New Year Facts.

Hello guys first of all i would like to wish you a very happy new year 2013, so on this very special occasion i have decided to make a post about new year beliefs and practices from all around the world, these are not unbelievable but it is always good to know something new. i hope you will enjoy them, so here we goes..

Kiritimati (UTC+14), part of kiribati, is the first location in the world to welcome the New Year and then Chatham Islands- New Zealand.

Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands): traditional dance(image source)

At midnight on New Year�s Eve, it�s customary in Spain to quickly eat 12 grapes,one at each stroke of the clock. Each grape supposedly signifies good luck for one month of the coming year.

Bars prepare for customers on New Year's Eve in Spain(source of image)

Another Spanish New Year�s Eve tradition is the wearing of red underwear, called �Bragas Rojas�. The source of this practice is believed to be the medieval taboo of wearing red. Red underwear is now worn to bring good luck.(source)

In Finland, A Finnish tradition is molybdomancy - to tell the fortunes of the New Year by melting "tin" (actually lead) in a tiny pan on the stove and throwing it quickly in a bucket of cold water. The resulting blob of metal is analyzed, for example by interpreting shadows it casts by candlelight. These predictions are however never taken seriously.

Photo: Peter/cicadashell (source) 

The Ball Drop in New York City's Times Square is one of the most prominent events, attracting a million spectators yearly.

source of this image

On December 31, the ball is lowered 77 feet (23 m) down a specially designed flagpole, resting on the midnight to signal the start of the new year. The first ball drop in Times Square took place on December 31, 1907, and has been held annually since (except in 1942 and 1943 in observance of wartime blackouts). The ball's design has also been updated over the years to reflect new advances in technologies.(source)

There is a radio program, called Top 2000, on the Dutch radio and has been broadcast since '99 at the end of each year. The show starts at 12:00 on December 25 and ends at midnight on New Year's Eve. In these 6 or 7 days the 2000 most popular songs of all time are played, chosen by the audience.

source of this image

The Top 2000 is a radio program on the Dutch radio station Radio 2, and has been broadcast since 1999. It is broadcast annually at the end of the year. Until 2008 the program started 0:00 on Boxing Day (which the Dutch simply call "the second day of Christmas"), and continuing non-stop until 24:00 at New Year's Eve. From 2009 the show starts December 25 12:00.(source)

During Christmas 2000/New Year's Eve 2001, Czech TV suffered a bizarre crisis that, among other things, left the public channel off the air for 2 days.

source of this image

The Czech TV crisis occurred at the end of 2000 and lasted until early 2001 as a battle for control of the airwaves, which included jamming and accusations of censorship.(source)

According to statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, more vehicles are stolen on New Year's Day than on any other holiday throughout the year.

Source of this image