comparison between Ecuador, Scotland and Italy

year-end celebrations in Ecuador

in Ecuador, we say goodbye to the year that ends with old years, which are puppets made of old clothes or stick with newspaper. This represents all the good and bad things that happened to us during the year and we burned it at midnight and put firecrackers or explosives for it.
so burn it with enough noise and next year you come better things and the bad thing goes away.

The whole of Ecuador dresses up on the night of December 31 and practices various traditions and customs that harmonize family life and deepen hope in the benefits and satisfactions of the new year to come.
The main attraction is the burning of the famous old year, represented by a doll made with sewn and old clothes, filled with sawdust or paper, or made also with other materials; This can be a famous personage of politics, sports, or someone close to the family.



the widows in Ecuador

A short skirt, very heavy makeup

widows are men disguised as women and collect money to burn the old man. modeling in a car or bus painted with a strong lip, indicating his legs with beautiful months conquer the man



the preparation of the will.

people write a testament next to the old year because in this it wishes people a happy new year



burning of the old year

the burning of the old year is at 00:00 where people are going to give a strong arm for the new year while they burn the old year when they finish attending the dinner they have prepared.like for example they eat turkey accompanied by rice and potatoes



Artificial fires

They also tend to be one of the protagonists of the celebration of December 31, even more so when the clock shows 00:00 and the new year embraces us all.


There are many more traditions like eating the twelve grapes, wearing clothes of a certain color, going around in your house with a suitcase if you want to travel, lighting colored candles, but in short, the celebration to say goodbye to the old year in Ecuador is very abundant in customs and traditions of the country, besides being a very fun and original option to say goodbye to the year that passed and receive with much hope next year.




End of the year celebration in Scotland

the end of the Scottish year is celebrated even more than Christmas, which, after the Protestant Reformation, was not celebrated for centuries, and was not a holiday until 1958.
The Hogmanay, however, is enjoyed with two holidays, on January 1 and 2.

On December 31, the flames burst into the cold to ward off the evil spirits of the year and to release January with renewed enthusiasm. The Hogmanay tastes to outdoor shows, ceilidh, traditions, whiskey.




The Stonehaven fireball festival

One of the most special traditions is the Stonehaven Fireball Festival, a small town near Dunnottar Castle and Aberdeen.



At midnight on December 31, the carriers, or swingers, parade down the main street, High Street.
Around their bodies they spin fireballs made of wire and filled with a combustible mixture.

Following the beating of the drums and before the watchful eye of thousands of spectators, the bearers chase away the evil spirits with fire to start the new year on the right foot.

But fire is not the only element that determines luck for the new year. One of the most familiar traditions of Scottish New Year's Eve is that it is the first to cross the threshold of the door of a loved one's home after the Bells, midnight chimes.


The first person who visits you in the first hours or days of the new year is the first footer, and can mark the luck of the year that begins.



special activities

December 30 and 31 in Scotland continues to party. Organized performances of street theater, popular dances and discos.

On New Year's Eve in the cities he lit a magnificent display of fireworks. In Scotland there is an old tradition in burning the New Year barrel of tar, which by the slope and rolled down the street. This means that the burning of the old year and the opening of the New Year method. Observe this tradition to this day in some villages.

On the eve of the New Year in Scotland you can go to any house. Since ancient times, there is a tradition that opens the doors of houses at midnight, anyone can come and get warm by fire. Happiness is in the house brings a dark-haired man (the belief - a sweep of the fireplace), which was thrown into a coal fireplace. Coal means negasnuschy seat in the house. In the village at the end of the year they are meeting in the house and bringing a piece of coal.



Celebration of the end of the year in Italy

New Year's Eve is known there as San Silvestro, and on January 1 as Capodanno. Naturally, as in the rest of the world, people gather for dinner and the skies of the cities are filled with spectacular fireworks (which Marco Polo introduced into Europe through Italy, by the way). The atmosphere on the street is, as in Spain, cheerful and festive.

Typical dish by the end of the year

The first is to eat a plate of lentils during dinner to start the year well, a custom that derives from an old ritual consisting of giving a purse full of lentils to loved ones, hoping that one day these legumes will transform in coins, that is, in prosperity.

So lentils are not missing in the New Year's Eve menu of Italian houses, but almost nobody forgets to wear red underwear for the occasion, items that are usually given at Christmas and that, in this case guarantees a new year full of love . This custom is somewhat more modern but originally from Italy, although it has already spread to the rest of the world.





special activities
more fireworks use during the holidays. This tradition was inherited from Marco Polo, who, when he arrived in ancient China, encountered the invention of gunpowder and discovered that by mixing it with some coloring substances it could be used as an element of celebration on different occasions.

Festivities and Events of Italy in December  is a family event that begins at the end of November and continues until the  first week of December. This event is mainly for children, as there are many activities for them,                                                                                      including Babbo Natale, the father of Christmas, better known as Santa Claus or Santa    Claus. You can also find the town's birth, chocolate, music and lots of food.



Referencias
http://www.elcomercio.com/afull/tradicion-viudas-ecuador-anoviejo-consejos.html

http://www.cerolatitud.ec/2016/12/30/viejos-viudas-se-despide-al-ano-viejo-ecuador/

https://www.adipiscor.com/como/309/Tradiciones-de-fin-de-ano-en-Ecuador

https://masedimburgo.com/2013/12/27/tradiciones-del-hogmanay-la-nochevieja-en-escocia/

http://canalviajes.com/tradiciones-de-fin-de-ano-en-italia/