New Year in Georgia: Traditions and events from December 31 to January 14

New Year's Eve is a big holiday for Georgia, too. Both children and adults look forward to it. People make wishes and hope for change. There is an atmosphere of magic everywhere. It seems that something incredible is about to happen.

Holiday festivities in Georgia continue throughout the New Year's Eve, Georgians try to stay awake to happily celebrate the beginning of a new life. At the same time, it is best to return to your home as early as possible on January 1, because the locals believe that absence on the first day of the New Year will lead to hardship and misfortune.

In early January, you should also avoid buying bitter and sour products, so that the remaining days of the year will be sweet. An interesting fact is that after midnight, it is customary to eat the traditional sweets for a sweet life. Do not borrow money, it portends financial difficulties and debts.

New Year traditions in Georgia

Of course, traditions will differ somewhat from region to region. To see all the peculiarities, you can safely visit a new region every New Year, and then write a book about the regional peculiarities of the celebration.

But still, there is something common: everyone begins to prepare for the holiday in advance, usually 1-2 months in advance. And if you want to celebrate New Year's Eve in Sakartvelo, Georgia, here we have collected useful information that may come in handy.

We'll tell you about traditional dishes, customs, and who to celebrate with. But the main ingredient is a great mood, without it, no holiday is a joy.

December is a pre-holiday rush

In December, all cities are decorated with garlands and Christmas toys, the main Christmas trees of the country are decorated, and everything becomes like a fairy tale. Since this month, everyone is actively preparing and waiting for the holiday. Someone starts celebrating early: going to guests in advance to celebrate with colleagues, friends and all relatives the coming happiness.

But even after the New Year in Georgia, many visit all the relatives, and so before the holiday it is important to prepare a lot of food to have enough for everyone. So, all the things that can be cooked in advance and stored for a long time, they start preparing half a month before the holiday, otherwise the housewife will not sleep for days before the holiday itself. Moreover, if the family is large, then there should be an appropriate amount of dishes.

And if you've been in big cities on New Year's Eve, then you know what this means. Buying gifts, the turmoil in all the stores and endless lines even for bread, not to mention the shopping for Christmas decorations and products for cooking traditional dishes. There is a feeling in the stores that the products are flying away before they reach the shelves.

December 31

Before this day, everything should already be ready for the holiday table. All tables should be decorated with kozinaki, a favorite sweet of Georgians. And also on the table must be different sauces (for example, tkemali), different kinds of khachapuri (Imereti or Adjara), delicious churchela (walnut or hazelnut in the juice of any fruit). Without them, the holiday would not begin.

As soon as the table is set, the activities can begin, because the anticipation of the holiday is increasing more and more. And as midnight falls, noisy congratulations, toasts, clinking of glasses, calls to relatives, and fireworks begin.

January 1 - the beginning of a new life

On this day, most Georgians do not even go to bed. After all, the holiday begins on December 31 and lasts, as a rule, for several more days. Now you can go to visit distant relatives to share the joy with all your family and friends.

January 2 is a fateful day

This day is called Destiny Day in Georgia. After all, on January 2, everyone behaves the way they would like the whole year to go. So everyone tries to do something for a sense of happiness, peace and joy. This is probably the most appropriate day to make a cherished wish come true. And also everyone is waiting for the "Mekvle." That's the name of the first guest who will come to the family on this day, bringing sweets and congratulating the family on the holiday. It is very important who exactly this person will be. As soon as he arrives, the hosts sit down again to celebrate the New Year together with the fateful guest.

January 13-14 - Old New Year

Many of you will be familiar with this holiday, because Georgians, like many post-Soviet countries, celebrate the Old New Year. The holiday comes on January 14, but the preparation for it begins immediately after the celebration of the usual New Year, that is, starting from January 1. After all, everything that has been cooked is already eaten, and the holiday is not over yet.

It is, in fact, a second attempt to celebrate the New Year and make new wishes, if not all had time on the eve with December 31.

To see for yourself the difference with our traditions, you have to come and see everything with your own eyes.

And the New Year's Eve spent away from home will be remembered much more.

Read also

• New Year in different regions of Georgia: Unique traditions and celebrations in each region
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