8 alternative ways to celebrate the New Year
Fancy a more exotic celebration to welcome the New Year? We reveal eight ways to bring in 2015 in an alternative fashion
1. New Year celebration, Copacabana, Brazil
2. Akha New Year, Northern Thailand
3. Festival of the Sahara, Douz, Tunisia
4. The Fireballs, Stonehaven, Scotland
5. Junkanoo, Nassau, the Bahamas
Junkanoo has since developed into a full-blown carnival procession with elaborate costumes, themed music and competition prizes, but still reflects its African roots in the prevailing bold colours and pulsating rhythms of goat-skin drums, shrill whistles, horns and cowbells.
6. Losar, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
7. St Petersburg, Russia
Where: Dvortsovaya Square, St. Petersburg
When: New Year’s Eve
Most people celebrate the New Year with some form of firework display – whether it be the elaborate show in Sydney harbour, or a more modest affair in the local town. But there are subtle differences everywhere, and sometimes it’s those little nuances that make it special.
In St Petersburg, people gather to see the display above the partially-frozen Neva River before releasing paper lanterns into the sky.
8. Mount Takao, Japan
In Japan, a lot of people take to the mountains on New Year’s Eve in order to experience the first sunrise. Mount Takao is only about 50km away from Tokyo, so it’s probably the most convenient option if you want to join in. Trains go from the city, and you can take a cable car up to the foothills where you’ll be met by the hoards of people with whom you’ll be sharing the view. Welcome the dawn to the sound of conch shells from the nearby Yakyo-in temple.
