Countries in which the New Year is not a holiday Bashny.Net

Saudi Arabia

Religious police in Saudi Arabia Al Mutawa and warned citizens residing in the territory of the Kingdom of foreigners to ban the celebration of the New Year. A special unit of law enforcement, alerting about the inadmissibility of the celebration, is guided by a fatwa (religious decree in Islam), issued by the Supreme Committee of the Saudi ulema (Islamic preachers) as Muslims follow a lunar calendar.
Police appeal to shops selling flowers and gifts, so that it did not sell a number of products which can be purchased on the occasion of this holiday. Al Mutawa is closely monitoring the implementation of standards in the highly conservative Saudi Arabia. Often, however, recorded cases of abuse of authority on the part of the agency that, in particular, resulted in casualties.
New Year in the Islamic calendar, is celebrated on the vernal equinox March 21, which corresponds to almost always the first day of the holy month of Muharram. Chronology is from the Hegira (July 16, 622 BC. E.) - The date of relocation of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Muslims from Mecca to Medina.





Israel

In Israel, January 1 is also a normal working day, unless of course the first day of the new year does not happen on Saturday - a sacred day for the Jews. Celebrate your New Year as the Israelites in the autumn - the new moon of the month of Tishrei on the Hebrew calendar (September or October). It called the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. It is celebrated for 2 days. And with its celebration in Israel it involves a lot of traditions, rituals and ceremonies.
As a rule, the tradition of celebrating the New Year in the sense in which he understood in Europe and North America, supported living in Israel, the Russian diaspora. And here everyone gets out, he can. People are trying to take a day off work and traditionally celebrate with family and friends. Who is going home, and someone goes to a Russian restaurant.
Some Israelis believe that celebrating celebrate the day of Saint Sylvester Catholic, which falls on December 31. Therefore, the country is often called New Year "Sylvester".



Iran

January 1 - not a holiday in Iran. Country living at its own calendar. For example, now in Iran is 1392. Iranian Calendar or Solar Hijra - an astronomical solar calendar, which was developed with the participation of Omar Khayyam, and since then several times were clarified.
New Year is celebrated in Iran on the calendar on the first day of spring, March 22 that corresponds to the Gregorian calendar. Celebration of New Year in Iran is called Nowruz (or Norouz), and the first month of spring is called Favardin.
By the way, Nowruz is celebrated not only in Iran but also in many countries where had pretty "legacy" of the ancient Persians. For example, a year Nowruz begins in Afghanistan. Together since January 1, Nowruz is celebrated in Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Macedonia.



India

In India as a multicultural celebrations that if would all celebrate it would be no time to work. Therefore, some of them became "holiday of choice." These days all institutions and offices are open, but employees can take time off. It is to such holidays is January 1.
In addition, the Indian subcontinent, there are several options for celebrating the arrival of the New Year.
March 22 comes the new year on a single national calendar of India. In Maharashtra it is celebrated under the name Goody Padva, and in Andhra Pradesh state his name Ugadi. In Kerala celebrate New Year on April 13. He is known as Vishu. Sikhs in the day, celebrating their New Year - Vaysakhi. In South India, the fall is widely celebrate Divapali which also means the arrival of the new year.



China

New Year - in China (where now called Yuan-tribute) passes quite quickly. Only in the large department stores and shopping centers, paying tribute to Western traditions, put somewhere shiny artificial Christmas trees and Santa Claus doll and the Chinese sent their Western friends electronic Christmas cards. And that is done by Christmas, but not for the New Year.
"Yuan-tribute" - then the first, the initial day of the year (Yuan - means "beginning", a tribute to - "Dawn", or simply "day"). New Year in China until the 20th century was reckoned by the lunar, not on our usual calendar and Yuan tribute celebrated the first day of the first lunar month.
September 27, 1949 the Government of the newly established People's Republic of China has decided to call the first day of the lunar calendar, "Spring Festival" (Chun Jie) and January 1 of the Western calendar - "Yuan tribute." Since that time, January 1 became an official national holiday in China. Even today, the Chinese still do not celebrate this day, perceiving it as a holiday, which marks the change of years. "Western" New Year - not a competitor to the moon, or the Spring Festival.



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