Russia
This salad with potatoes, peas, eggs, and mayonnaise is a classic New Year dish on Russian tables.
Olivier
Many Australians celebrate New Year’s Eve with this kind of outdoor meal on beaches and in parks.
BBQ
In London, crowds listen to these famous chimes to say goodbye to the old year
Big Ben
In New York City, people watch this large object drop in Times Square to welcome the New Year
the New Year’s Eve ball
In Spain, people traditionally eat 12 of these fruits at midnight, one for each stroke of the clock.
grapes
Russians usually watch this annual speech on TV just before midnight on 31 December.
the President’s New Year address
This Australian city is famous worldwide for its spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks over the harbour bridge.
Sydney
In Scotland, New Year celebrations are known by this special name.
Hogmanay
In many American cities, people celebrate with these colorful explosions in the sky at midnight.
fireworks
In Italy, some people wear this color of underwear on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck.
red
Many Russians write a wish on paper, burn it, mix the ashes with champagne and drink it before midnight. This is called a New Year wish-________ ritual.
wish-burning ritual
It is common for Australians to celebrate outdoors in this season, because New Year falls in the middle of their summer.
summer
During Hogmanay, this “first visitor” crossing the threshold after midnight is believed to bring luck.
the first-foot
Many Americans celebrate with parties that include dancing, eating, and drinking on this night before New Year’s Day.
New Year’s Eve
In Denmark, people show friendship by smashing these objects against friends’ doors on New Year’s Eve.
plates (or dishes/glasses)
These chimes in Moscow mark the official start of the New Year for the whole country
the Kremlin clock (Spasskaya Tower chimes)
Some Australians bang pots and pans and make a lot of this at midnight to bring good luck and scare away evil spirits
noise
In some British cities there are New Year parades with characters from this type of traditional stories, such as fairy tales and folklore.
English folklore (fairy tales)
This holiday season activity—watching the countdown and ball drop—is often done in this busy Manhattan square.
Times Square
At midnight, some Danes jump off these pieces of furniture to “leap” into the New Year and scare away evil spirits.
chairs
On the main squares of Russian cities, people often gather under this decorated symbol of the holiday to celebrate.
the New Year tree (Novogodnyaya yolka)
This tradition, originally from the UK and Scotland, is also known in Australia and involves the first visitor crossing your doorstep after midnight bringing good luck
first-footing
In parts of the UK, this dark-haired person is traditionally considered the luckiest “first-footer” to enter a house.
dark-haired man
Parades and big public celebrations with bands and floats on January 1 are especially famous in this US city known for its Rose Parade.
Pasadena (California)
In some parts of France, people take a winter swim in this place on New Year’s Eve to “wash away” last year’s problems.
the sea (the ocean)