阅读理解
Almost all cultures
celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another in some ways.
Different cultures celebrate the beginning of a new year in different ways, and
at different times on the calendar.
In Western countries, people
usually celebrate New Year from midnight on December 31st to January 1st, People
may go to parties, sometimes dressed in formal(正式的)clothes,
and they may drink champagne(香槟) at midnight. During
the first minute of the new year, people cheer and wish each other happiness
for the year ahead, But some cultures prefer to celebrate the new year by
waking up early to watch the sunrise. They welcome the new year with the first
light of the sunrise.
Many cultures also do
special things to get rid of(摆脱)bad luck at the
beginning of a new year. For example, in Ecuador, families make a big doll from
old clothes, The doll is filled with old newspapers and firecrackers. At
midnight, these dolls are burned to show the bad things from the past year are
gone and the new year can start afresh(重新). Other
common traditions to keep away bad luck in a new year include throwing things
into rivers or the ocean, or saying special things on the first day of the new
year.
Other New Year
traditions are followed to bring good luck in the new year. One widespread
Spanish tradition for good luck is to eat grapes on New Year's Day. The more
grapes a person eats, the more good luck he will have in the new year. In
France, people eat pancakes for good luck on New Year's Day. In the United
States, some people eat black-eyed peas for good luck-but to get good luck for
a whole year, you have to eat 365 of them!
