份有所有家庭成员缺点的清单，这些缺点都应当随着一年的结束而 消失。在当晚的最后，清单会被朗读。人们听到他们的缺点会放声大笑，借 此(彼此)挖苦。其后，人们会将这位“老者”以及这份清单统统烧掉。在 这个仪式结束后，通常会有一顿大餐，食物都是仅为(旧年庆典)这天特制 的。