3 2 1 happy New Year have you ever stayed up way past your bedtime to celebrate the new year every year at midnight on December 31st the date changes to January 1st January 1st is the first day of a new year we call it New Year's Day that's why so many people stay up late on New Year's Eve they want to be awake for the first moments of the new year in the United States people celebrate New Year's traditions a tradition is something you do in a special way at a certain time what are some
traditions that happen on New Year's Eve some people have a party and at midnight they celebrate by wearing funny hats and glasses or with with loud noise makers a huge party takes place in New York City about 1 million people stand in the streets and wait there for hours what are they waiting for for the ball to drop a shiny glittery ball drops slowly as people count down to midnight all around the country people gather together to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve people might sing the song All sign it's an old song that says
goodbye to the past year there are also traditions for New Year's Day in some places people put on their bathing suits and go for a dip in freezing cold water it's called a Polar Bear Plunge why do they do it well it's just a fun tradition but often the event raises money for a good cause on New Year's Day many people make New Year's resolutions a resolution is like a promise you make to yourself for example a resolution might be to be nicer to your brother or sister or to eat more vegetables or to learn
to ride a skateboard New Year's isn't just celebrated in the United States it's a holiday celebrated all over the world there are fireworks in South Africa China Australia and many other places in Egypt a country in Africa they shine lights on the pyramids the pyramids are thousands of years old and now they are one year older in some Spanish-speaking countries people eat a grape for every chime of the clock as it turns midnight there are 12 chimes in total that's a lot of grapes so you have to be careful not to choke people in Denmark
have a smashing good time on New Year's Eve they throw dishes at their neighbors front doors this might sound strange but it's actually meant to be a good thing the more dishes smashed at your door the more good luck you will have in the coming year in Mexico and other countries people walk around their houses or down the street at midnight with an empty suitcase where are they going nowhere at least not yet this tradition is supposed to help bring safe travels in the new year but New Year's isn't always on January 1st different cultures
have their own New Year's celebrations one is called Lunar New Year people celebrate Lunar New Year in Asian countries and in Asian communities around the world including in the United States Lunar New Year start starts in late January or early February and lasts for 2 weeks at the end of Lunar New Year people celebrate with a big parade what a fun tradition no matter when you celebrate the New Year it's a special time you can look back on the past and look forward to what's going to happen in the future people celebrate this time of
year in different ways what New Year's traditions do you have [Music] what New Year's tradition looks most fun to you talk about [Music] it see you soon
