On the night from December 31 to January 1, residents of the United Kingdom celebrate the arrival of the New Year. This holiday is traditionally celebrated with family and friends, greeting the first minutes of the new year with an old song based on the words of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, ‘Auld lang syne’.
The party can continue well past midnight, until the very beginning of the new year. It is customary to make New Year’s resolutions, for example, to achieve a goal or quit a bad habit.
In Scotland, the celebration of the New Year is called Hogmanay
On Burns Night, many Scots have a special dinner in honor of Robert Burns, with the reading of this poet’s poems. Men may wear a kilt, bagpipes sound, and almost always on the table is haggis (a traditional Scottish pudding made from lamb’s offal: heart, liver, and lungs) with turnips (neeps) and potatoes (tatties).
Outside of Asia, London has the most lavish New Year celebrations. There’s a parade in Chinatown (West End) with music, acrobats and dancers, a food fair and fireworks. But the celebrations don’t stop there: there are celebrations all over the country. Other cities that host lavish street parades include Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Birmingham.