French New Year customs (names, traditional food activities, etc. ), advanced culture (eating habits, clothing, architectural language, etc. ) and lifestyle.

Drinking champagne around the table, the French get drunk to welcome the New Year.

Celebrating the New Year with wine, people began to revel in drinking on New Year's Eve until 65438+1October 3. The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day indicates a new year. On the morning of New Year's Day, they went to the streets to see the wind direction for divination: the south wind blows, which indicates that the weather will be good and the year will be safe and hot; When the west wind blows, there is a bumper harvest year for fishing and milking; If the east wind blows, the fruit will be rich; When the north wind blows, it is a poor harvest year.

French new year

Before the Middle Ages, the French New Year was April 1 day, and it was not until 1564 that Charles IX changed it to 1 month 1 day. On New Year's Eve, the family get together, have dinner and drink together. According to the ancient custom, everyone gets as drunk as a fiddler at night. The French believe that if you don't drink all the wine at home on New Year's Eve, there will be bad luck in the coming year. Therefore, binge drinking is one of the characteristics of French New Year. This is very similar to the "lucky money" of the Spring Festival in China. Many people also use the weather on New Year's Day to predict the weather in the coming year. They think that if the south wind blows on New Year's Day, the weather will get better. The west wind is a good year for fishing and milking, and the east wind can yield a bumper harvest.

French New Year Style: Girls' Song and Dance Carnival

For the French, the New Year is a two-week holiday from Christmas to New Year's Day. After tasting traditional delicacies such as foie gras and roast turkey, the family sat around the Christmas tree and shared the surprise at the moment when the gift package was torn open. Unlike Christmas, the "sleepless nights" in the New Year are reserved for friendship. This night, the most lively place in Paris is the famous Champs Elysé es. From the newly decorated Arc de Triomphe to the brightly lit Concorde Square, the whole avenue is brightly lit and extraordinary. People from Paris, France and even all over the world, especially young people, gather in groups from all directions, waiting for the New Year bell to ring in music, dance and joy. All acquaintances or strangers will say Happy New Year to each other. There are also street vendors who are rarely seen at ordinary times, making some mutton skewers and sandwiches for the occasion. A closer look shows that the stall owners are mostly Arabs and Africans. For these ethnic groups with generally low incomes, the Chinese New Year is also a good opportunity to make money. Foreigners who have just arrived there will be surprised to find that there are a large number of military and police officers at the exit of each subway station, fully armed and ready to deal with abnormal events. In order to reduce the pressure on the security department, subway stations in some important sections are simply allowed to enter and not to leave. There were many riots on New Year's Eve last year, and dozens of police cars were set on fire. There are still some people who join in the fun with another mentality. Their eyes are not used to enjoy the beautiful scenery, nor to look for lovely girls, but to stare at whether there are lost wallets or banknotes on the ground. Of course, in most cases, all you can see is scraps of paper and broken wine bottles on the ground.

Besides the Champs Elysé es, Eiffel Tower and other public places, all kinds of dances are also popular entertainment activities for young people. On New Year's Eve, the largest dance in history was held in the Paris shopping center "China City". There was a long queue at the entrance an hour before the dance began. Finally, the shopping malls on the upper and lower floors are crowded with people everywhere, obsessed with dancing to sensational music. Usually, this kind of dance is free for all girls.

Authentic Parisians, that is, people who live in the center of Paris, mostly disdain to "collude" with "banlieuzards" or foreigners in the cold of French winter nights. In addition to safety considerations, it is also because they prefer to make friends with friends at home or in bars and restaurants that are well-known in the streets and lanes for a change, and there is no need for sandalwood. Love to the thick place, make room, can also dance.

There are indeed many entertainment programs to choose from in densely populated large and medium-sized cities. However, in rural France, people's New Year celebrations are colorful. According to a French friend in the Alps, he lives in a small town with a population of only two or three thousand. On New Year's Eve, everyone will gather in dozens of restaurants and bars in the city center to spend the night together. In Brittany, represented by the famous tourist city of San Maro, not only restaurants and bars at weddings, but also large and small shops are open all night. Compared with Paris, where all shops are closed at eight o'clock in the evening, the folk customs there are more unrestrained and enthusiastic.

New year customs in European countries

Most countries and regions in the world adopt the Gregorian calendar, and set 65438+ 10/month 1 as the beginning of the new year, which is called New Year's Day. In different countries and different periods, the custom of celebrating the New Year is different. However, from a big perspective, the spirit of welcoming the new is the same. Everything that is not needed, that wants to be abandoned and that wants to get rid of is called old. What we yearn for, hope for and look forward to is called new. At the beginning of the new year, everyone wants to have a good start. Throughout Europe, although the New Year is not as grand as Christmas, various celebrations still have their own characteristics and unique styles.

Britain: On New Year's Eve, English people must have wine in the bottle and meat in the cupboard. They think that if there is no wine and meat left, they will be poor in the coming year. In addition, the custom of "digging wells" in the New Year is also very popular in Britain. People strive to be the first person to draw water, thinking that the first person to draw water is a happy person, and the water obtained from it is auspicious.

France: The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day heralds a new year: the year when the east wind blows and the fruit is harvested; The harvest year of west wind, fishing and milking; A warm year with a southerly wind; When the north wind blows, it is a poor harvest year.

Spain: On New Year's Day, Spanish parents are particularly "cordial". They will meet all the requirements of their children, and think that children's swearing, fighting and crying are ominous. At the same time, most Spaniards will carry a gold coin or copper coin with them for good luck.

Belgium: The first thing the Belgians should do in the early morning of New Year's Day is to pay New Year greetings to the livestock, go to the cows, sheep, pets, cats and dogs and solemnly greet them: Happy New Year!

Germany: Just before midnight on New Year's Eve, Germans climbed into chairs. As soon as the bell rang, they jumped up from their chairs and threw a heavy object behind the back of the chair to show that they would throw away evil and enter the new year. In addition, they will put some fish scales in their wallets, because fish scales are the mascots of the new year, which indicates that financial resources are rolling in.

Switzerland: Swiss people think snow is auspicious. During the Spring Festival, they take some snow from outside, melt it into water, sprinkle it on the ground to suppress dust, and then clean it.

Italy: Italians throw things they don't need at home into the yard or simply throw them into the wild on New Year's Eve. It is said that this will bring happiness to their families in the new year. In addition, people always tell children fairy tales about banshees, saying that banshees sneak into the house from the chimney and bring some gifts to the children and put them in their shoes.

Sweden: On the morning of New Year's Day, the youngest woman in the family put on a plain white skirt, tied a red ribbon around her waist, and wore a crown to light small candles, responsible for distributing food. Many people sell deer made of grass along the street. The deer is full of firecrackers and fireworks. Swedes like to buy this kind of deer as a foil.

Finland: Girls always throw their shoes out on New Year's Eve. If the toe of the shoe points to the door when it falls, it indicates that they will get married in the new year.

Turkey: On New Year's Eve, Turks, men, women and children should take a good bath and put on new clothes. In some parts of Turkey, it is a custom to spend the night on New Year's Eve. People have lunch on New Year's Eve, clean up their homes and take their children to relatives and friends for the night.