Over 3,000 years ago, in ancient Persepolis, there was a relic tale about Persian King Jamshid, who was seen soaring the skies on his flashy chariot on the first day of spring after victory. This was the marking of a new beginning. This holiday is Nowruz. It is celebrated in countries with Persian influences, like Iraq and Turkey. It starts sometime between Mar. 19-22. This commemoration is to symbolize renewal and harmony of relationships and nature. Nowruz is also transcribed as “New Day”, with the common theme of rebirth. During this time, the pre-festival activities include leaping over fires and river streams to help cleanse the negative energy from the previous year. This holiday also contains many types of traditional activities, such as spring cleaning, gift exchanges, family gatherings, shopping, remodeling a whole house, and (of course) a break from school. There is even a time when families get together and begin the Half-Sin table. On The History Channel, it is stated that the table showcases seven items that symbolize certain items, including “apples (seeb) for beauty, garlic (seer) for health, vinegar (serkeh) for patience, hyacinth (sonbol) for spring, sweet pudding (samanu) for fertility, sprouts (sabzeh) for rebirth and coins (sekeh) for wealth.” Overall, this holiday holds significant celebrations that are also part of traditional heritages.

Cambodia celebrates Chol Chnam Thmay, also known as Khmer-- Cambodia's most meaningful festival. This holiday brings everyone together to embrace the spirit of renewal and hope, but also honor and notice ancestors and changes in agriculture. This festival takes place during the midst of Apr., when there is a transition between the dry and wet seasons. These changes mark the new year. In the past, the festivals would typically last up to a month; however, the celebration is now shortened down to three days total. To prepare for this festival, on the day before, people redecorate their houses by deep cleaning, buying new furniture or repairing the old, and even painting the house walls in new colors. There is also the chance to buy new clothes for Cambodians to display themselves as beautiful and clean. Then, there comes the day of the festival that lasts up to 72 hours. The first day is known as Hol Sangkran Thmay Day. It is a faithful time for making offerings to monks by gathering flowers, candles, and food, and going through the great calendar procession to send away bad luck. Then comes Wonbof Day, where it is traditional to make offerings of rice and small piles of sand hills. Finally, there is Long Sak Day, in which the Handspan Travel Joint Company has claimed that everyone will  “join the Buddha statue bathing ceremony and Requiem Ceremony" and continue the process of dipping their Buddha statues in fragrant water at home. This is to wash away all of the mishaps of the past year and bring in a new year of luck. After the ceremonies, everyone gathers together at the ossuary tower with burning incense to pray for the souls of their ancestors and late monks, while the monks sprinkle floral water on everybody. Every aspect of this beautiful holiday is filled with warmth and tradition.

Panama is a place where there are many New Year’s traditions bringing energy and renewal. As travel and culture magazine Panamerican World has disclosed, this holiday is a “blend of superstitions, community, and culture in fascinating ways.” 

An iconic tradition is the burning of effigies, also known as the burning of Munecos. They are made from hay and firecrackers with an outer layer of clothing dressing up the figure. Typically, the effigies replicate known people, like celebrities and political figures, or people who are disliked. At midnight, these figures are lit up because, “According to folklore, this fiery ritual symbolizes the destruction of sins and evil spirits from the old year, clearing the path for good fortune.” Battering also occurs to scare off negative energy possessed in the atmosphere. 

In addition, they celebrate another peculiar type of tradition, in which they wear clothing that will influence their future outcomes. It is known that, at midnight, if someone is wearing yellow underwear, luck will come their way; if a person is wearing any type of red clothing, then love will come their way. However, if one wishes for income streams, then they must hold money in their hands once the clock strikes twelve.

All the way in Northern Europe, in a country called Denmark, people have a specific New Year's tradition that involves smashing plates. Danish individuals gather up all their unwanted fine ceramic dishes to break on Dec. 31. Celebrators then march in the streets and begin throwing and slamming the dishes at doors. Doing this is believed to bring promising success into the new year. Plus, the bigger the cups and plates are, the more there is to look forward to in the upcoming twelve months. 

Additionally, within Italy, they take the saying, “Out with the old, and in with the new” quite literally. So, Italians throw some of their furniture off their balcony windows to symbolize a fresh start in the future year. Engrid Barnett, an author at  Ripley's Believe or Not, contends that this holiday tradition encourages “locals [to] make a few concessions to ensure passersby don’t get clobbered with falling debris.” On top of that, they also hold the yule log tradition that takes place with burning wood logs on the last day of the year to turn away the evil spirits-- but also an open invite to the Virgin Mary so she can bring warmth to baby Jesus. After all the burning, luring, and welcoming, the families then use the ashes from the fire to protect their house from any sort of impairment.