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Well, there’s very little that I want to do on New Year’s Eve, which is usually therefore spent frequenting the local ‘club’ and getting too drunk to remember how bad it really is.
Unfortunately, apart from ‘clubbing’ with your mates, there isn’t really another option for ‘celebrating’ New Years Eve at home. That is unless you watch the BBC Countdown, or watching your superstitious aunt run naked through the front door carrying a lump of coal at midnight (it happens in Wales anyway!) is your idea of fun. So, The Yorker have teamed up with Rough Guides to help you prevent the same old anti-climax of New Years Eve with some new and exciting suggestions…
If you fancy staying close to home for the New Year then grab a car full of mates and head on up to Edinburgh because the Scots sure do know how to party! Not only does the celebration last for days on end both before and after New Years Eve, Hogmanay involves a variety of parties, processions and concerts ensuring that there’s always something happening at all hours of the day or night!
On the 31st everybody in the city drinks, laughs, and anticipates the New Year until midnight when the whole city explodes with fireworks, cheering and masses of people jumping around, hugging each other and having an damn good time.
Of course, whisky is the drink of choice; and although at first a throat burning, eye watering poison, surprisingly the more you drink the better it tastes! Traditionally, over one hundred thousand people surge Edinburgh for New Year so it’s best to book your accommodation before you arrive. The capital is a busy place for the entirety of the celebrations.
However, Hogmanay is the perfect way for you to forget all your worries, immerse yourself in Scottish tradition, and avoid that dreaded January exam revision for at least a few more days – although if you choose a Scotsman as your drinking partner, the hangover you’ll be nursing could last all year!
If you travel just a bit further you will find the gem of the Czech Republic, the capital city of Prague. You may think of Prague as a picturesque, gothic city full of castles, bridges and cathedrals, but think again! As home to the cheapest quality beer in Eastern Europe, Prague’s streets are filled with cheap bars and cosy clubs, giving you limitless options of how you celebrate the New Year.
Perhaps watching an incredible firework display from the safety of Prague Castle could be a highlight, or even a visit to the Old Town Square where locals like to set off their own fireworks into the crisp night sky. And then there’s the clubs: when you’re in Prague your choice of places to drink and dance is limitless. The city has a wide selection of nightclubs, and although generally the music may not be up to the standards of British clubs, the atmosphere is sure to make up for any cheesy 60s hits (and to be fair, you’ve been at University for at least two months now and you just love Chesney Hawkes).
Whether you choose to hang out in bars situated in restored 12th century medieval cellars or in roof top clubs where you can enjoy a birds eye view of the city at night whilst sipping the famous Pilsner beer or chatting in broken English with friendly Czechs – you’ll have an amazing time. And if you hunt around hard enough you could even find the odd hardcore drum ‘n’ bass or techno club – there really is something for everyone! So, with sub-zero temperatures and bucket loads of snow Prague will look wonderful and be filled with holiday cheer. This could be a New Year never to forget!
Finally, if you fancy heading much further a field (and possibly blowing next terms student loan) to experience New Year celebrations South American style, then Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, should be your first destination of consideration.
Imagine sea so blue, sand so white and intense never-ending samba and you may already think you have a vague idea of what the Festival is really about. Originally however, the Festival was homage to the Goddess of the Sea, Iemanja who was known for enjoying hedonistic pleasures.
So of course, it would only be right for Rio de Janeiro to come alive at New Year to honour their patron saint Iemanja, with lustful, sensual dancing, copious amounts of alcohol consumption and general beach-partying mayhem being at the top of the agenda.
You’ll be joined by thousands of other locals and tourists alike all ready to offer their souls to Iemanja for one night only. Gifts of flowers and perfume for the Goddess are thrown into the sea or sent out on boats making this event a huge spiritual fiesta.
Then, with the temperatures in the high 20s to 30s, when you really can dance no more, you can collapse on one of Rio’s amazing beaches famous for their fabulous sun-soaked sand and warm waters. However it must be said that the Festival de Iemanja will only be for you if you think you can compete with the body-shakin’ Brazilian Latinos partying from sunset to sunrise to welcome the New Year. And that, should you choose to accept, is your mission. You have been warned!
For more information about brilliant Festivals all year round check out – ‘World Party: A Rough Guide to the World's Best Festivals. Get 25% OFF until Dec 31st 2007 from www.roughguides.com.
Did you do something special for New Year last year? And do you have the pictures to prove it? Visit www.mugonabeermat.com immediately and upload your pictures and you could win some fantastic Rough Guides and Cobra Beer prizes.
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