世界各地的新年慶祝習俗（二）

◎熊艷婷

世界各地的人們都以其別出心裁、獨具特色的方式迎接新年的到來，本文將帶領我們繼續了解一些國家的新年慶祝活動，這些活動帶有濃郁的地域特色，形式豐富多彩。

Britain: welcome relatives and friends, drill wells

In Britain, the New Year doesn’t seem to be as grand as Christmas, but according to tradition, every family will have a big New Year’s Eve1)banquet.At midnight, people began the traditional New Year’s greetings, with each family opening their doors and bringing out prepared buns to entertain the guests.The first visitor is usually regarded as a symbol of luck in the New Year. It is said that the first person to get water from a well in the countryside of central England is the blessed one in the New Year, and the water is auspicious, so people2)scrambleto carry buckets and head for the well early in the morning of the New Year.

Japan: listen to the clock, tell the dream, go vegetarian

In Japan, there is a national holiday from December 29 to January 3. On New Year’s Eve, people sit still and listen to the “New Year’s Eve clock”, and then go to bed early. Early in the New Year, families sit around and tell each other about their dreams the night before, so as to predict the good and bad luck of the New Year. On that morning, people eat traditional breakfasts such as sugar taro and soba noodles, drink Tusu wine, and then visit shrines or visit relatives and friends. For the next three days, people will be3)vegetarianand pray for blessings.

France: drink up the wine, watch the wind divination

On New Year’s Eve, the French family get together and drink champagne around the table. The French believe that the weather on New Year’s Day heralds the coming year. In the early morning of the New Year,they go to the streets to look at the direction of the wind to predict: the south wind is a sign of good weather, and this year is safe and hot; when the west wind is blowing,there is a bumper harvest year for fishing and milking; when the east wind blows, the fruit will be high; and when the north wind blows, it is a bad harvest year.

Italy: smash everything, burn the stove

The New Year is an important traditional festival in Italy. Italians believe that the sound of New year’s Eve can4)exorciseevil spirits and achieve New Year’s happiness, so people keep setting off firecrackers that night and5)wantonlybreak everything that can be broken, from small dishes to jar altars, and throw fragments into the street. On New Year’s Day, every family will light a fire in the house, and it can’t be6)extinguishedfor a whole day. Italians believe that fire comes from the sun, and if the fire breaks in the New Year,it will not see the light of day in the coming year and will lead to bad luck.

Spain: eat twelve grapes

In Spain, when the bell begins to chime twelve o’lock on New Year’s Eve, people scramble to eat grapes. If you can eat 12 grapes according to the bell, it symbolizes that every month of the new year is flat, and each grape has a different meaning,such as the first “peace”, the fifth “harmony”,the sixth “refuge”, the seventh “dispel disease”. At the same time, most Spaniards carry a gold or copper coin as a sign of good luck.

Canada: build a snow wall

Canadians have always regarded pure snow as an auspicious symbol. When the New Year comes, people sweep the snow along the road or in the yard around their homes to build a snow wall. They believe that this can prevent the invasion of evil spirits and bring happiness to the new year.

1) banquetn.宴會

2) scramblev.爭奪

3) vegetariann.素食者

4) exorcisev.驅除

5) wantonlyadv.肆意地

6) extinguishv.熄滅

英國：迎親友，打井水

在英國，新年似乎沒有圣誕節那么隆重，但是根據傳統，家家戶戶都會吃一頓豐盛的新年晚宴。待到午夜降臨，人們就開始了傳統的拜年活動，每個家庭都把大門打開，拿出早已經準備好的小圓面包招待客人。第一個來客通常被認為是新的一年運氣的象征。據說新年第一個在英國中部鄉村打到井水的人就是新一年的有福之人，打來的水則是吉祥之水，所以新年一大早，人們就爭先恐后地拎著桶，向井邊走去。

日本：聽鐘，述夢，吃素

在日本，從12 月29 日到1 月3 日，全國統一休假。除夕夜，人們靜坐聆聽“除夕鐘”，而后便早早上床入夢。新年一大早，一家人圍坐在一起，互相講述前一夜的夢，以此來占卜新一年的吉兇。新年早上，人們要吃砂糖芋艿、蕎麥面等傳統早餐，喝屠蘇酒，然后去神廟參拜，或者走親訪友。之后一連三天，人們會吃素祈福。

法國：喝藏酒，看風占卜

除夕夜，法國人合家團聚，圍桌飲香檳酒。法國人認為新年這一天的天氣預示著新一年的年景。新年清晨，他們上街看風向來占卜：刮南風，預示風調雨順，這一年會是平安而炎熱；刮西風，則預示有一個捕魚和擠奶的豐收年；刮東風，水果將高產；刮北風，則是歉收年。

意大利：打碎一切，燃爐旺火

新年是意大利的重要傳統節日。意大利人認為，新年前夜響聲連天可以驅邪，求得新年如意，所以人們當晚就不停地燃放煙花爆竹，還肆意打碎一切可以打碎的東西，小到碗碟，大到缸壇，并且把碎片統統拋到街上。新年這一天，家家戶戶都要在屋子里燃一爐旺火，而且整整一天不能熄滅。意大利人認為，火來自太陽，新年斷了火，來年就會不見天日，會招來厄運。

西班牙：吃12 顆葡萄

在西班牙，當除夕夜12 點的鐘聲剛開始敲響，人們便爭著吃葡萄。如果能循著鐘聲吃下12 顆葡萄，便象征著這年的每個月都平安，而且每顆葡萄還有不同的含義，如第一顆“平安”、第五顆“和睦”、第六顆“避難”、第七顆“祛病”……同時，大多數西班牙人身上會攜一枚金幣或銅幣以示吉祥。

加拿大：筑雪墻

加拿大人一直把純潔的雪視為吉祥的象征，每逢新年到來之際，人們就把道路旁或院子中的積雪掃到自家住宅周圍，筑起一道雪墻。他們相信，這樣可以阻止邪魔入侵，為新的一年帶來幸福。