New Year’s Eve celebrations from across the globe

The holiday season may be coming to an end, but we’re looking forward to the new year! We can’t wait to welcome more teenagers from around the world for an exceptional summer school experience in 2015. Last week, we told you how the festive season is celebrated across the globe. This week, we’ve rounded up New Year’s Eve traditions from different countries… In Greenland, the New Year is celebrated twice – once at 8.00pm when it has reached Denmark, and once at midnight. In Iceland, New Year’s Eve is known as Gamlárskvöld, and it’s one of the most magical nights of the year! Apparently, cows are able to talk, seals become humans, Elves move house and the dead rise from their graves. In Japan, the New Year is called ‘o shogatsu’ and celebrations last from December 31^st – January 4^th. At midnight, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to bring in cleanness. In Spain, people celebrate ‘Nochevieja’ (meaning ‘The Old Night’) by eating a grape for each stroke of the clock at midnight – if you can eat all twelve, you will be lucky in the new year. In Switzerland, there’s a tradition of dropping ice cream on the floor on New Year’s Eve. In the UK, people have New Year’s Eve parties with their family and friends, and many people travel to London to see a huge fireworks display. People stay up until midnight, then let off fireworks and sing the Scottish song “For Auld Lang Syne” to welcome in the New Year. Scotland has it’s own traditions for New Year’s Eve, which it calls ‘Hogmanay’, and this includes ‘First- Footing’ – the first person to put their foot across the threshold of a home should bring gifts to signify luck. Make your 2015 great, and apply to join us in Cambridge for a summer school next year!