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New Year’s rites, how to start 2021 under the best auspices

They were called strenae the gifts that the ancient Romans used to exchange at the beginning of the year, the beginning indicated by Julius Caesar on the first of January in that calendar which is still the basis of ours. And still today between the last day of the year and New Year We exchange greetings and propitiatory rites even if we no longer donate figs accompanied by laurel twigs like the strennas, from the forest of the divinity Strenia.

There are rites to cast out the evil one at the end of the year.

They burn the old (year) in the form of puppet many Italian cities and also many foreign populations. There are those who shoot shots in the air and those who throw pieces of burning wood, as well as throw the broken dishes out of the windows.

In Belgium Happy New Year greetings to trees and livestock. In Ireland, as was done with the fire of Vesta in ancient Rome, the new fire is lit from which then all the others are lit. And so on.

A good omen are the proverbs. «New year, new life», «Good ending and better beginning». Then there are the rituals from the kiss under the mistletoe a cotechino and lentils on the table because every self-respecting company puts it in place to start the new year in the best possible way. Obviously with a toast at midnight.

Above some rites for the new year, from Italy and the rest of the world.

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