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Brief Photo Retrospective of Global New Year and Christmas Celebrations

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While there are many different holidays across the world, there is one that virtually all countries have in common – the New Year celebrations.
Even though the exact date of this moment may differ from country to country - usually depending on what calendar is used – practically every nation around the globe celebrates the beginning of a new yearly cycle.
For some countries with Christian heritage, the celebration of New Year's Eve is also intrinsically linked with the celebration of Christmas, as the two holidays are only a week apart in the western tradition.
This gallery offers you an opportunity to take a look at how New Year and Christmas celebrations looked like in Europe, Asia and the Americas in the 20th century.
© Sputnik / Vsevolod Tarasevich / Go to the mediabank

Iranian New Year (Nowruz) celebration in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. 1987.

Iranian New Year (Nowruz) celebration in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. 1987. - Sputnik International
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Iranian New Year (Nowruz) celebration in the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. 1987.

© Photo : Public domain

A Manchu businessman in Newchwang (now Yingkou) in Liaoning in the early republican period performing the Han Chinese ceremonies attending the eve of the Chinese New Year. After the ceremony for the Kitchen God, who spies on the household during the year for the Jade Emperor, he welcomes the God of Wealth Cai Shen to the courtyard of his home. After the ceremony, the doors of the compound are closed tightly to prevent the god's escape.

A Manchu businessman in Newchwang (now Yingkou) in Liaoning in the early republican period performing the Han Chinese ceremonies attending the eve of the Chinese New Year. After the ceremony for the Kitchen God, who spies on the household during the year for the Jade Emperor, he welcomes the God of Wealth Cai Shen to the courtyard of his home. After the ceremony, the doors of the compound are closed tightly to prevent the god's escape. - Sputnik International
2/14

A Manchu businessman in Newchwang (now Yingkou) in Liaoning in the early republican period performing the Han Chinese ceremonies attending the eve of the Chinese New Year. After the ceremony for the Kitchen God, who spies on the household during the year for the Jade Emperor, he welcomes the God of Wealth Cai Shen to the courtyard of his home. After the ceremony, the doors of the compound are closed tightly to prevent the god's escape.

© Photo : Public domain/Marjory Collins

New York. Blowing horns on Bleeker Street on New Year's Day.

New York. Blowing horns on Bleeker Street on New Year's Day. - Sputnik International
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New York. Blowing horns on Bleeker Street on New Year's Day.

© AP Photo

A boy holds a turkey his family is raising for the Christmas feast in Mexico City on Dec. 10, 1964.

A boy holds a turkey his family is raising for the Christmas feast in Mexico City on Dec. 10, 1964. - Sputnik International
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A boy holds a turkey his family is raising for the Christmas feast in Mexico City on Dec. 10, 1964.

© Sputnik / Vladimir Fedorenko / Go to the mediabank

People dressed as Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) wish a girl a happy New Year. Moscow, 1985.

People dressed as Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) wish a girl a happy New Year. Moscow, 1985. - Sputnik International
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People dressed as Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) wish a girl a happy New Year. Moscow, 1985.

© Photo : Public domain

Celebration of Tết, the Vietnamese Festival of the First Day of the Year, by Vietnamese students in the University of Warsaw.

Celebration of Tết, the Vietnamese Festival of the First Day of the Year, by Vietnamese students in the University of Warsaw. - Sputnik International
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Celebration of Tết, the Vietnamese Festival of the First Day of the Year, by Vietnamese students in the University of Warsaw.

© AFP 2023

People gather on the Champs Elysees in Paris on January 1, 1970, to celebrate New Year.

People gather on the Champs Elysees in Paris on January 1, 1970, to celebrate New Year. - Sputnik International
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People gather on the Champs Elysees in Paris on January 1, 1970, to celebrate New Year.

© AP Photo / British Official Photo

Burmese villagers display their traditional dances at a Christmas party for British troops in Burma on Feb. 4, 1945.

Burmese villagers display their traditional dances at a Christmas party for British troops in Burma on Feb. 4, 1945. - Sputnik International
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Burmese villagers display their traditional dances at a Christmas party for British troops in Burma on Feb. 4, 1945.

© AFP 2023 / Derrick Ceyrac

Afghan children attend the celebrations of the first day of the New Year on March 21, 1989 at the amusement park, in Kabul.

Afghan children attend the celebrations of the first day of the New Year on March 21, 1989 at the amusement park, in Kabul. - Sputnik International
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Afghan children attend the celebrations of the first day of the New Year on March 21, 1989 at the amusement park, in Kabul.

© AP PhotoIn the country districts of Romania it is the custom to herald in the New Year with fetes, in which traditional dances play an important part. Romanian country folk, wearing national dress, doing a country dance during the fete, on Jan. 1, 1937, to herald in the New Year.
Румынские деревенские жители, одетые в национальную одежду, танцуют во время празднования наступлении Нового года, 1937 год - Sputnik International
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In the country districts of Romania it is the custom to herald in the New Year with fetes, in which traditional dances play an important part. Romanian country folk, wearing national dress, doing a country dance during the fete, on Jan. 1, 1937, to herald in the New Year.
© Photo : Nationaal Archief

Japanese New Year's Eve custom: The traditionally dressed monks herald the passing of the Old Year (by counting down the last seconds with an hourglass) and the coming of the New Year by celebrating the young greenery of the bush in the middle. Japan, 1932.

Japanese New Year's Eve custom: The traditionally dressed monks herald the passing of the Old Year (by counting down the last seconds with an hourglass) and the coming of the New Year by celebrating the young greenery of the bush in the middle. Japan, 1932. - Sputnik International
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Japanese New Year's Eve custom: The traditionally dressed monks herald the passing of the Old Year (by counting down the last seconds with an hourglass) and the coming of the New Year by celebrating the young greenery of the bush in the middle. Japan, 1932.

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New Year celebration in Berlin. 1977.

© AP Photo / Ahn Young-joonRepresentatives of civic groups beat a huge bell during a ceremony in celebration of New Year at the Boshin Tower in Seoul Thursday, Jan. 1, 1998. A debilitating financial crisis made most South Koreans feel they had little to celebrate.
Представители общественных организаций бьют в огромный колокол во время церемонии празднования Нового года в башне Бошин в Сеуле, 1998 год - Sputnik International
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Representatives of civic groups beat a huge bell during a ceremony in celebration of New Year at the Boshin Tower in Seoul Thursday, Jan. 1, 1998. A debilitating financial crisis made most South Koreans feel they had little to celebrate.
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Ernst Schäfer/German Federal Archives / Tibetexpedition, Neujahrsfest Lhasa

Tibetans in national costumes during New Year celebrations. 1938

Tibetans in national costumes during New Year celebrations. 1938 - Sputnik International
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Tibetans in national costumes during New Year celebrations. 1938

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