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也许各地庆祝新年的时间不尽相同，但各地人们在新旧交替的那一时刻，汹涌澎湃的心情总是相似。
In New York City’s Times Square half a million 1)jubilant people stand in the freezing cold waiting for the countdown to midnight. And as the stroke of midnight nears, the anticipation of the new year only grows. Something magical is about to happen.
Dick Clark (Famous Emcee): And you can feel the excitement building as the ball drops and lowers. The bottom of a, you know, a 70 foot flag pole, and it lights up the new year; the noise is deafening. It’s…it’s just overwhelming.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a tradition that dates back to 1907, but celebrating the arrival of the new year is an age-old custom, practiced the world over for thousands and thousands of years.
Fifty-five miles south of Bagdad in Iraq lie the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, one of many cities that made up the 93,000 square miles of land once known as 2)Mesopotamia. Here the foundations of the first new year rituals can be traced. The first, an ancient ceremony called Zogmu, dates back to around 2,500 BC.
Mark Cohen (Calendar Expert): Zog means “the edge,” mu means “the year,” so it’s the edge of the year, when the year turns over. The…it’s not a celebration. Zogmu is a time, mainly an accounting time, when you would end up the year’s 3)ledgers ….
Also 4)unearthed in Mesopotamia were traces of a second ceremony known today as Akitu. It was a week-long festival celebrating the renewal of the city and its continued prosperity. The festival has worked its way into public imagination as the original New Year’s celebration. But, unlike New Year of today, Akitu occurred twice a year, usually around the time of both the spring and fall 5)equinox, when day and night are equal in length.
But in many cultures, the ancient calendars still set the dates for traditional festivals, and every culture celebrates its new year in a different way. The Chinese have symbolic feasts and colorful festivals; the Jews, a 6)solemn day of prayer; Hindus light up the night in honor of their goddess; Americans celebrate New Years in their own unique ways with lively parties and free-flowing champagne, colorful parades and football games.
In the mid-1700s New Yorkers borrowed from Chinese tradition and began using fireworks to welcome the new year. Celebrations got so 7)rowdy that in 1773, the 8)legislature outlawed firecrackers, home-made bombs and the firing of personal shotguns to 9)commemorate all future New Years.
The 10)Tournament of Roses started on January 1st, 1890, when the members of the Valley Hunt Club in Pasadena, California, decorated their carriages with flowers to celebrate the abundance of ripening oranges.
It’s a time for rebirth, a day to 11)wipe the slate clean and start all over again; a holiday that is as much about the past as it is about looking ahead.
五十万民众站在寒气逼人的纽约时代广场, 兴高采烈地等待午夜的新年倒数。随着午夜钟声即将到来，人们对新年的期待就变得越发强烈。不可思议事情即将发生。
迪克·克拉克（知名主持人）：当球向70英尺的旗杆底部下坠跌落的时候，你可以感受到激动热烈的气氛在不断累积。它照亮了新一年的到来，全场爆发出震耳欲聋的欢呼声，势不可挡。
时代广场的除夕球庆典是一项可以追溯至1907年的传统，但庆祝新年的到来则是人类世界延续了好几千年的旧传统。
古巴比伦的遗址位于伊拉克巴格达以南55英里处，这古城是这片占地93000平方英里的、曾被称作美索不达米亚地区中众多城市中的一个。第一个新年庆典仪式可以追溯于此。第一个古代庆典称为Zogmu, 源于约公元前2500年。
马克·科恩（历法专家）：Zog的意思是“尽头”，而mu则代表“年”的意思，所以说一年的尽头又是新一年的开始。Zogmu不是庆典。Zogmu是一个时刻，主要是一个用来计算的时刻，你可以结算过去一年的账……
在美索不达米亚还发现了另一个庆典的遗迹，这庆典今被称作Akitu。它是一个长达一个星期的庆典，为的是欢庆城市的万象更新和欣欣向荣之貌。公众误以为这个节日就是原始的新年庆祝仪式。然而，Akitu不像现今的新年庆典，它一年举行两次，通常在昼夜的长短刚好一样的春分和秋分时候进行。
但在众多风俗文化中，古代历法仍然把这些日子视作传统的节日，而庆祝新年的方式也形式各异。中国人有具象征意义的聚餐和绚丽多彩的节日；对于犹太人而言那一天就是庄严的祈祷日；而印度人则为了他们的女神而点亮了黑夜；美国人则用其自身独特的方式来庆祝：热闹的派对、源源不断的香槟、五彩缤纷的游行以及目不暇接的足球比赛。
18世纪中期，纽约人借鉴中国传统开始使用烟花来庆祝新年。由于1773年的新年庆祝过于喧闹，立法机关下令在以后的新年庆祝活动中禁止爆竹或自制炸弹的燃点以及个人枪支开火。
为庆祝橘子大丰收，加利福利亚州帕萨迪娜的峡谷捕猎俱乐部的成员自1890年起于1月1日举行玫瑰装饰大赛，用花卉装饰他们的马车。
这一天是重生的时候，是忘记过去，重新开始的日子，是一个继往开来的节日。
翻译：韩颖
In New York City’s Times Square half a million 1)jubilant people stand in the freezing cold waiting for the countdown to midnight. And as the stroke of midnight nears, the anticipation of the new year only grows. Something magical is about to happen.
Dick Clark (Famous Emcee): And you can feel the excitement building as the ball drops and lowers. The bottom of a, you know, a 70 foot flag pole, and it lights up the new year; the noise is deafening. It’s…it’s just overwhelming.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a tradition that dates back to 1907, but celebrating the arrival of the new year is an age-old custom, practiced the world over for thousands and thousands of years.
Fifty-five miles south of Bagdad in Iraq lie the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, one of many cities that made up the 93,000 square miles of land once known as 2)Mesopotamia. Here the foundations of the first new year rituals can be traced. The first, an ancient ceremony called Zogmu, dates back to around 2,500 BC.
Mark Cohen (Calendar Expert): Zog means “the edge,” mu means “the year,” so it’s the edge of the year, when the year turns over. The…it’s not a celebration. Zogmu is a time, mainly an accounting time, when you would end up the year’s 3)ledgers ….
Also 4)unearthed in Mesopotamia were traces of a second ceremony known today as Akitu. It was a week-long festival celebrating the renewal of the city and its continued prosperity. The festival has worked its way into public imagination as the original New Year’s celebration. But, unlike New Year of today, Akitu occurred twice a year, usually around the time of both the spring and fall 5)equinox, when day and night are equal in length.
But in many cultures, the ancient calendars still set the dates for traditional festivals, and every culture celebrates its new year in a different way. The Chinese have symbolic feasts and colorful festivals; the Jews, a 6)solemn day of prayer; Hindus light up the night in honor of their goddess; Americans celebrate New Years in their own unique ways with lively parties and free-flowing champagne, colorful parades and football games.
In the mid-1700s New Yorkers borrowed from Chinese tradition and began using fireworks to welcome the new year. Celebrations got so 7)rowdy that in 1773, the 8)legislature outlawed firecrackers, home-made bombs and the firing of personal shotguns to 9)commemorate all future New Years.
The 10)Tournament of Roses started on January 1st, 1890, when the members of the Valley Hunt Club in Pasadena, California, decorated their carriages with flowers to celebrate the abundance of ripening oranges.
It’s a time for rebirth, a day to 11)wipe the slate clean and start all over again; a holiday that is as much about the past as it is about looking ahead.
五十万民众站在寒气逼人的纽约时代广场, 兴高采烈地等待午夜的新年倒数。随着午夜钟声即将到来，人们对新年的期待就变得越发强烈。不可思议事情即将发生。
迪克·克拉克（知名主持人）：当球向70英尺的旗杆底部下坠跌落的时候，你可以感受到激动热烈的气氛在不断累积。它照亮了新一年的到来，全场爆发出震耳欲聋的欢呼声，势不可挡。
时代广场的除夕球庆典是一项可以追溯至1907年的传统，但庆祝新年的到来则是人类世界延续了好几千年的旧传统。
古巴比伦的遗址位于伊拉克巴格达以南55英里处，这古城是这片占地93000平方英里的、曾被称作美索不达米亚地区中众多城市中的一个。第一个新年庆典仪式可以追溯于此。第一个古代庆典称为Zogmu, 源于约公元前2500年。
马克·科恩（历法专家）：Zog的意思是“尽头”，而mu则代表“年”的意思，所以说一年的尽头又是新一年的开始。Zogmu不是庆典。Zogmu是一个时刻，主要是一个用来计算的时刻，你可以结算过去一年的账……
在美索不达米亚还发现了另一个庆典的遗迹，这庆典今被称作Akitu。它是一个长达一个星期的庆典，为的是欢庆城市的万象更新和欣欣向荣之貌。公众误以为这个节日就是原始的新年庆祝仪式。然而，Akitu不像现今的新年庆典，它一年举行两次，通常在昼夜的长短刚好一样的春分和秋分时候进行。
但在众多风俗文化中，古代历法仍然把这些日子视作传统的节日，而庆祝新年的方式也形式各异。中国人有具象征意义的聚餐和绚丽多彩的节日；对于犹太人而言那一天就是庄严的祈祷日；而印度人则为了他们的女神而点亮了黑夜；美国人则用其自身独特的方式来庆祝：热闹的派对、源源不断的香槟、五彩缤纷的游行以及目不暇接的足球比赛。
18世纪中期，纽约人借鉴中国传统开始使用烟花来庆祝新年。由于1773年的新年庆祝过于喧闹，立法机关下令在以后的新年庆祝活动中禁止爆竹或自制炸弹的燃点以及个人枪支开火。
为庆祝橘子大丰收，加利福利亚州帕萨迪娜的峡谷捕猎俱乐部的成员自1890年起于1月1日举行玫瑰装饰大赛，用花卉装饰他们的马车。
这一天是重生的时候，是忘记过去，重新开始的日子，是一个继往开来的节日。
翻译：韩颖