NEW YEAR 2006

The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations.

The most common modern celebrations are:
1 January : the first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar used by most developed countries.
Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew for 'head of the year') is a celebration that occurs 163 days following Pesach (Passover) (See Hebrew Calendar). In the Gregorian calendar at present, Rosh Hashanah cannot occur before 5 September, when it occurred in 1899 and will occur again in 2013. After the year 2089, the differences between the Hebrew Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar will force Rosh Hashanah to be not earlier than 6 September. Rosh Hashanah cannot occur later than 5 October, when it occurred in 1967 and will again occur in 2043.
The Chinese New Year occurs every year at a new moon during the winter. The exact date can fall anytime between 21 January and 21 February inclusive, on the Gregorian Calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is astronomically defined, unlike the Gregorian Calendar, the drift of the seasons will change the range. Each year is symbolized by one of 12 animals and one of five elements, with the combinations of animals and elements (or stems) cycling every 60 years. It is perhaps the most important Chinese holiday. The Chinese New Year is generally celebrated with firecrackers, and in some places with a parade.
The Vietnamese New Year is the Têt Nguyen Dan. It is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year.
The Tibetan New Year is Losar and falls from January through March.
In the Bahá'í calendar, the new year occurs on the vernal equinox on 21 March, and is called Naw-Rúz.
The Telugu New Year generally falls in the months of March or April. The people of Andhra Pradesh, India celebrate the advent of Lunar year this day.
The Thai New Year is celebrated from 13 April to 15 April by throwing water.
The Cambodian New Year is celebrated from 13 April to 15 April.
The Bengali New Year Poila Baisakh is celebrated on 14 April or 15 April in a festive manner in both Bangladesh and West Bengal.
The Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash, is celebrated on 11 September. It is currently 1998 on the Ethiopian calendar.
Some neo-pagans celebrate Samhain (a festival of the ancient Celts, held around November 1) as a new year's day representing the new cycle of the Wheel of the Year, although they do not use a different calendar that starts on this day.
The Hindu New Year is celebrated usually two days after the festival of Diwali (held in mid-November).
The Sunni Muslim New Year is celebrated on 1 Muharram. Since the Muslim calendar is based on 12 lunar months amounting to about 354 days, the Gregorian date of this is earlier each year. 2008 will see two Muslim New Years.
The Iranian New Year, called Norouz, is celebrated at the exact moment of the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring season.

New Year's Eve is a celebration held the day before New Year's Day, on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year.
New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day. In 20th-century Western practice, the celebration involves partying until the moment of the transition of the year, generally at local midnight. Drinking champagne is also a major part of the festivities.
Within many cultures the use of fireworks and other noise making is a major part of the celebration in cities such as London, Paris, Sydney, Edinburgh and Hong Kong.
New Year's Eve is a public non-working holiday in the following countries, among others: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico , the Philippines, and Venezuela.