What Do People Do?On New Year's Eve

What Do People Do?
On New Year's Eve (December 31), just before midnight, many people turn on a television to show pictures of one of the four clocks on the Clock Tower on the Palace of Westminster, or Houses of Parliament, in London counting down the last minutes of the old year. At midnight, as the New Year begins, the chimes of Big Ben, the bell inside the Clock Tower, are broadcast to mark the start of the New Year. Champagne or other sparkling wines are often served at this point.

Many people hold parties at home or go out to pubs or night clubs. These parties often continue into the early hours of the morning. Hence, for many people, New Year's Day is time for recovering from the excesses of the night before. For others, it is the last day of the Christmas holiday before they return to work. Some take the opportunity to carry out home improvements or to go for a walk in the country. In many places around the United Kingdom's coast, groups of people dress up in fancy costumes and run into the cold sea.

Many people make New Year's resolutions. These are promises to themselves that they will lead a better life in some way in the coming year. Common New Year's resolutions include stopping smoking, losing weight, eating more healthily, getting more exercise or spending less money. Some types of resolution that would lead to a healthier lifestyle are supported by government advertising campaigns.

In some areas, there are a number of customs associated with New Year's Day. In Scotland many people sing the song 'Auld Lang Syne' at midnight as New Year's Day begins. In Scotland and northern England, it is customary to go first footing. This is the first person to enter a house on January 1. There are many traditions and superstitions associated with first footing. A male first-footer brings good luck, but a female bad luck. In different areas there are different traditions about whether the first footer should have fair or dark hair, whether the person should bring coal, salt or other things and what food or drink that person should be served after arrival.

Public Life
New Year's Day is a bank holiday. If January 1 is a Saturday or Sunday, the bank holiday falls on Monday, January 2 or 3. Nearly all schools, large businesses and organizations are closed. In some areas stores may be open, although this varies a lot. Public transport systems do not usually run on their normal timetables. In general, public life shuts down completely on New Year's Day.

Background
Now the start of a new calendar year is marked in the winter on January 1. However, this was different in the past. From the earliest times in Europe, winter festivals have been held around or just after the winter solstice (December 21). These have now developed into the Christmas and New Year celebrations that are now held. However, before the present Gregorian calendar was adopted in England, in 1752, the Julian calendar was used. According to the Julian calendar, the administrative year began on March 25.

The Julian calendar was introduced in the Roman Empire 45 years before the birth of Christ. The average length of a year in this calendar was slightly shorter than the actual length of a solar year. For this reason, by the 1700s, the official dates of the winter, spring, summer and autumn equinoxes had moved about ten days from the days on which the actual equinoxes fell. This meant that a correction to the date had to be made, when England changed over to the Gregorian calendar. Hence, in 1752, Wednesday, September 2 was followed by Thursday, September 14.

This had important consequences for the tax, or fiscal, year. The British tax authorities and many landlords were unhappy about potentially “losing” 11 days worth of revenue. For this reason, the 1752-1753 tax year did not end on March 24 but April 4 and so still lasted for 365 days. Another correction was carried out in the calendar in 1800 and again the tax year was adjusted so that it still lasted for the full 365 days. Since then the tax year in the United Kingdom has stated on April 6. This tax year was also used in the Republic of Ireland until 2001, when the start of the tax year was moved to coincide with the start of the calendar year on January 1.

Результаты (английский) 3:

人们怎么办？在除夕（12月31日），就在午夜之前，许多人打开电视，展示了钟塔上的四个时钟之一，在伦敦的西敏，或国会大厦，在伦敦的最后几分钟的时间。午夜时分，随着新的一年开始，大本钟的钟声，钟塔里的钟，在新的一年的开始，广播。在这一点上，经常会有香槟或其他波光粼粼的葡萄酒，许多人在家里或是去酒吧或夜总会。这些缔约方通常在早晨的清晨继续。因此，对于许多人来说，新年是从夜晚的过度时期中恢复的时间。对于其他人，这是圣诞假期的最后一天，在他们返回工作之前。有机会进行家庭改进或在该国散步。在英国海岸的许多地方，人们穿着华丽的服饰盛装打扮，进入了冰冷的大海。这些都是对自己的承诺，在未来的一年里，他们将在某种程度上带来更好的生活。共同的新年决心包括戒烟、减肥、吃更健康、多锻炼、少花钱。某些类型的决议，将导致一个更健康的生活方式的支持，政府的广告宣传活动，有一批与元旦相关的海关。在苏格兰许多人唱“友谊地久天长”午夜新年的开始。在苏格兰和英国北部，这是一个习惯上的第一步。这是第一人进入一所房子在1月1日。有第一次的基础相关的许多传统和迷信。男性第一尾带来好运，但是一个女人的坏运气。在不同的领域有不同的传统有关的第一个页脚是否应该有公平或黑暗的头发，是否应该带煤，盐或其他东西，什么食物或饮料，人应送达后，市民生活，元旦是一个银行假日。如果1月1日是星期六或星期日，银行假日落在星期一，1月2日或3。几乎所有的学校、大型企业和组织都关闭了。在一些地区商店可能是开放的，虽然这变化了很多。公共交通系统通常不运行在正常的时间表。在一般情况下，公共生活完全关闭在新的一年的一天。然而，这在过去是不同的。