世界各國都是怎樣慶祝新年的？

Who doesn’t welcome second chances? Every New Year’s Eve, a theme of new beginnings–along with finding prosperity, love and good health within the next 365 days–plays out around the world in different ways.

誰不喜歡能有第二次機會?每到新年前夕，大家都要慶祝新的開始——在未來的365天裏，重新尋找繁榮、愛和健康——在世界各地以不同的方式上演。

The US, Canada, and most other countries welcome the New Year with celebrations–parades, fireworks and lively merrymaking until tiring out in the wee hours. Certain cultures stand out from the rest in how they ring in the New Year. The popular American image of screaming along with a mob in Times Square while standing in the freezing cold, waiting to watch a ball drop to the tune of Auld Lang Syne seems quite ordinary compared to the imaginative and unusual customs you’re about to read.

美國、加拿大和其他大多數國家都慶祝新年——遊行、煙火和熱鬧的狂歡，直到凌晨。有一些國家的慶祝方式比較獨特。美國人的方式是在時代廣場，站在冰冷的寒風中，和大家一起尖叫倒數，伴隨着《友誼地久天長》的曲調，等待大球落下。這與接下來你將看到的其他不尋常的習俗相比，顯得相當普通。

Get ready for “Las doce uvas de la suerte,” or “The twelve grapes of luck.”  As the clock strikes midnight, Spaniards eat 12 grapes, one grape for each toll of the bell and for each month of the year.  Grape consumption is symbolic of prosperity and happiness, not to mention a gesture to ward off evil. The grape-eating tradition dates back to the early 1900s when the Spanish king shared his bountiful harvest with the people on New Year’s Eve.

準備好十二顆幸運的葡萄。在午夜鐘聲敲響的時候，西班牙人吃12顆葡萄，每一顆葡萄代表一次和一個月。葡萄象徵着繁榮和幸福，也有驅除邪惡的意思。這種吃葡萄的傳統可以追溯到20世紀初，那是的西班牙國王在新年前夜與人們分享他的豐收。

Eating grapes isn’t only a tradition in Spain. People all over Latin America do this, too. They also get a bucket of water and dump it out the window to signify throwing out the old year and ushering in the new. Some people in Latin American countries, especially Mexico and Columbia, also have a tradition of carrying suitcases around the block (or at least around the living room) to welcome new and exciting travels in the coming year. At the stroke of midnight, it’s also tradition to sweep 12 coins into the house from the outside to signify prosperity. Colored underwear donned by women is also part of the Latin American tradition:  Red means love and passion; yellow is for prosperity and happiness; green is for wealth and well-being; and white is for hope and peace. “Un año más” is sung at the stroke of midnight: One year more.

吃葡萄不僅僅是西班牙的傳統。拉丁美洲的人們也這麼做。他們還拿了一桶水，把它扔出窗外，表示扔掉舊年，迎接新的一年。一些拉丁美洲國家的人，特別是墨西哥和哥倫比亞，也有帶着行李箱在街區周圍(或者至少是在客廳周圍)遊蕩的傳統，來迎接新的、令人興奮的旅行。在午夜鐘聲敲響的時候，從外面把12枚硬幣從外面掃到房子裏以示繁榮也是一種傳統。女人穿的彩色內衣也是拉丁美洲傳統的一部分:紅色意味着愛和激情;黃色代表繁榮和幸福;綠色代表財富和幸福;白色代表希望與和平。在午夜鐘聲敲響的時候，人們唱着“Un ano mas”。

If you find yourself fantasizing about setting fire to a public figure or politician you’re sick of, then you might enjoy the holiday season and particularly the New Year’s Eve celebration in Panama. Think for a moment about that person you’d like to see disappear. Then, imagine making a papier-mache life-size statue of him, placing him on your lawn for the holiday season, and then capping off the season by burning him up in a bonfire (or with an explosion of fireworks) on New Year’s Eve. Setting ablaze the muñecos is symbolic for driving off evil spirits and getting the next year off to a fresh start.

如果你幻想着在討厭的公衆人物或政客面前放火，那麼你可能會喜歡巴拿馬的假期和新年。想一下那個你想要消失的人。然後，想象自己製作一尊他的真人大小的雕像，把他放在你的草坪上過節，然後在除夕夜用篝火(或者煙花爆竹)把他燒掉。縱火是驅除邪靈的象徵，並使下一年重新開始。

While discussing Latin American countries, Chile shares the above traditions, with an interesting addition which makes them worth mentioning: the tradition of graveyard camps. Many of the locals in Talca, central Chile, prefer to ring in the new year in the company of their dead relatives. A tradition thought to have originated when a family broke into a graveyard one year to be near their dead father, the mayor now opens the graveyard after late-night mass, when thousands sit surrounded by candles and the sounds of classical music plays.

除了其他與拉丁美洲國家一樣的習俗外，智利還有一項特殊的活動:墓地露營。在智利中部的Talca，許多當地人更喜歡在他們死去親人的陪伴下度過新年。這個習俗源於一個家庭在父親去世近一年後闖入了父親的墓地。現在，市長在深夜的彌撒後打開墓地，成千上萬的人圍坐在蠟燭旁，一起聆聽古典音樂。

Like the universality of fireworks and champagne, ‘The 90th Birthday, or Dinner for One‘ is the name of an 18-minute sketch by English comedian Freddie Frinton and a TV program which has become a New Year’s Eve institution in Germany, shown every year since 1963. And talk about irony: Dinner for One and its famous line, ‘The same procedure as every year, James!’, known by most everyone in Germany and associated with New Year’s Eve, are almost completely unknown in England.

就像各國都有煙花和香檳一樣，“90歲生日，或一個人享受一頓晚餐”是由英國喜劇演員弗萊迪•弗林頓(Freddie Frinton)創作的18分鐘的小品，同時也是德國新年前夜的一項固定電視節目，自1963年以來每年都在播放。有一點比較諷刺的:這部小品和其中的著名臺詞“和每年一樣的程序，詹姆斯!”在德國人盡皆知的除夕夜的名句，在英國也是無人不知。

In Greece, the Pothariko–or “the first foot”– is a popular tradition on New Year’s Eve. A person is chosen to enter the house first to set the stage of good fortune for the new year. A few stipulations: the person must be a good natured sort in order to spread their good fortune throughout the household. Next, the lucky person chosen must enter the house with their right foot first, which is symbolic for things going “right” in the new year. Once in the house, the lucky person smashes a pomegranate to the floor while wishing for health, happiness and good fortune in the near year to all who live there. Another tradition in Greece is to bake a coin into a cake; whomever has the coin in their slice is said to have extra good luck in the new year.

在希臘，Pothariko（意爲“第一隻腳”）是新年前夜的傳統活動。一個人被選擇先進入房子，爲新的一年創造好運氣。一些規定:這個人必須是一個善良的人，以便在整個家庭中傳播他們的好運。其次，幸運的人必須先用右腳進入房子，這象徵着在新的一年裏一切都“好”。（英文中right既有“右邊”的意思也有“好、正確”的意思）。在房子裏，幸運的人會把一個石榴摔到地板上，同時希望在這一年裏，所有住在那裏的人都能得到健康、幸福和好運。希臘的另一個傳統是烤蛋糕時放進一塊硬幣，吃到硬幣的人在新的一年裏會有好運。

I hate that end table so much, I could throw it out the window! Some people do exactly that. In neighborhoods of Johannesburg, particularly in the Hillbrow area, on New Year’s Eve, residents know that donating to a thrift shop isn’t the only way to rid themselves of cast offs. These residents ring in the New Year by throwing their unwanted belongings out the window (usually appliances and furniture). Gentrification efforts and police crackdowns may finally be putting an end to this age-old tradition of falling furniture and airborne appliances in Johannesburg—symbolically and literally ringing in the New Year by unburdening themselves of rusty stoves and Herculon chairs.

我很討厭那張桌子，我可以把它扔出窗外!有些人就是這麼做的。在約翰內斯堡的社區，特別是在山區，在除夕夜，居民們知道，除了把廢舊傢俱捐給雜貨店並不是擺脫他們的唯一辦法。這些居民在新年時把他們不想要的東西扔出窗外(通常是電器和傢俱)。城市紳士化和警察的鎮壓也許最終會結束這一古老的傳統，約翰內斯堡的新年前夜再也看不到掉落的傢俱和設備--象徵着用卸下生鏽的火爐和椅子敲響新年的鐘聲。

The town of Brasstown, North Carolina, pays tribute to the New Year with a “possum drop,” which involves what you might expect: lowering a captured possum (very carefully in a transparent box) at midnight over a noisy crowd (like that big ball in Times Square). A controversial event, possum dropping continues today, although it has been widely protested by PETA and other animal welfare groups. A documentary has been made about it. It should also come as no surprise that Brasstown is known as “the possum capital of the world.”

北卡羅萊納的Brasstown鎮，以“負鼠墜落”的方式向新年致敬:在午夜時分，在嘈雜的人羣中(就像在時代廣場)，將一隻被捕獲的負鼠(非常小心地放在透明的盒子裏)慢慢放下。儘管PETA（善待動物組織）和其他動物福利組織已經舉行了抗議活動，但這一項有爭議的活動仍在繼續。關於這件事已經拍了一部紀錄片。Brasstown被稱爲“世界負鼠之都”也就不足爲奇了。

There are few times when it’s socially acceptable in Danish culture to throw old plates and glassware against the doors of friends’ and relatives’ houses to show a little love. New Year’s Eve is a notable exception to the rule. The Danish New Year’s Eve extravaganza also includes standing on chairs and jumping off them in unison at 12 a.m.  This literal leap into the New Year is symbolic for… take a guess… good luck in the next 365 days.

在丹麥文化中，人們很少有機會把舊盤子和玻璃器皿扔到朋友和親戚家裏的門上，以示愛意。除夕夜是一個明顯的例外。丹麥新年前夜的狂歡活動還包括站在椅子上，在12點的時候一起跳下椅子。這個象徵着…猜猜…祝你未來365天都有好運氣。

A most unusual Romanian tradition may trigger images of Doctor Dolittle: farmers try to hear their animals talk in human language. If the farmers fail, they’ll have good luck in the new year. Mask dances are another colorful Romanian tradition, symbolizing death of the old year and birth of the new. Masks representing the animal world include goats, horses and, most remarkably, bears. The “dance of the bear” features incredibly detailed costumes. A drum beat accompanies the performance.

一個最不尋常的羅馬尼亞傳統可能令大家想到怪醫杜立德:農民試圖聽到他們的動物用人類語言說話。如果農民失敗了，他們在新的一年裏會有好運。面具舞蹈是羅馬尼亞的另一種傳統，象徵着舊年的逝去和新年的到來。代表動物世界的面具包括山羊、馬，最引人注目的是熊。“熊之舞”要求舞者穿上非常精緻的服裝。演出中還會有鼓聲。

In the United States and in parts of Canada, New Year’s Day means it’s time for the annual Polar Bear Plunge.  Braving chilly temperatures and fierce winds, the Polar Bears take their January 1st plunge into freezing lakes and rivers. According to tradition, any plunge which takes place close to midnight on December 31st will bring the diver good luck. Anyone can participate, and pro divers (as well as fire departments) are always on hand in case of an emergency.

在美國和加拿大的部分地區，元旦的傳統之一是跳水。面對寒冷的天氣和凜冽的寒風，北極熊在1月1日的時候，跳入冰冷的湖泊和河流中。根據傳統，在12月31日接近午夜時分跳水會給潛水員帶來好運。任何人都可以參加，而且專業潛水員(以及消防部門)會隨時待命，以防出現緊急情況。

In Siberia, divers take the Polar Bear Plunge a step further—they carry trees. Participation is limited to professional divers only, who cut a hole in the ice covering Lake Baikal and swim to the lake’s bottom while carrying a New Year’s tree for underwater planting.

在西伯利亞，潛水者要做的就更多了——他們扛着樹。這項活動只有專業的潛水者才能參加，大家在貝加爾湖的冰層上挖洞，然後帶着新年的樹去水下種植，一直游到湖底。

No matter your New Year’s traditions, thank goodness for a second chance to begin a new year.

無論你的新年傳統是什麼，你都有機會重新開始了。