New Year’s festivals around the world 世界各地的新年節日

李全忠

Throughout the world， cultures welcome the change of the calendar with unique New Years traditions of their own. Here are some of our favorite New Years traditions around the world.

Australia

Sydney Harbour hosts one of the biggest New Years Eve celebrations in the world. Its mid-summer in the southern hemisphere， and thousands of people gather around the Opera House in anticipation. An aerial show and a water display kick off the celebration at 6：00pm. A family-friendly fireworks show starts at 9：00pm， while the main attraction—the Harbour Light Parade is at midnight.

Scotland

Celebrating Hogmanay， which stands for the last day of the year， is a big deal in Scotland. It is so grand that it often overshadows Christmas. Christmas was outlawed by the Church of Scotland for nearly four centuries， and it didnt make a comeback until 1958. Though the holiday has regained its popularity， the New Year Festival of Hogmanay still holds a sacred place in Scottish hearts.

Belarus（白俄羅斯）

In Belarus， New Year is included as a part of a 13-day festival known as Kaliady. Kaliady originates from the old pagan recognition of the winter solstice. It was only later that the Orthodox Christians added the celebration of Christmas on January 7. Kaliady has customary foods in three ritual dinners， trick-or-treating， caroling， and more.

The Netherlands

Amsterdam hosts one of the worlds largest street parties on New Years Eve. If you attend， buy some oliebollen（oily balls） to eat at midnight. It is usually held that eating these deep fried dough balls will drive away evil spirits in the New Year. Dam Square （the craziest）， Rembrandtplein， Nieuwmarkt， and Leidseplein host unofficial street parties with music， fireworks and beer tents. Amsterdams celebration is not for the casual partier： Some attendees have compared it to a war zone！

The United States

Each year， hundreds of thousands of people flock to New York City to see the Big Apple drop at midnight. This New Years Eve tradition actually began as a replacement for fireworks， which had been forbidden in New York. In addition to watching balls drop， in other US cities you can watch peaches， giant walleye， and other locally relevant symbols lowered as the clock strikes midnight.

Brazil

In Brazil， as well as other Central and South America countries like Ecuador， Boliv-ia， and Venezuela， it is thought to be lucky to wear special underwear on New Years Eve. The most popular colors are red， thought to bring love in the New Year; and yellow， thought to bring money.

1. In which country does the celebration begin

with an aerial show and a water display？

A. Australia.

B. Scotland.

C. Belarus.

D. The Netherlands.

2. What does the underlined word “outlawed” in the part of Scotland mean？

A. Popularized.

B. Created.

C. Banned.

D. Expected.

3. What is eating oliebollen mainly connected to？

A. History.

B. Religion.

C. Literature.

D. Location.

4. Which country used to set off fireworks？

A. Brazil.

B. Belarus.

C. The Netherlands.

D. The United States.

Sentence for writing

In Brazil， as well as other Central and South America countries like Ecuador， Bolivia， and Venezuela， it is thought to be lucky to wear special underwear on New Years Eve.

【信息提取】“It be thought to be + adj. + to do...”是一個固定句型，意為“做某事被認為是……”，句中的It作形式主語，用來代替實際主語to do...。

【句式仿寫】在這個地方，如果戴上一朵花，會被認為是幸運的。