New Year’s, once looked upon by the church as a pagan rite, has become an annual festivity celebrated in a variety of fun ways, according to local or national customs.

In Spain, a grape is eaten for every one of the last 12 seconds of the old year. Koreans are served a bowl of rice cake soup, which they believe adds another year to their life. New Year’s day in Tibet, will find a bowl of “nine soup” in front of you, made from …what else?…nine ingredients. The “prize” is in the dumplings, which may contain anything ranging from bits of wood, paper or pebbles, forecasting your fortune for the year ahead. Many other cultures serve round foods, to represent the full circle of life. Which is why the Dutch serve doughnuts on New Year’s day.

One representation of the New Year that crosses many borders, is that of an infant, signifying the birth of the coming year. This symbolism dates back to around 600 B.C. when Greeks used to parade a baby through the streets, to celebrate the “rebirth” of the god Dionysus. The association of a baby and the new year spread throughout Europe, and was brought to America by German settlers.

A widespread practice in the majority of English speaking nations, is at the stroke of midnight, to sing or have played, the Scottish tune “Auld Lang Syne”, which translated, means “old long ago”. The quintessential New Year’s song was partly, if not wholly written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns in the 1700s and first published in 1796, after his death.