New Year’s Eve in Kurdistan

The New Year is almost here, and it came so fast. Does it feel that way? After all, 2021 passed by so quickly with its many sad and happy events.

The Kurdistan Region celebrates New Year’s Eve with various events and activities. There are marvelous fireworks, parties, gatherings, and live music. People decorate their homes while the government decorates some public attractions, such as Erbil Castle.

The traditional counting down of the last seconds of the year is also observed.

This year, people in the Kurdistan Region’s capital city, Erbil, are fully prepared to leave 2021 behind and welcome 2022.

“My friends and I and my family are ready for New Year’s Eve,” said Roj Azad, a local from Erbil. “We plan to eat outside and then go to the Citadel to enjoy our last moments of this year.”

Thousands of tourists pour into Erbil for New Year’s Eve.

“I have come with my family by car,” said Haidar Kazim, a tourist from Baghdad. “But I know my friends came by bus. We will meet here and enjoy our time in Erbil.”

New Year’s is celebrated in many unique ways by various different cultures.

Some countries’ have New Year’s traditions that may seem obscure to some. For example, in Greece people traditionally hang an onion on their front doors to symbolize rebirth. Then, on New Year’s Day, parents wake their children by tapping them on the head with that onion.

In Finland, people try to predict what will happen in the next year by casting molten tin in a water container and then interpreting what the resulting shape might mean.

Panamanians burn effigies (locally known as muñecos) of well-known people in the country to drive away evil spirits and have a fresh start in the New Year. The effigies symbolize the year passed.

Danish people welcome in the New Year by throwing old plates and glasses against the doors of their family and friends as a way to banish bad spirits.

A Spanish tradition involves eating 12 grapes, each one symbolizing a different month of the New Year. This is supposed to represent good luck. Similarly, in the Philippines, it is common for families to eat exactly 12 round fruits (most commonly grapes) at midnight.