New Year

              Each of us has a favorite holiday. For me, one of the most important and most popular holiday  is the New Year.

              This festival has a great story. Since ancient times, people celebrated the New Year. However, every nation and every country have their own way to celebate it. For example, during the excavations of ancient Egyptian pyramids, archaeologists found the vessel on which was written: "The beginning of the year." In ancient Egypt the New Year was celebrating during the flood of the Nile River (around the end of September). Spill the Nile was very important, because  the corns could grow in the dry desert. The new year statue of the god Amun, his wife and son were placed in the boat. The boat floated down the Nile month, accompanied by singing, dancing and merriment. Then the statue have made back to the temple. Also the Romans in the BC began to give Christmas gifts and have fun all night long New Year, wishing each other happiness, luck and prosperity.
               In ancient Rus (now Russia) New Year celebrated on March 1st. This date is considered the beginning of the revival of nature and the expectation of the new crop. It was only in 1699, when Peter I, returned from a trip to Europe and ordered count the years from January 1.
Now, for most people in Russia, New Year is a family holiday. Meeting him, we must carry out the old year. To do this, the whole family, relatives, friends, sit down at the table and remember what happened in the past year. We seemed to leave all the bad things in the old year and enter the new year with a light of hope.
                An important part of the festival is a feast and gifts. There is a sign of "A good year beginning makes the whole year good." Therefore, every woman is trying to put on the table as many dishes as she can make.
                As for gifts, they are bringing great pleasure to both adults and children. Children believe that the Father Frost (Replacement of Santa Claus) give them the gifts. He has a granddaughter, the Snow Maiden, who helps him. Typically, children usually find the gifts under the New Year tree.
                 In addition,  since I can remember, none of the New Year is complete without fireworks. The whole sky is in the bright lights and during the clinking of glasses you make a wish, which will necessarily  come true in the New Year.