LAST week we looked at some Christmas traditions around the world and it wouldn't be fair if we didn't highlight the customs of the New Year's celebrations.

1. The French New Year is known as Jour des Étrennes or Day of New Year's Presents. In France, dinner parties are thrown for the entire family. People exchange presents and greeting cards.

2. In the Netherlands, people burn Christmas trees on street bonfires and let off fireworks to ring in the new year and as a way of driving out the spirits of the old year.

3. The Scots prepare for the new year by cleaning their houses. This was believed to have been a purification ritual. They would perform a ritual of burning juniper branches which they carried throughout the house so as to remove any lurking germs and diseases.

4. The Japanese celebrate the New Year on January 1, but they also keep their beliefs from Shinto their religion. To keep out evil spirits, they hang a rope of straw across the front of their houses, which stands for happiness and good luck.When the New Year begins, the Japanese people begin to laugh, and this is supposed to bring them good luck in the New Year.

5. In Greece, New Year is perhaps even more festive and important then Christmas as it is the main day for gift-giving and for stories of St Basil's (a forefather of the Greek Orthodox Church) kindness to children and the stories of how he would come in the night and leave gifts for the children in their shoes.

6. Romans prepare for the new year festival, which is known as January Kalends, by decorating their houses with lights and greenery. The festival lasts for three days, during this time they hold feasts and exchange gifts which were carefully chosen for their luck-bringing properties. Gifts include such things as sweets or honey to ensure sweetness and peace as well as Gold, Silver or money for prosperity.

7. In Brazil, the lentil is believed to signify wealth, so on the first day of the new year they serve lentil soup or lentils and rice.

8. The new year for the adults of Egypt, is a day for visiting friends. In some villages the father or the head of the family goes from house to house wishing each family a happy new year collecting people as they go, until they end up at the Mayor's house.

9. New year in Pakistan is known as Nowrooz or New Day. This day begins in March and traditionally represents the rebirth of nature after the long winter and is celebrated as a time of renewal.

10. In Switzerland, people celebrate Old Sylvester's Day on 13 January according to the Julian calendar. People go through the streets dressed in costumes and hats representing good and evil spirits. In Switzerland, people believe good luck comes from letting a drop of cream land on the floor New Year's Day. This was said to bring a year of overflowing abundance.

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