Being a foreign student has its perks, and one of them is meeting other foreign students that share pieces of their culture with you. And sometimes, they stick. I spent New Year's eve with a very special Korean friend, and we celebrated many cultures (and many midnights) in their own special ways. The first one we did was this:
#1. Did you know. . .? That the tradition in Spain is eating twelve grapes as the grand clock in Madrid strikes midnight?
Well, me neither. We watched on TV as the Madrid's Puerta del Sol square was crowded with people in the rain, ready with their little stash of grapes. For each of the clock's chimes at midnight, they ate a grape (believe me, it's actually harder than it looks, our mouths were very stuffed! It took me a minute to swallow and finally shout out HAPPY NEW YEAR!)
Tradition brought to you by my Spanish friend that studies with me.
#2. Ah, the Brazilian tradition of wearing white! Not really a vegan tradition, but for the sake of it I'm posting it. I think it's one of the only countries that has this tradition. Since it's summer in Brazil during this time, wearing white is fairly easy: you can wear a white top, a white dress, a white bermuda, a white bathing suit (hey, it was hot this year down there). Wearing white means a peaceful year to come. Another brazilian tradition is jumping seven waves fos good luck or sending roses out into the sea. Not feasible in the Northern Hemisphere, but pretty all the same.
#3. The New York tradition - need I say more? As a kid I loved to watch the silver ball drop in Time's square - hey, as a grown up too. It just means so much more to me now. I can pratically hear people chiming glasses and fireworks going off when I see the ball dropping. There is a time difference of 6 hours from France to U.S, and we got up in time just to see the ball drop.
#4.The French tradition: Champagne! As I don't drink alcohol we improvised on the spot with a bottle of chilled sparkling water in a pretty green bottle.
#5. Korean tradition: Dressing up and eating special, traditional foods! We also didn't do this one, lack of time and means, but we did make cookies like half an hour before midnight. You can check out the recipe here.
Anyone like to share their New Year tradition?
Painting above is 'Cherries and Peaches by Paul Cezanne, especially famous for living where I'm living now.
