The New Year greeting is a way to express joy and friendliness to each other. However, the way people greet each other in the world is different and has many different meanings.
In the mountains of northern India, the custom of New Year is the custom of meeting each other on the first day of the year, or to congratulate each other, people often rub their noses together. The stronger the nose brush, the more lucky and successful business will be… And the Maori people in New Zealand will bang their foreheads to show goodwill. The more painful it is, the more “luck” in the new year.
The stronger the nose brush, the more luck and smooth business will be…
When Israelites (Jewish) meet each other on New Year’s Day, they bow down, raise their hands to their ears, and greet each other with the word “shalom” , which means “peace”. The Japanese also maintain the custom when greeting each other, they stand and bend down a few times, then ask questions about health, about jobs. The Indians, after bending down, put their hands on their chests to show respect to the guests.
In former Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic) it was customary to splash water at the beginning of the year. The boys splashed water on the girl he noticed. Of course, the girls did not object, but were delighted! In Myanmar on the first day of the year, young and old, boys and girls all splash water on each other. They believe that the more wet the clothes, the luckier they are. In big cities like Rangun and Mandalay, there are water containers along the streets, boys and girls are always waiting for passersby to splash water to celebrate their birthday. In Thailand and Laos, there is also the custom of splashing water at the beginning of the year because they believe that water is a source of happiness, so it is best to meet at the beginning of the year to celebrate with a few buckets of water to wash away all bad luck in the old year!
In northern Africa, some tribes living in Morocco, Angieri and Tunisia when they meet each other at the beginning of the new year, they immediately sit down on the ground, take off their shoes, and then visit and congratulate each other… Touch lightly in the palm of your hand. When Malaysians greet each other at the beginning of the new year, they only lightly touch the palm of their hand, then retract their hand and press it to the heart for a few seconds to show that the greeting has been received. sincerely. When two people greet each other, the older person receives the greeting first.
When two people greet each other, the older person receives the greeting first.
If you meet a woman, remember that in Malaysia as a Muslim country, touching a woman is very taboo, so the man has to wait for the woman to hold out her hand first. If you wait forever and don’t see the woman holding out her hand, you have to accept it! You never put your hand out first, if you don’t want to be “spoiled”! Some Muslim ethnic groups such as Indonesians, Iranians, Turkish… also have the same greetings at the beginning of the year as Malaysians.
In North Korea, when meeting each other on New Year’s Day, people often make fists, raise their fists and hold out an index finger to greet each other.
Ethnic groups living in the mountains have the custom that when meeting each other at the beginning of the new year, people have to stick their tongues out and then use their teeth to bite their tongues, then shake their heads a few times to greet each other and then talk.
In some islands in the Philippines, it is customary to meet each other on New Year’s Eve, the first thing to do is to bite each other’s shoulders, the more painful the bite, the more passionate, attached, and earnest feelings are expressed… It’s true to the saying Proverb: “Love each other, bite each other hurts!”.
When close friends meet at the beginning of the new year, people greet each other with passionate kisses. However, the kiss must always be in the right place, not everywhere. Parents kiss their children on the forehead, friends kiss on both cheeks, boys and girls kiss each other on the lips… In France, the elite greet each other, gentlemen often kiss ladies’ hands. Although it is a hand kiss, it is not a real kiss but only a symbolic one, letting a gentleman’s nose touch the skin of a lady’s hand is… impolite!
This welcome ceremony seems to be quite sporty!
A unique greeting that cannot be ignored belongs to the warriors of the Masai tribe in Kenya. They will welcome newcomers with dance moves, then form a circle and compete with each other to decide who will be the highest jumper.
Whether you are an acquaintance or a stranger when coming to your home, Mongolians also use hada (ritual towels) to greet. When the householder approaches with the hada, you just need to gently hold the silk ribbon with both hands and slowly lower your body. This is a traditional greeting and very important to the indigenous people, it shows everyone’s respect for Mongolian culture.