Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children January 2016

Fireworks, noise makers, the countdown to midnight. . . Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a reason for celebration around the world. But the December 31 party in New York City’s Times Square is not the only way to ring in the New Year – it’s not even the only time of year people recognize the start of a new year! Read on to find out more about New Year’s celebrations around the world. 1. Welcome to the Year of the Monkey! According to the Chinese zodiac, those born this year will be intelligent, mischievous, and quick learners. Legend says that Buddha called for all the animals and the 12 that arrived each had a year named in its honor. 2. New Year’s celebrations have been…

Welcome to 2016, the Chinese “Year of the Monkey.” According to legend, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on the Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals showed up. Buddha named a year after each one, and announced that people born in each animal’s year would have some of the characteristics of that animal. Astrologers (people who try to relate the position of the stars to human lives) believe that people born in the Year of the Monkey are intelligent, mischievous, and learn quickly. If you were born in a Year of the Monkey (2004, 1992, 1980, and so on, in a 12-year cycle), you have some famous company, including Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Dickens, and Christina Aguilera. It turns out that there is more to the classifying monkey-business…

New Year’s celebrations are nothing new — they have been taking place for more than 4,000 years. Around 2000 B.C., the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia marked the arrival of the new year with an 11-day festival. On the fourth day, the king’s crown was taken away and he was forced to his knees at the foot of a statue of Marduk, the god credited with the creation of the universe. After swearing that he had been a faithful ruler, the king was slapped in the face by the high priest. The slap was delivered with force, and its purpose was to bring the king to tears. Marduk was said to be pleased with the king only if his tears flowed freely. This annual ritual served to remind the king of…

Wearing stripes, plaids, or solid colors to a New Year’s celebration in the Philippines would be considered a bad idea. For the Filipino people, the holiday is all about circles — symbols of wealth and prosperity. People wear polka dot clothing, fill their drawers with coins, and eat fruits that are round. Stomachs are filled with pancit, a dish made with long noodles. The length of the noodles symbolizes longevity and good health. Filipinos also set off fireworks, blow horns, and bang on pots and pans to scare away evil spirits. Throughout the Philippines as well as the rest of the world, people believe their actions on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day will impact their luck for the following year. Superstitions abound, and many of them are quite…

Welcoming a tall, dark stranger into your house at midnight may not seem like the best way to celebrate New Year’s . . . unless you’re in Scotland, celebrating Hogmanay! Hogmanay is the traditional Sottish celebration of the New Year. Many of its traditions first came to Scotland with the Vikings, who invaded in the 8th and 9th centuries. Vikings, coming from the far north, were particularly aware of the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Living in a place where winter was harsh and long, they eagerly awaited the first sign that shorter days and warmer weather were coming. So they celebrated the solstice as a holiday, and brought it with them to Scotland. Scotland itself, from the early 17th century to the 1950s, did not really…

by Christine Graf Alfred Ochs liked to think big. The son of Russian immigrants, he purchased The New York Times in 1896 when he was just 38. The newspaper was on the verge of bankruptcy, but Ochs was determined to make it successful. In 1904, he moved its headquarters to a brand new 25-story building, the second tallest in the city. It was located in Longacre Square, but Ochs convinced city officials to change the square’s name to Times Square. He chose New Year’s Eve 1904 as the grand opening date for his building. New Year’s Eve was already a big night in New York City. Beginning in the late 1800s, large crowds of people would “ring in the New Year” outside of the financial district’s Trinity Church. When the…