New Year Celebrations Around the World 

Introduction     All over the world, people welcome the new year for it is one of the oldest of all holidays.  Most New Year celebrations focus on family and friends.  It is a time to reflect on the past and envision a future, perhaps, in a world where people live together in harmony.
    In the United States we celebrate the New Year on the first day of January but not all New Year celebrations take place on the same day or in the same way!  Sometimes this is because people in different parts of the world use different calendars.  China and Israel keep a lunar calendar.  It is based on the movement of the moon around the Earth.  Some countries celebrate in the spring when new crops begin to grow or in autumn when the crops are harvested.  Adults and children have many different ways of welcoming the New Year.  Wouldn't it be fun to travel around the world and celebrate the New Year all year long?  

 

New Year's Eve or Old Year's Night is on 31 December, the final day of the Gregorian year, and the day before New Year's Day.

New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day. In modern Western practice, New Year's Eve is celebrated with parties and social gatherings spanning the transition of the year at midnight.

Many cultures use fireworks and other forms of noise making in part of the celebration. New Year's Eve is observed universally on 31 December according to the year numbering of the Common Era, or A.D. Anno Domini convention, even in non-Christian nations. New Year's Eve is also the seventh day of Christmas in western Christianity. Traditional and religious celebrations for e.g. the Chinese, Muslim and Jewish new year, which occur on different dates, are still celebrated separately in the 

cultures that observe them, on the appropriate dates each year. 

Brazil

The Ano Novo (New Year in Portuguese) celebration, also know in Brazilian Portuguese by the French word Reveillon, is one of the country's main holidays, and officially marks the beginning of the summer holidays, that usually end by Carnival (analogous to Memorial Day and Labor Day in the United States).
The beach of Copacabana (in Portuguese: Praia de Copacabana) is considered by many to be the location of the best fireworks show in the world. Brazilians usually have a copious meal with family or friends at home, in restaurants or private clubs, and consume alcoholic beverages. They usually dress in white, to bring good luck into the new year. Fireworks, offerings to African-Brazilian deities, eating grapes or lentils are some of the customs associated with the holiday.
The city of São Paulo also has a famous worldwide event: the Saint Silvester Marathon (Corrida de São Silvestre), which traverses streets between Paulista Avenue and the downtown area. It is contested by athletes of many countries, including such Olympic stars as the Kenyan runner Paul Tergat, who won it five times.
''As it is said all the countries without exception celebrate the New Year's Eve and eventually the New year. this is an event that concerns everyone and it is obvious that it is well celebrated!All the countries of the world celebrate in its own manner and the more spectacular it is, the better it is for the eyes of other countries.
Also in Paulista Avenue is a great New Year's Eve, with large fires burning in the midnight. Famous singers in Brazil are in the party. In moving from 2008 to 2009, 1 million people attended the party.