As the clock strikes 12 on December 31， millions will pop champagne corks and light fireworks while others indulge in quirkier New Years rituals like melting lead， leaping off chairs or gobbling grapes. One of the worlds oldest shared traditions， New Years celebrations take many forms， but most cultures have one thing in common—letting ones hair down after a long， hard year.

For much of the globe， this involves sipping bubbly with friends until the sun comes up， seeing out the old year with bonfires and flares and off-key renditions of Auld Lang Syne.

But others have rather more curious habits.

In Finland， tour guides say， people pour molten lead into cold water to divine the year ahead from the shape the metal sets in. If the blob represents a ship， it is said to foretell travel； if its a ball， good luck.

In Denmark， people stand on chairs and jump off in unison as the clock strikes midnight， symbolically leaping into the new year.The Danes also throw plates at their friends houses during the night—the more shards you find outside your door in the morning the more popular you are said to be.

The Dutch build massive bonfires with their Christmas trees and eat sugary donuts—one of many cultures to consume round New Years foods traditionally believed to represent good fortune.

Spaniards， in turn， gobble a dozen grapes before the stroke of midnight， each fruit representing a month that will either be sweet or sour.

In the Philippines， revellers wear polka dots for good luck， while in some countries of South America people don brightly coloured underwear to attract fortune —red for love and yellow for financial success.

Despite regional and cultural differences， for most the New Years festivities are a chance to let off steam before the annual cycle starts all over again.

當(dāng)時(shí)鐘在12月31日午夜12點(diǎn)敲響時(shí)，數(shù)百萬(wàn)人將開(kāi)香檳放煙火來(lái)慶祝新年，其他許多人則將舉行一些更為奇特的慶祝儀式，諸如熔鉛、跳椅子或吃葡萄。作為舉世同慶的最古老的傳統(tǒng)之一，新年的慶祝活動(dòng)有多種形式，但大多數(shù)文化對(duì)新年的慶祝都有個(gè)共同之處——就是在度過(guò)漫長(zhǎng)、辛勞的一年之后好好放松一下。

對(duì)于世界上許多人而言，慶祝新年就是和朋友一起徹夜不眠，喝著香檳酒，在篝火前哼著跑調(diào)的《友誼天長(zhǎng)地久》，欣賞著辭舊迎新的煙花，直到新年的太陽(yáng)升起。

但其他人則有著更為奇特的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣。

據(jù)導(dǎo)游說(shuō)，在芬蘭，人們會(huì)把熔化的液體鉛倒進(jìn)冷水里，通過(guò)鉛在水中形成的形狀來(lái)占卜新的一年的運(yùn)氣。如果鉛團(tuán)的形狀像船，這意味著新的一年將要去旅行；如果是一個(gè)球，就預(yù)示著好運(yùn)。

在丹麥，人們站在椅子上，在午夜鐘聲敲響時(shí)一起跳下椅子，這就象征著人們跨入了新的一年。丹麥人還會(huì)在除夕夜向朋友的家扔盤子，第二天清早你在門外發(fā)現(xiàn)的陶瓷碎片越多，就說(shuō)明你越受歡迎。

荷蘭人會(huì)用圣誕樹(shù)點(diǎn)起巨大的篝火堆，在篝火前吃甜甜圈——許多文化都有這種在新年吃圓形食物的傳統(tǒng)，人們相信圓形食物代表著好運(yùn)。

西班牙人則會(huì)在午夜鐘聲敲響前吃下十二顆葡萄，每一顆葡萄都代表新一年中的一個(gè)月，如果葡萄是甜的，那么它代表的那個(gè)月份的生活就是甜的；葡萄是酸的，那么就意味著相應(yīng)的月份會(huì)過(guò)得比較糟糕。

在菲律賓，狂歡者會(huì)穿上有圓點(diǎn)圖案的衣服，因?yàn)槟窍笳髦眠\(yùn)；而在南美的一些國(guó)家，人們會(huì)穿上顏色鮮亮的內(nèi)衣以招來(lái)好運(yùn)——紅色代表愛(ài)情，黃色代表經(jīng)濟(jì)上的成功。

盡管存在著地區(qū)和文化的差異，對(duì)大多數(shù)人而言，新年的慶祝活動(dòng)是一個(gè)讓人們可以在新的一輪循環(huán)開(kāi)始之前放松減壓、發(fā)泄情緒的機(jī)會(huì)。