Different New Year Across The World, Chinese New Year, Japanese New Year

New Year

Happy New Year Wishes(2008)
From 101lifeStyle.com

Different New Years Across The World:

The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations.

The most common modern dates of celebration are listed below, ordered and grouped by their appearance relative to the conventional Western calendar.

January 1:

1. The first official day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries.
2. Eight of the twelve biggest Eastern Orthodox Churches have adopted the Revised Julian calendar administratively and the civic and religious holidays match. The orthodox population of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Poland, Romania, Syria and Turkey celebrate the New Year on January 1. The orthodox churches of Georgia, Jerusalem, Russia and Serbia still use the Julian Calendar.
3. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, about four to eight weeks before spring (Lichun). The exact date can fall anytime between 21 January and 21 February (inclusive) of the Gregorian Calendar. Because the lunisolar Chinese calendar is astronomically defined, unlike the Gregorian Calendar, the drift of the seasons will change the range. Each year is symbolized by one of 12 animals and one of five elements, with the combinations of animals and elements (or stems) cycling every 60 years. It is the most important Chinese holiday of the year.

March:

1. The Iranian New Year, called Norouz, is the day containing the exact moment of the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring season. In 2007 this falls on 20 March.
2. The Zoroastrian New Year coincides with the Iranian New Year of Norouz. It is celebrated by the Parsis in India and by Zoroastrians and Persians across the world.
3. In India, the Telugu New Year generally falls in the months of March or April. Gudi Padwa is celebrated as the first day of the Hindu year by the people of Maharashtra, India. The Kannada New Year or Ugadi is celebrated by the people of Karnataka, India as the beginning of a new year according to the Hindu Calendar. The first month of the new Year is Chaitra. Sindhi festival of Cheti Chand is celebrated on the same day as Ugadi/Gudi Padwa to mark the celebration of the Sindhi New Year.

April:

1. The Punjabi new year Vaisakhi is celebrated on 13 April and celebrates the harvest.
2. The Nepali new year is celebrated in spring, on the first day of the lunar month Baisakh. In the English calender, it usually falls between 12 - 15 April.
3. The Thai and Lao New Year are celebrated from 13 April to 15 April by splashing water.
4. The Cambodian New Year and Lao New Year are celebrated from 13 April to 15 April.
5. The Bengali New Year Pohela Baisakh is celebrated on 14 April or 15 April in a festive manner in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.
6. The Sinhalese New Year falls In April (the month of Bak) when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) Sri Lankans begin celebrating their National New Year. However, unlike the usual practice where the new year begins at midnight, the National New Year begins at the time determined by the astrologers. Not only the beginning of the new year but the conclusion of the old year is also specified by the astrologers. And unlike the customary ending and beginning of new year, there is a period of a few hours in between the conclusion of the Old Year and the commencement of the New Year , which is called the "nona gathe" (neutral period). During this time one is expected to keep off from all types of work and engage solely in religious activities.

Northern Fall:

1. Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew for 'head of the year') is a holiday commemorating the culmination of the six days of Creation, and marking God's yearly renewal of His world. The day has elements of festivity and introspection, as God is traditionally believed to be assessing His creation and determining the fate of all men and creatures for the coming year.
2. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the New Year, called Neyrouz, coincides with 11 September in the Gregorian calendar between 1900 and 2099, with the exception of the year before Gregorian leap years, when Neyrouz occurs on 12 September). The Coptic year 1723 began in September 2005. The Ethiopian Orthodox New Year, called Enkutatash, falls on the same date as Neyrouz; the Ethiopian calendar year 1999 thus began on September 11, 2006.

The Red and White Year-end Song Festival is a 50-year-old tradition in which "25 men and 25 women are split into two teams for a seemingly endless warble." The Buddhist temple bells are rung 108 times.

Variable:

1. The Islamic New Year occurs on 1 Muharram. Since the Muslim calendar is based on 12 lunar months amounting to about 354 days, the Gregorian date of this is about eleven days earlier each year. 2008 will see two Muslim New Years.