Generally Trivial Ringing in the New Year.

I’m looking forward to 2015. Generally Trivial will be looking to grow. There are some plans for stuff coming up that should be a lot of fun. And that’s exciting. Tonight, I’ll be celebrating the ending of a good year with good friends. Lots of us in America will be watching the ball drop in New York City, a tradition since 1904! The ball is pretty impressive, with 32,256 LED lights and 2,688 Waterford crystals. In other countries, there are very different customs. Here are a few I found interesting.

In Latin America, people wear red underwear on New Years Eve in order to help their quest in finding the love of their life. How Fruit of the Loom hasn’t seized this marketing opportunity yet, I have no idea.

In Spain, people will eat 12 white grapes as the clock strikes midnight. People participating in this tradition will eat one grape with each chiming of the clock hitting twelve. That’s some fast eating. It sorta feels like a challenge.

Russia treats New Years Eve much like we do Christmas Eve here in America. They celebrate around a large New Years tree and there’s a celebration with music and fireworks in Red Square. Russia’s Santa, Ded Moroz, leaves presents for children to open at the start of the new year.

Possibly my favorite tradition I came across was one in Ecuador. In an effort to get rid of all the negativity from the previous year, people burn a scarecrow! The scarecrow represents bad memories and negative things that happened leading up to the new year. Burning those things away is supposed to lead to positive energy and good luck.

I think it’s interesting to see how the day is celebrated in other parts of the world. But even in America, people have traditions. What are some of the things that you do to celebrate a new year?