Sylwester i Nowy Rok

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New Year in Serbia is traditionally celebrated extensively. Indoors, families celebrate New Year's Eve with an abundance of food. Decorated "Christmas"-trees are predominantly related to New Year, hence called "novogodišnja jelka" (new years tree). Around or after midnight, Deda Mraz (Santa Claus) visits houses and leaves presents under the tree, to be unpacked then or, if the family is asleep, only to be discovered in the morning. Restaurants, clubs, cafes and hotels are usually fully booked and organize New Year's celebrations with food and live music.
However, Serbian New Year's celebrations are most known for the outdoors festivities in Belgrade, and several other major cities such as Novi Sad and Niš. As of mid-December, cities are extensively decorated and lit. The decorations remain until way into January due to the persistent influence of the old, Julian calendar. Throughout the region, especially amongst former Yugoslav republics, Belgrade is known as the place to be for major parties, concerts and happenings. It has become common for large groups of Slovenes to visit their former capital and celebrate the beginning of a new year. Especially since the mid-nineties, street celebrations grew into mass gatherings with hundreds of thousands of people, celebrating New Year on one of several locations throughout Belgrade. During former President Milošević's mandate, the gatherings had a strong political connotation as well. As of 2000, every year the City of Belgrade organizes several concerts with major national and international performers on Belgrade's major squares; the Republic Square, Terazije Square and in front of the Serbian (formerly Federal) Parliament building. The concerts commence early in the evening and last well into the morning. Usually, there are separate celebrations and concerts organized for small children (Slavija Square) and for elderly (Kalemegdan park). Midnight is marked by major fireworks fired from suitable buildings within the city. On January 1, the central Svetogorska street is closed for traffic and used to hold the "street of open heart" festival; food and warm drinks are served and open air theater plays are performed, while families with children as well as politicians (often including the President) walk down the street. The evening of the first of January is reserved for the so-called "repriza", a repetition of the previous night; people often go to the club, friends or square where they were last night to celebrate once more. Slightly down-scaled festivities are organized.
On January 13, a large part of the population[citation needed] celebrates "Serbian New Year", according to the Julian calendar. This time, usually one concert is organized in front of either City Hall or the National Parliament (in Belgrade), while fireworks are prepared by the Serbian Orthodox Church and fired from the Cathedral of Saint Sava, where people also gather. Other cities also organize such celebrations.

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Spanish New Year's Eve (Nochevieja or Fin de Año in Spanish) celebrations usually begin with a family dinner, traditionally including shrimp or prawns and lamb or capon. Spanish tradition says that wearing new, red underwear on New Year's Eve brings good luck. The actual countdown is primarily followed from the clock on top of the Casa de Correos building in Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid. It is traditional to eat twelve grapes, one on each chime of the clock. This tradition has its origins in 1909, when grape growers in Alicante thought of it as a way to cut down on the large production surplus they had had that year. Nowadays, the tradition is followed by almost every Spaniard, and the twelve grapes have become synonymous with the New Year. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine such as cava or champagne, or alternatively with cider. After the family dinner and the grapes, many young people attend New Year parties at pubs, discothèques and similar places (these parties are called cotillones de nochevieja, after the Spanish word cotillón, which refers to party supplies like confetti, party blowers, party hats, etc.). Parties usually last until the next morning and range from small, personal celebrations at local bars to huge parties with guests numbering the thousands at hotel convention rooms. Early next morning, party attendees usually gather to have the traditional winter breakfast of chocolate con churros (xurros amb xocolata in Catalan), hot chocolate and fried pastry.

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In Switzerland, New Year's Eve is typically celebrated at a residence with friends (Christmas usually having been celebrated with family). There are no particular main dishes associated with the event, although sweets and desserts are usual. Each commune has its own government-arranged countdown in a public space, accompanied with formal fireworks shows in smaller cities.

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In Sweden, New Year's Eve is usually celebrated with families or with friends. A few hours before and after midnight, people usually party and eat a special dinner, often three courses. New Year's Eve is celebrated with large fireworks displays throughout the country, especially in the cities. People over the age of 18 are allowed to buy fireworks, which are sold by local stores or by private persons. While watching or lighting up fireworks at midnight, people usually drink champagne.

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In the former Soviet Union, New Year has the same cultural significance as Christmas has in the United States, but without the religious connotations. Ukrainian and other families from former Soviet Union traditionally install spruce trees at home, the equivalent of a Christmas tree. In Ukraine, there is the Mykolai, who looks similar to Santa Claus, except he wears robes. Families gather to eat a large feast and reflect on the past year. They have a large celebration, make toasts, and make wishes for a happy New Year. Families give presents to their friends as well as informal acquaintances. This is due to Ukrainians being a closely knit community, and it is seen as a taboo to not give presents to those the family associates with. Children stay up until midnight, waiting for the New Year. Also, during these celebrations many Ukrainians tune to special New Year shows, which have become a long-standing tradition for the Ukrainian TV.
New Year is often considered a "pre-celebration" for the Greek Catholics and Eastern Orthodox living in Eastern Europe, primarily in Ukraine, since Christmas is celebrated on January 7.

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Numerous decorations and customs traditionally associated with Christmas and Bayrams find a secular translation in Turkish New Year's Eve celebrations, where homes and streets are lit up in glittering lights as well as various traditional Turkish aesthetic practices. Small gifts are exchanged, and large family dinners are organized with family and friends, featuring a special Zante currant-pimento-dill iç pilav dish, dolma, hot börek, baklava and various other eggplant dishes, topped with warm pide, salep and boza.

Television and radio channels are known to continuously broadcast a variety of special New Year's Eve programs, while municipalities all around the country organize fundraising events for the poor, in addition to celebratory public shows such as concerts and family-friendly events, as well as more traditional forms of entertainment such as the Karagöz and Hacivat shadow-theater and even performances by the Mehter - the Janissary Band that was founded during the days of the Ottoman Empire. Public and private parties with large public attendances are organised in a number of cities and towns, particularly in the largest metropolitan areas such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Antalya, with the biggest celebrations taking place in Istanbul's Taksim, Beyoğlu, Nişantaşı and Kadıköy districts and Ankara's Kızılay Square, which generally feature dancing, concerts, laser and lightshows as well as the traditional countdown and fireworks display.

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Welsh celebrations on New Year's Eve are known as Calennig. The tradition of giving gifts and money on New Year's Day is an ancient custom that survives even in modern-day Wales, though nowadays it is now customary to give bread and cheese.
Thousands of people descend every year on Cardiff to enjoy live music, catering, ice-skating, funfairs and fireworks. Many of the celebrations take place at Cardiff Castle and Cardiff City Hall.

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Every New Years Eve there is a 5 kilometre (3.1 mi) running race called the Nos Galan road race (Welsh: Rasys Nos Galan) in Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The race celebrates the life and achievements of Welsh runner Guto Nyth Brân. Founded in 1958 by local runner Bernard Baldwin, it is run over the 5 kilometre route of Guto's first competitive race. The main race starts with a church service at Llanwynno, and then a wreath is laid on Guto's grave in Llanwynno graveyard. After lighting a torch, it is carried to the nearby town of Mountain Ash, where the main race takes place.
The race consists of a double circuit of the town centre, starting in Henry Street and ending in Oxford Street, by the commemorative statue of Guto. Traditionally, the race was timed to end at midnight, but in recent times it was rescheduled for the convenience of family entertainment, now concluding at around 21:00. This has resulted in a regrowth in size and scale, and the proceedings now start with an afternoon of street entertainment, and fun run races for children, concluding with the church service, elite runners' race and presentations.

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In Argentina, traditionally the entire family gathers together from around 9pm to partake in a dinner of traditional dishes, including vitel tonné, asado, turron and pan dulce. Just before midnight, people flock to the streets to enjoy fireworks and light crackers. The first day of the New Year is celebrated at midnight with cider or champagne, wishing each other a happy New Year, and sometimes sharing a toast with neighbours. Parties often continue until dawn. Swimming is perhaps an unusual activity that Argentines partake in on New Year, at rivers and lakes or public pools

[madohora]

Every New Years Eve there is a 5 kilometre (3.1 mi) running race called the Nos Galan road race (Welsh: Rasys Nos Galan) in Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. The race celebrates the life and achievements of Welsh runner Guto Nyth Brân. Founded in 1958 by local runner Bernard Baldwin, it is run over the 5 kilometre route of Guto's first competitive race. The main race starts with a church service at Llanwynno, and then a wreath is laid on Guto's grave in Llanwynno graveyard. After lighting a torch, it is carried to the nearby town of Mountain Ash, where the main race takes place.
The race consists of a double circuit of the town centre, starting in Henry Street and ending in Oxford Street, by the commemorative statue of Guto. Traditionally, the race was timed to end at midnight, but in recent times it was rescheduled for the convenience of family entertainment, now concluding at around 21:00. This has resulted in a regrowth in size and scale, and the proceedings now start with an afternoon of street entertainment, and fun run races for children, concluding with the church service, elite runners' race and presentations.

[madohora]

In Argentina, traditionally the entire family gathers together from around 9pm to partake in a dinner of traditional dishes, including vitel tonné, asado, turron and pan dulce. Just before midnight, people flock to the streets to enjoy fireworks and light crackers. The first day of the New Year is celebrated at midnight with cider or champagne, wishing each other a happy New Year, and sometimes sharing a toast with neighbours. Parties often continue until dawn. Swimming is perhaps an unusual activity that Argentines partake in on New Year, at rivers and lakes or public pools.

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The Ano Novo ('New Year' in Portuguese) celebration, also known in Brazilian Portuguese by the French word Réveillon, is one of Brazil'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). Brazilians traditionally 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 and eating grapes or lentils are some of the customs associated with the holiday. The beach at Copacabana (in Portuguese: Praia de Copacabana) in Rio de Janeiro is regarded as the location of one of the best fireworks displays in the world at New Year. The city of São Paulo also holds a famous event: the Saint Silvester Marathon (Corrida de São Silvestre), which traverses streets between Paulista Avenue and the downtown area.
In other regions, different events also take place. At Fortaleza, Ceará, there is a big party with fireworks and live music shows by the Praia de Iracema area, which attracts more than one million people in recent years

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Special dishes, usually including lentils and twelve grapes to symbolise each month of the year, are prepared in every home and family celebrations usually last until midnight, then some may disperse to continue partying with friends until dawn. In Chile's capital Santiago, thousands of people gather at the Entel Tower hours before to watch the countdown to midnight and a fireworks display. There are several fireworks shows, most notably the "Año Nuevo en el Mar" in Valparaiso, Chile's second city, which is generally the most popular, with 1,000,000 viewers. However, from the year 2000, the sale of fireworks to individuals has been illegal, meaning fireworks can now only be observed at major displays. Many people also travel to Easter Island, off Chile's coast, to welcome the New Year.

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In Costa Rica, families usually gather around 9 pm to party until 1 or 2 am of the next day. There are several traditions among Costa Rican families, including eating 12 grapes representing 12 wishes for the new year and running across the street with luggage asking for new trips and adventures in the upcoming year.

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As well as traditional family events and meals, modern celebrations such as hosting parties and going to nightclubs are a prominent feature of New Year's Eve across Ecuador, but the main event takes place at midnight where fireworks are lit and thousands of dummies are burned in the streets representing the year that just finished

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In the town of Antigua Guatemala, people usually get together at the Santa Catalina Clock Arch to celebrate Fin del Año (New Year's Eve). In Guatemala City the celebrations are centered around Plaza Mayor. Banks close on New Year’s Eve, and businesses close at noon. Starting at sundown, firecrackers are lit, continuing without interruption into the night. Guatemalans wear new clothes for good fortune and eat a grape with each of the twelve chimes of the bell during the New Year countdown, while making a wish with each one. The celebrations include religious themes which may be either Mayan or Catholic. Catholic celebrations are similar to those at Christmas. Gifts are left under the tree on Christmas morning by the Christ Child for the children. Parents and adults do not exchange gifts until New Year's Day

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Pagara (red-firecracker-ribbons) New Year's Eve in Suriname is called Oud jaar which means old year. It is during this period that the Surinamese population goes into cities' commercial districts to watch demonstrational fireworks. This is however, a spectacle based on the famous red-firecracker-ribbons. The bigger stores invest in these firecrackers and display them out in the streets. Every year the length of them is compared, and high praises are held for the company that has managed to import the largest ribbon. These celebrations start at 10 in the morning and finish the next day. The day is usually filled with laughter, dance, music, and drinking. When the night starts, the big street parties are already at full capacity. The most popular fiesta is the one that is held at café 't Vat in the main tourist district. The parties there stop between 10 and 11 pm. After which the people go home to light their pagaras (red-firecracker-ribbons) at midnight. After midnight, the parties continue and the streets fill again until daybreak.

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In Venezuela, many of the traditions are very similar to the ones from Spain, with an over-emphasis in traditions that supposedly will bring good luck in the year forthcoming. Those who want to find love in the New Year are supposed to wear red underwear on New Year's Eve; those who want money must have a bill of high value when toast, those who want to travel must go out home while carrying some luggage, and so on. Yellow underwear is worn to bring happiness in the New Year. Usually, people listen to radio specials, which give a countdown and announce the New Year according to the legal hour in Venezuela, and, in Caracas', following the twelve bells from the Cathedral of Caracas. During these special programs is a tradition to broadcast songs about the sadness on the end of the year, being popular favorites "Viejo año" ("Old year") by Gaita group Maracaibo 15 and "Cinco pa' las 12" ("Five minutes before twelve") who was versioned by several popular singers like Nestor Zavarce, Nancy Ramos and José Luis Rodríguez El Puma, and the unofficial hymn for the first minutes of the New Year is "Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva" ("New Year, New Life"), by the band Billo's Caracas Boys.

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Gisborne is 496.3 kilometres (308.4 mi) west of the International Date Line and thus is the first major city to see the beginning of the new year. In New Zealand, cities celebrate this with large street parties and fireworks displays. Elsewhere in New Zealand, local councils usually organise parties and street carnivals and fireworks displays. In recent years however, liquor bans have been imposed on many of the more popular areas due to disorder, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour. During the day of New Year's Eve, in recent years, the Black Caps have played a One Day International cricket game in Queenstown. The tallest freestanding structure tower in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sky Tower, celebrates the new year by lighting up Auckland's sky with fireworks from the top of the tower.

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Moroccans call New Year's Eve Rass l'aam or (رأس العام which means the "head of the year".
In Casablanca, New Year's Eve is celebrated in the company of family and friends. People get together to eat cake, dance, laugh. Traditionally, people celebrate it at home, but some of them prefer to go to nightclubs. At midnight, fireworks are displayed across Ain Diab, in the corniche of Casablanca.

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In China, although the celebrations of the Lunar New Year are not until a few weeks into the new year, celebrations of the Gregorian New Year are still held in some areas. Celebrations with fireworks and rock concerts have taken place in Beijing's Solana Blue Harbor Shopping Park.

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In Hong Kong, the people usually get together in Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui to celebrate and to look at the night lights along the harbor. The Times Square shopping mall also holds their own send-off to the ball drop held at Times Square in New York City. The celebration had been extended to other districts such as Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, Mong Kok and Kwun Tong by district-wide celebration activities. From 2008, for the last 60 seconds before entering the next year (23:59:00), a 60-second numerical countdown by LED lights with pyrotechnic display effects on the facade of Two International Finance Centre was launched, followed by a firework display of A Symphony of Lights.

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In India, most celebrations take place in the major metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and since 2009-10, in Chandigarh. In Hyderabad, fireworks, street racings and brawls are very common. Goa is one of the most visited spot during new year celebration both by Indian and foreign tourists. Events such as live concerts and dances by Bollywood stars are organised and attended mostly by youngsters. Large crowds also gather at popular spots along the coastline such as the Gateway of India, Girgaum Chowpatty, Bandra Bandstand, Juhu Beach etc. More often people like to celebrate new year eve with family. Hotels and resorts are all decked up in anticipation of the tourist influx and feverish competition ensures to entice the vacationers with exciting New Year offers. As old tradition at many places across the country several special Yagya and Puja are organized for the wish of fruitful year by Hindu people

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New Year's Eve is celebrated with some revelry in urban areas. Hotels, discos and major restaurants offer special meals, entertainment and dancing. People celebrate with their families, siblings, and/or friends. Trumpets and fireworks are the most important elements of New Year's Eve for Indonesians. However, the New Year is generally not as big a celebration as Eid ul-Fitr in Indonesia. The local government of Jakarta often holds a music show, New Year countdown and fireworks party in New Year's Eve celebration. The events are often held at the Monumen Nasional, waterfront resort of Ancol Dreamland, and the recreational area Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. Bali is another popular destination for New Year's Eve, with many locals and toursits gathering at the beach at Kuta.

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The day is a preparation day to welcome toshigami new year's god. Therefore, traditionally, people clean their home and prepare Kadomatsu and/or Shimenawa to welcome the god before New Year's Eve. Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times at midnight. This tradition is called joya no kane which means "bell rings on new year eve's night." The rings represent 108 elements of bonō, defilements, or Kilesa in Sanskrit, which is said people have in their mind. The bells are rung to repent 108 of the bonnō. A popular TV show on New Year's Eve in Japan is Red and White Year-end Song Festival. Kōhaku Uta Gassen is a 60-year-old tradition involving a singing contest between male and female teams of celebrity singers.