Among the world's myriad cultures and their associated calendars, the idea of a New Year is relative and hardly specifies a universal celebration or even a universal point in time. Ways of celebrating the New Year range from the observances of religious rituals and superstitions to social gatherings featuring particular foods, music, dancing, noisemaking, fireworks and drinking.
This first encyclopedia devoted exclusively to the New Year includes 320 entries that give a global perspective on the New Year, beyond its traditional Western associations with Christmas. National or regional...