Marshall Islands Edition
Ano Nuevo leads today's complete edition for Marshall Islands.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
The calendar flips and every Argentine household is eating vitel tone, the cold sliced beef with tuna sauce that somehow became the definitive New Year dish. Toasts happen with cider, not champagne, and the pan dulce from the panaderia sits half-eaten on the counter until someone finishes it off at merienda the next day.
The whole country moves slow after last night's festivities. Sydney Harbour fireworks are still playing on every TV, and someone's dad is already firing up the barbie for a leftovers lunch. Recovery happens poolside or beachside, thongs on, cold tinny in hand.
National holiday. The dzezva comes out before noon because Bosnians do not nurse hangovers with water. By afternoon someone has already proposed kafa at a kafana and you will not see your couch again until evening. Every New Year starts the same way: with good intentions about being productive and a coffee that turns into four hours.
Jordan observes the Gregorian new year, and Amman celebrates with fireworks over the Citadel and family gatherings. The new year is a secular holiday in a country that observes both Islamic and Christian calendars, and the celebration is inclusive: Muslims, Christians, and Druze all celebrate, and the only thing that is not inclusive is the traffic.
The Marshallese new year begins with church services, family gatherings, and the traditional meal of fish, rice, and breadfruit. The breadfruit is the staple of the Marshallese diet, and it is cooked in every way: boiled, baked, fried, and fermented. The new year is a time of renewal, and the tradition is to clean the house, pay off debts, and start fresh. The Marshallese are a church-going people (over 90% are Christian), and the new year begins with a prayer. On Majuro, families gather along the lagoon shore for picnics, and children play baseball and volleyball in the streets. The tradition of "first footing" : the first visitor to your home after midnight : is considered an omen for the year ahead. A cheerful visitor brings good luck; a grumbling one invites misfortune.