Howto: Celebrating New Year’s Day in Rwanda

It’s time to say “Happy New Year”, once again! New Year is one of the most ancient holidays. New Year is also a very significant day in the life of Rwandans compared to Christmas. Prior to the 1994 Genocide, Rwanda had two holidays celebrating the 1959 revolution and the 1973 coup that brought President Habyarimana to power. These celebrations involved public gatherings and military parades. However, since the rise of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, these holidays have been discontinued and new holidays have been created to commemorate the 1994 Genocide and honour those killed. The most important holiday for Rwandan families is New Year’s Day. Families traditionally gather for meals and exchange of gifts on this day. According to Marie Mutamuriza, a shop attendant at City Supermarket, New Year’s Day is something so special to the Rwandan people because of the experiences (both good and bad) they have had over the years, “Celebrating New Year is very important to us Rwandans because we have been through a lot as a country”. So many people lost their lives during the Genocide .But we are still alive, celebrating the New Year is means we are celebrating the gift of life and it’s a time for us to look back and think about what we have gone through as a country. “Over the years we have seen Rwanda changing for the better .Recently we celebrated 100 years of Kigali, something that had never happened .The whole city now looks different with magnificent new buildings. Generally there has been a lot of development .Therefore for us as Rwandans New Year provides an opportunity to celebrate all these achievements as a country and even look forward to more development in the country” she adds . It is very clear that most Rwandans enjoy their holidays with their families and friends specifically to celebrate New Year. “I always celebrate the New Year with my family because it’s the only day when all the family members are together .This year, my parents will celebrating 30 years in marriage, so its going to be a very big celebration .We shall go to church as a family then come back home and have a meal together” says Jean Marie, a student of Lycée de Kigali. 2005, Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR) spent US$15, 000 on the first-ever fireworks display in Kigali, marking the end of year and ushering in 2006 at Amahoro Stadium. After which a mega concert by Nigerian music icon 2face, Lady Ray –c along their Rwandan counterparts was launched. Since then, the display of fireworks has become an annual event at Amahoro Stadium that is crowned with a music concert. Other activities include visiting night clubs and bars which operate 24 hours now .However for the Born again fraternity and Christians in Rwanda, attending prayers at their churches is a top priority as they celebrate the New Year. “As a Christian, there is no other place for me to spend my New Year but church. Normally the New Year finds me in church praying and this gives me joy as some one who knows am alive because God is on my side”. “Spending my New Year in church praying gives me a chance to thank God for all the things he has done for me and to ask him to continue blessing me” says Jean Claude Kamanzi, a teacher and born again Christian. Apparently, celebration of the New Year is not limited to Rwanda, but the world over. Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31st, the eyes of the world turn once more to the dazzling lights and bustling energy of Times Square in New York City. New Year’s Eve at the symbolic centre of New York City has become more than just a celebration - it’s a global tradition. The world holds its breath...and cheers as the clocks strike twelve. As the famous New Year’s Eve Ball descends from the flagpole atop one Times Square, an estimated one million people in Times Square, millions nationwide and over a billion watching throughout the world are united in bidding a collective farewell to the departing year, and expressing our joy and hope for the year ahead. In Brazil, the two major cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, celebrate the New Year. Most famously in Rio de Janeiro, the world’s biggest and most famous fireworks display, which occurs in the also famous Copacabana beach, drawing 1.5-2.5 million people to the beach. Also in Australia, celebrations are held around the nation, especially in Sidney, where one of the world’s largest fireworks displays draws 1-1.5 million people to the harbour. Australia was one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the New Year. In The Netherlands, Denmark and other European countries, the New Year is treated with massive private fireworks . This day is also the occasion to make bonfires of discarded Christmas trees in some countries. Ends