The state of Washington celebrates its New Year according to Georgian calendar on January 1, in concord with rest of the United States. Apart from the customary celebrations, the traditional New Year celebrations as made in Washington are highly drawn from the traditions of United States.
New Year Celebrations in Washington
Washington offers enormous number of pleasurable things to be a part of, during the time of New Year. Washington hosts number of gala events during the New Years time, which offers enormous options to the party lovers to choose from. Most of these parties have great food, the finest qualities of wine, and the best music to dance on.
Also, some of them put across live shows of musicians, dancers, vocalists, and acrobats for adding extra aspects of vigor to the entire celebrations. People love to dance all night, and be in the company of their friends and family members.
Usually, most of the parties organized in night clubs, discotheques, and pubs go on till the early morning hours of the New Year’s Day. Also, street parties are in no way less in the intensity of celebrations, and one can easily find throngs of people eating, drinking, and dancing on streets for the whole night.
Apart from cultural shows, many other social and educational events are also organized in Washington during the time of New Year, which also draw large number of crowds of its segment.
Traditional New Year Celebrations in Washington
People in Washington observe many New Year traditions out of their belief in them. One such prominent tradition is of burning firecrackers. According to beliefs, burning of firecrackers is considered as a traditional way of swaying all evil spirits and negative energies of the past time away from one’s life, so that one can have a positive and fortunate time ahead.
Apart from being a part of tradition, fireworks show is also the highlight aspect of the New Year’s midnight, for which people eagerly await for. The spectacular skyline of Washington further turns into a more spectacular sight with vibrant colors and lights, when firecrackers are set off at midnight stroke of twelve.
There is another highly cherished tradition of watching football games on New Year’s Day. These football games are telecasted over television. Majority of the population after having a frantic time on New Year’s Eve, love to relax by watching football games on their television sets. This tradition is in place since the year of 1902, when the Rose football game was first played as a part of the ‘Tournament of Roses’. However, the very next year, it was replaced by Roman chariot races. However, around 13 years later, i.e. in 1916, the football game came back to retain its true place.
The ‘Rose Bowl’ tradition is also rigorously followed by many in Washington during New Year’s time. As a part of this tradition, ‘Rose Bowl’ parties, or the ‘open house’ parties are organized on the day of New Year. This tradition of organizing parties on New Year’s Day, where everyone is invited, was initiated by George Washington. Later, with the passage of time, such parties gain popularity among masses.