Therefore, we celebrate the new year

"New year's eve – this year's big kalenderfest"

"the new year is the year of both the last and first major kalenderfest. nFirar we make any luxury, accompanied by fireworks and champagne.nSå, it has not always been. To dress up and eat extravagant for new year became common for less than a hundred years ago. Before that, it was new year's eve, most closely associated with fortune-telling, superstition and magic."

"– the Celebration as we know it is fairly new. It is an anglo-saxon tradition who came here first in the late 1800s, tells the ethnologist Jonas Engman at the Nordic museum. "

"Before that suited the common people most to be on a night that was considered magical in the same way as machinery. With the help of various rituals you could find out how big the harvest would be, who you would marry or who would die."

"– It was very much about to take out tydor. In the summer you could roll in the dew and see the future, or put seven kinds of flowers under the pillow. In the winter there was more to read of the weather, " says Jonas Engman. "

"the Story behind ”Happy new year”"

"the new year ended up in the middle of winter can depend on the romans, who decided to start the roman new year in the winter because it was militärstrategiskt appropriate. "

"– It may be that the roman influence in Europe has had a significant impact. But we have no idea how it transported here. There are historical parallels, but I would probably refrain from taking them, " says Jonas Engman."

"He points out instead that the new year is a mixture of different influences and people's need of spectacular rituals have existed in all times. "

" – the Rituals picks up existential questions. They are all about borders. Between people and animals, between healthy and sick, life and death. There are things that recur, and we know that people are always portrayed this, not least the ritual. "

"Ultimately, this is all the ritual partying through the ages that the gods will get sight of one. And in order to succeed, you may defy the everyday life in a spectacular way."

"The modern man has boiled it down to a few celebrations where the new year is literally slamming."

"– It should be expensive and it should be festive. And we are challenging still. We defy our economy. We eat more than we should, we are defying the health and do everything possible, to show that we can, " says Jonas Engman."

"For a modern american, it is, of course, is not whether to communicate with the gods. But the rituals are fixed. We are corks up the sparkling wine at the stroke of midnight and would like to toast outside in the cold even if the frost bites. "

"– We do it because we think it is important. We defy still. We do it to show that we can."

"Source: the Nordic museum."