世界各地的新年慶祝習(xí)俗（一）

◎熊艷婷

慶賀新年是世界各國、各地區(qū)的普遍習(xí)俗。不管是世界上哪個(gè)國家的人們，都對(duì)新的一年充滿美好的希冀。“百里不同風(fēng)，千里不同俗”，由于各個(gè)國家和地區(qū)的歷史、文化、宗教信仰、民族習(xí)慣不同，因此也都有自己不同的慶祝新年的習(xí)俗。

China: make dumplings with coins, worship ancestors

As for the lunar calendar, the first day of the first lunar month falls on the Spring Festival which is Chinese New Year. The north and the south have different customs. At the break of1)dawn,every household in the north eats dumplings. For good luck, people often put coins,sugar, peanut2)kernels, dates and3)chestnutsinto New Year’s dumplings with meat stuffing.Those who eat coins symbolize wealth in the New Year, those who eat sugar mean they will be sweeter in the coming year, and those who eat peanut kernels symbolize health and longevity. In the south, rice is washed in the first few days, which is called“ten thousand years of grain”, which means there is a surplus of grain every year. During the Spring Festival, southerners have the custom of worshiping their ancestors and remembering the martyrs, especially in Chaoshan and southern Fujian Province. It is the peak period for worship of ancestors, and the custom of worship is4)retainedin many places.

America: write New Year’s resolutions

The New Year is a major holiday celebrated by all states in the United States. Americans also have an interesting habit of making New Year’s resolutions, which they call “New Year’s Resolutions”. This5)determinationis usually not some ambitious ambition, but some simple and6)practicalplans, such as “I will get up early”, “I will treat my neighbors well” and so on. They always speak frankly to everyone in order to be7)supervisedand encouraged.

India: cry bitterly and 8)fast

India has five days-off for the New Year from October 31 every year, and the fourth day is the New Year. On the first day of the New Year, no one is allowed to be angry with anyone, let alone lose his temper. In some parts of India, there are constant cries and tears streaming down everyone’s faces on New Year’s morning. People in some areas greet the New Year by fasting for one day and one night, starting in the early hours of the New Year and ending at midnight. Because of this custom, the Indian’s New Year is known as“crying New Year” and “fasting New Year”.

Peru: fight and punch

Peruvians greet the New Year with their fists. The city of Cusco in Peru holds a “fight match” every year. As long as they have the courage, men and women, old and young, can compete with their9)opponents. There is no deep10)hatredbetween the players, and they don’t even know each other. People fight back and forth to11)ventthe anger they have12)accumulatedduring the year and enter the New Year full of joy and hope. Although it is an occasion where punches and punches are added, festive music is played on the spot.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK): stuff 13)banknotes into scarecrows, burn hair at dusk

The DPRK like China, has the custom of putting up window grilles and peach symbols on New Year’s Day. People paste couplets and pictures in every household during the New Year. At the dawn of the New Year, people stuffed some banknotes into New Year’s Eve’s pre-bound scarecrows and threw them at the crossroads to show that they would send away evil and welcome14)auspiciousstars. At dusk,people burn the hair that the whole family has lost in a year, and wish the family peace all the year round.

Germany: put fish scales in purse, climb high for good luck

Germans attach great importance to the New Year. They think that whether the New Year is good or not is directly related to the luck of the next year. They will put a few fish scales in their wallets, because fish scales and roe are New Year’s15)mascots, indicating a lot of money. Before the New Year bell rings, many Germans will climb into their chairs, and when the bell rings, they will jump down and run behind the chairs to show that they are out of trouble. There is also a custom in rural Germany—tree climbing competition. It is said that the higher the climb, the better luck it is. The tallest climber every year will be known as the “New Year’s Hero”, envied by others.

1) dawnn.黎明

2) kerneln.果仁

3) chestnutn.栗子

4) retainv.保留

5) determinationn.決心

6) practicaladj. 務(wù)實(shí)的

7) supervisev.監(jiān)督

8) fastv.禁食

9) opponentn.對(duì)手

10) hatredn.仇恨

11) ventv.發(fā)泄

12) accumulatev.累積

13) banknoten.紙幣

14) auspiciousadj.吉祥的

15) mascotn.吉祥物

中國：餃子里包硬幣，祭拜祖先

按照農(nóng)歷，每年的正月初一為中國春節(jié)。春節(jié)習(xí)俗有北方和南方之分。初一破曉，在北方家家戶戶吃餃子，為了討吉利，人們往往把硬幣、糖、花生仁、大棗和栗子等和肉餡一起包進(jìn)新年的餃子里。吃到硬幣的人，象征新年發(fā)財(cái)；吃到糖的人，表示來年日子更甜美；吃到花生仁的則象征健康長壽。在南方，人們?cè)陬^幾天淘米，稱作“萬年糧米”，意思是年年有余糧。南方人在過年的時(shí)候有祭拜祖先、緬懷先烈這一習(xí)俗，特別是在潮汕和閩南一帶。過年的時(shí)候是祭拜祖先的高峰期，很多地方都保留著祭拜的習(xí)俗。

美國：寫新年決心

新年是全美各州共同慶祝的主要節(jié)日。美國人還有一個(gè)有意思的習(xí)慣，那就是在新年許愿立志，稱之為“新年決心”。這決心通常不是什么宏圖大志，而是一些樸實(shí)而實(shí)際的打算，如“我一定要早起”“我要好好對(duì)待鄰居”等。他們總是坦率地講給大家聽，以期得到監(jiān)督和鼓勵(lì)。

印度：痛哭不食

在印度，每年10 月31 日起為新年假期，共5 天，第四天為新年。新年第一天，誰也不許對(duì)人生氣，更不準(zhǔn)發(fā)脾氣。印度有些地區(qū)，新年的早上，家家戶戶哭聲不斷，人人臉上涕淚橫流。有些地區(qū)的人們會(huì)禁食一天一夜來迎接新的一年，由新年凌晨開始，午夜結(jié)束。由于這種習(xí)俗，印度的新年被稱為“痛哭新年”“禁食新年”。

秘魯：大打出手，拳腳相加

秘魯人用拳頭迎接新年。秘魯?shù)膸焖箍剖忻磕甓紩?huì)舉行“打架比賽”。只要有膽量，無論男女老少，都可以上場和對(duì)手比拼一番。選手之間并沒有深仇大恨，甚至彼此都不認(rèn)識(shí)，人們打來打去就是為了將一年來積攢的怒氣發(fā)泄出來，懷著充滿歡樂和希望的心情步入新的一年。雖然是拳腳相加的場合，但現(xiàn)場播放的卻是喜慶的音樂。

朝鮮：稻草人中塞紙幣，黃昏時(shí)分燒頭發(fā)

朝鮮和中國一樣，新年也有貼窗花、桃符的習(xí)俗。新年時(shí)，朝鮮人家家戶戶貼對(duì)聯(lián)和年畫。黎明時(shí)分，人們把一些紙幣塞進(jìn)除夕預(yù)先扎好的稻草人中，扔到十字路口，表示送走邪惡，迎接吉祥福星。黃昏，人們又將全家人一年中脫落的頭發(fā)燒掉，祝愿家人四季平安。

德國：錢包放魚鱗，爬高祈好運(yùn)

德國人對(duì)新年非常重視，他們認(rèn)為新年過得好不好直接關(guān)系到下一年的運(yùn)氣。他們會(huì)在錢包里放幾片魚鱗，因?yàn)轸~鱗和魚子都是新年吉祥物，預(yù)示著財(cái)源滾滾。新年鐘聲響起前，很多德國人會(huì)爬到椅子上，待鐘聲傳來，就跳下來跑到椅子背后，以示甩去災(zāi)禍。在德國農(nóng)村還流傳著一種風(fēng)俗——爬樹比賽，據(jù)說爬得越高運(yùn)氣就越好。每年爬得最高的人會(huì)被譽(yù)為“新年英雄”，被其他人羨慕。