Take Away English-New Year Celebrations 新年庆典

It's midnight - let's start kissing!





The New Year is a time for celebrations for almost everyone around the world. In Britain, people go to pubs and nightclubs to dance the old year away, and to welcome in the new one at midnight. Everyone wants to kiss someone special (boyfriend, girlfriend or even a complete stranger!) as the bells ring out at midnight.

In recent years, street parties have become more popular. Hundreds, or even thousands of people gather in squares, main streets or on the river banks to listen to bands playing and to see fabulous 1 fireworks displays.

For people who stay at home, most watch special, live New Year shows on TV and countdown, along with the presenters 2, from 10 to 1 as the last seconds of the old year tick away and the bells of the New Year are rung.

In Scotland New Year's Eve is called "Hogmanay". At midnight, people visit their neighbours and drink, dance and generally have a good time or have in Scottish what's called "a celeidhi" (pronounced "kay-lay").

If you're invited to a Scottish home on Hogmanay it’s important to know what to bring with you: a lump of coal, some shortbread and some whisky.

But what do these gifts mean? Well, the coal signifies 3 warmth so you're wishing that the people you visit will have enough heat in the coming year. The shortbread, represents food, so you're hoping that the people will have enough to eat in the New Year. And the whisky? Well, that's easy. Some Scots call whisky "the water of life", so when you hand over your bottle to your hosts, it means you want them to have enough to drink over the next 12 months.

And you might think your duties as a guest end there. But there's one more key task you still have to perform if you can. The first person to knock on a neighbour's door (or "first foot" them as they say in Scotland), is supposed to be a tall, dark, handsome man. If you are, you'll bring good luck to the household. But what if that's not you? Well, don't ring the bell just yet. To make sure you don't bring bad luck to your friends, wait a while and the right person is bound to turn up soon!

GLOSSARY 词汇表

celebrations
庆祝

bells ring out at midnight
钟声在午夜敲响

river banks
河边

presenters
主持人

New Year's Eve
新年除夕

shortbread
苏格兰式饼干

signifies
代表

the water of life
生命之水

hosts
主人

key task
主要任务

to dance the old year away
用舞步送走旧的一年

squares
广场

count down
倒计时

tick away
使(分秒)在滴答声中溜走

a lump of coal
一大块煤炭

whisky
威士忌酒

the coming year
来年

hand over
递交

duties
职责

bound to turn up
肯定会出现