Celebrating the New Year is an international event. Depending on the geography, for some it comes earlier, for some later, but it is always greeted with its own rules and customs. For example, someone throws old equipment out of the window with special zeal. In another country, residents diligently make noise or, conversely, extinguish the light in order to kiss their neighbor in the silence (and darkness) at a feast. Russians, with bated breath, count the beats of the chimes until midnight, while the Nepalese, on the contrary, calmly go to bed to get up with the first rays of the sun, paint themselves with patterns and dance in the street.
Spain
In 1897, there was an oversupply of grapes in Spain. The fruits had to be put somewhere, and on the night of December 31 to January 1, baskets of berries were taken to the central square of Madrid. Each passer-by could take for himself as many grapes as he wished. People began to feast on juicy berries right on the street while the clock chimed. It is believed that it was then that the tradition of eating exactly 12 grapes appeared at the time of the transition from the Old Year to the New. For this reason, the berries began to symbolize wealth, happiness and health. Nowadays, closer to the New Year, Spanish shops even sell ready-made boxes of 12 grapes. Agree, is it convenient?
While eating berries, you need to remember all your cherished dreams and, if you keep within the chimes, your wishes will certainly come true. In words, all this seems easy, but in reality it turns out to be not so easy. So if you want to celebrate the New Year in Spanish, go to Madrid to Puerta del Sol, where each of those present will hold grapes in one hand and a glass of cava in the other.
And yet, New Year's Eve is not limited to only twelve grapes. During the entire time of the festivities, you will need to eat as many berries as possible in order to surely scare away evil spirits and accumulate a lot of money. The city that night smells of excitement, juice of burst grapes and sizzling cava. Just like the aroma of Unguentum, Onyrico is a tightly knocked, dense white grape, touched by a light European frost. Or warm, drunken, honeyed, slightly fermented juice in a bottle of Inside Out, The Gate. The apogee of fun is the aroma of Phenicia, Heeley - rich, sweet, enveloping in the sweetness of honey and dates.
Oriental fragrance Unguentum, Onyrico with notes of wormwood, tea, grapes, cinnamon, honey, saffron and vanilla
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Scotland
Tradition instructs all Scots to do a general cleaning at home and distribute all debts by December 31 in order to start a new life in the morning. When all the important things are done, the townspeople go out at night to celebrate Hogmanay with all the honors. On the streets, the holiday is greeted with the classic song "The Good Old Time" by Robert Burns, holding hands. Also, according to custom, everyone lights torches to arrange a spectacular procession, or, in a hooligan fashion, sets fire to barrels of tar, rolling them merrily and noisily along the streets of Edinburgh.
According to the ancient pagan belief, fire drives away evil spirits and invites the New Year to enter its rightful domain. On the streets this night, despite the heat and soot, it smells like the comfort of puffing chimneys. Coeur de Noir, designed by drummer Prodigy for Beaufort London, smells solemn - with lights, sparks, the heat of flaming torches, dripping black tar and strong rum soaked through the holiday puddings. The scent of 1740 Marquis de Sade, Histoires de Parfums conveys the atmosphere of a morning after a night of fun - smoky, fresh and cozy. And ReplicBy The Fireplace, Maison Margiela, is like a couch potato - with crackling wood in the fireplace and sincere memories.
Leather scent Coeur de Noir, Beaufort London with notes of rum, ink, ginger, vanilla, cedar, tobacco and tar
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Vietnam
Paradoxically, New Year in Vietnam is the Spring Festival. Blossoming peach branches - a symbol of the New Year - should be in every home. The kids will look forward to midnight to start firecrackers, and the adults will go to the pond to release the live carp bought in advance.
In Vietnam, New Year is celebrated according to the lunar calendar, between January 21 and February 19, when early spring comes here. At the festive table there is always an abundance of flowers, the main of which is the blooming peach. On this night, quarrels are forgotten and offenses are forgiven. Locals believe that a god lives in every house, and on New Year's Day this god goes to heaven to tell there how each of the family members spent the outgoing year.
It has long been believed in the East that the best water for brewing aromatic tea is that glass from peach petals. Trees during flowering are unusually beautiful and distinctive here. Before the advent of modern cosmetics, the local nobility used water infused with peach flowers for washing (perhaps it was from that time that the statement that delicate skin looks like a peach was strengthened). Its flower has a delicate and unique scent. Fragrances with this note are considered voluminous, sillage, sensual and incredibly feminine. The delicacy of a fragile flower in Dia, Amouage - protected by fragrant flowers, impeccable posture and royal descent. Young and cheerful Fleur de Pecher, Karl Lagerfeld smells not only of a flower, but also of juicy pulp at the rift. And the multifaceted Chinatown from Bond No. 9 - calm and peaceful,with the smoke of altars, lemongrass stalks and warm, moist air.
Floral fragrance DiWoman, Amouage with notes of aldehydes, cyclamen, tarragon, sage, fig, Turkish rose, peony, peach, sandalwood, heliotrope and musk
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Romania
It is customary to celebrate the New Year in Romania (Anul Nou) with the family, decorate the house with spruce and mistletoe branches and light a wax candle all night, "so that happiness can enter the house." One of the most ancient and colorful customs is a kind of carols. As soon as it gets dark, a group of kids in ram hats and with whips in their hands go home, read a plowman's carol and draw with sticks in the snow, imitating the first furrow. As a reward, children receive aromatic pastries, nuts, apples and sweets.
Romanian girls on New Year's Eve are usually busy with fortune telling. Only they known manipulations with water, wax, salt and basil sprigs reveal to them all the wisdom of finding a betrothed. A night full of mysteries, small fears and magical discoveries can be reflected in the aromas of Chene, Serge Lutens (a mysterious, forest guest with an armful of herbs, brushwood and stories), Basilico & Fellini, Vilhelm Parfumerie (a breathtaking ritual dance) and Eisbach, Leng Ling (the intrigue of the evening framed by wax stains, quivering reflections and crowded leaves of fragrant basil).
Woody aroma of Chene, Serge Lutens with notes of caraway, oak, rum, birch, thyme, beeswax
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Japan
On New Year's Eve, Japanese children hide under their pillows a picture of a sailing ship on which seven fairy-tale wizards - seven patrons of happiness - are sailing. 108 bells ringing to herald the arrival of the New Year in Japan. According to a long-standing belief, each ringing removes one of the human vices. According to the Japanese, there are six vices (greed, anger, stupidity, frivolity, indecision and envy), only each of them has 18 varieties - so the Japanese bell rings 108 times for them.
In the first seconds of the New Year, you should laugh, because it brings good luck. And for happiness to come into the house, it (the house) needs to be properly decorated - with lanterns, bamboo, Japanese pine. The most popular New Year's accessory is the rake.
Every Japanese person believes that it is necessary to have them so that there is something to rake in happiness for the New Year. A rake made of bamboo stalks - kumade - is decorated with drawings and talismans. The house smells of fresh bamboo wood, rice flour and pine needles all day.
Hinoki is a cypress coniferous tree. Its scent is unobtrusive and soothing, known for its ability to relieve stress and clear the mind. Scent One: Hinoki, a reclusive, detached and meditative fragrance, reflects and philosophizes on the theme of hinoki in an innovative manner characteristic of Comme des Garcons. The needles in Onsen MiN New York are even more believable - wet, green, flavored with steam from Japanese springs and thorny snowflakes. Aromas with a note of bamboo are distinguished by a woody-herbaceous trail, which is appreciated for its lightness, coolness, unobtrusiveness, subtle freshness and modesty. They often resemble the smell of a rainforest after a rain. It is such a waterfall of green thickets that is felt in a fresh tub of rainwater Fleur de Bambu, IL Profvmo. Champaca, Ormonde Jayne, thanks to the work of perfumer Geza Schoen,explores the otherworldly freshness of bamboo. Its sound in the composition is unexpectedly multifaceted - biting and sonorous in the beginning, fluffy and tickling in the base. The aroma of rice in perfumery is soft and delicate. Rice notes give the composition a roundness, varying between its powdery and creamy edges.
Despite the recognizable notes, the rice aroma can come from any family - floral, fruity, green, fougere or woody. The feminine scent of Dorina, Dorin smells of silk, porcelain leather, the scent of powder and lipstick. The rice flower wakes up in the trail when the selfish rose and violet finally play enough of their cruel games. Despite the gourmand composition of the notes, Poudre de Riz is not cloying at all. Imagine as if you came on a date with a bouquet of rosebuds under the windows of the still operating confectionery factories "Red October" or "Bolshevik". It smells like love, joy and creamy toffee.
Woody-chypre fragrance Onsen MiN New York with notes of wormwood, bergamot, hinoki, cypress, vetiver, sandalwood, oakmoss and amber
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Photo: Press Services Archives, Getty Images
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