I can still feel the New Year’s spirit all around – even though the holidays are already over. Thus, I am continuing this topic! This time I was so blessed to spend my Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve in Italy! I have never been there before and was so excited about this travel! But, to be completely honest, I felt a bit confused as well because I have never had experience of celebrating New Year‘ Eve without my family. And in this entry, I will share my typical New Year’s Eve in Kazakhstan.
I suppose, every family has its own traditions which our family had plenty of. Firstly, we always celebrate this evening in a BIG company – all relatives, friends, colleagues gather together to feast. We also believe that on New Year’s Eve there should be abundance of food and drink on the table. This will ensure prosperity in the house in the New year. Another tradition is very common in Kazakhstan and Russia – you should definitely try it! Before the clock strikes 12, prepare a very small piece of paper and a pencil. When the clock strikes, quickly write down your wish, burn the paper, put the ashes into a glass of champagne and drink it while the clock is chiming. Then the wish will definitely come true! (with a bit of a health and safety risk! haha) Trust me, I can guarantee you based on my own experience, it will come true but it should be your cherished dream!
A bit more complicated ritual can only be met in our family, I am sure. We made up it and keep this tradition one of the most important to do in the New Year. This ritual takes place after chiming clock, after everybody congratulated, hugged and kissed everybody! Everybody write an extended list of wishes, hopes and aims which he/she wants to achieve in a notebook and afterwards we put the notebook in a safe place till the next year eve! We believe that the start of the New Year should be positive and motivating, thus this notes for yourself is a great opportunity to get an inspiration! In the next year we usually open this notebook and everyone read it (for himself only). In my experience, most of the aims (yeah i prefer not write wishes but rather set up goals in that list) always got achieved. Something, obviously, not, but 365 days is not a short period – you and your thoughts can change, something you once dreamed of can become such a pointless and needless thing for you in that time! And this is actually trilling to meet past yourself in this notebook after one year time!