New Year Around the World

Your takeaway at the end of this lesson: enough vocabulary and well-managed ideas to confidently discuss how and why the New Year traditions are different around the world.

Have you ever splashed water, flown lantern, or planted seeds to celebrate the New Year? Speaking about the New Year traditions can remind us of Songkran Water Splashing Festival in Thailand or Yuan Xiao Lantern Festival in China. The beginning of the New Year is celebrated in many other ways in different parts of the world. Some countries and cultures place more significance on a lunar cycle for New Year celebrations, while others honor their own calendars.

Nepal, Ethiopia and Iran are just a few examples of them. Various religions mark the New Year on different days, too, and have their own rituals to welcome an auspicious start in a solemn and thoughtful manner. There are many more worldwide celebrations that you may not have ever heard of, but taking time to learn about just a few more when possible is invaluable to gaining a better understanding of the world.

In this lesson you are going to learn more to speak in English about how and why people observe the New Year traditions differently in the world.

Related topics: 

Culture Shock

Emigration; a Dream Come True!

Speaking of Food and Culture

Click here to know how to join the VIP groups for weekly discussion opportunities. Practice with a group of English learners who are serious about improving their speaking and communication skills.