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One of my favorite holidays is New Year’s Eve. It is a time to celebrate a new beginning. Whatever happened to you last year is shed away in order to make way for the things to come. People like to concentrate on new resolutions and focus on what they will not have or do this time around. For me, I like to focus on the same thing each and every year. I like to celebrate life and all of the adventures it brings me.
Instead, during New Years, I choose to celebrate the joy of life I experience every day. My tradition for New Years Eve is to gather together all of my friends for a special party. We will all dress up in our best clothes and celebrate all of the good times we have had over the past year. My favorite thing to do is to get everyone in a circle and tell one story about something simply amazing that has happened last year. Then we will all talk about what we hope to do in the next year. In the last hour of New Years Eve, we will all gather together and watch a New Years Eve Special which shows the New Years Eve celebration in New York, Dallas, and finally California. When the clock finally strikes midnight we will set off fireworks, pop open a bottle of champagne, and kiss a friend.
Depending on the person, the celebrations will end either at midnight or sometimes at 8 am the next morning. New Years day is usually spent in silence compared to the loud celebrations of the night before. This is typically because people have stayed up too late having fun and so the next day they want to sleep in as long as possible. This is my favorite time to sleep because no one will complain when I roll out of bed at 3 in the afternoon. Everyone is in good spirits from the night before. I celebrate New Year’s Day by sleeping late and cleaning whenever I wake up.
As with any holiday, some people like to celebrate New Year’s Eve with lavish parties. My dad likes to say, “When you are young, you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.” Nearly every restaurant, club, and hotel will hold their own special party. Some people will celebrate with a private crowd; others will celebrate with perfect strangers.
Last year, I was able to gather many of my friends for a special New Years Eve celebration. This would be my last New Year’s Eve in America for a while and so I wanted to enjoy it with all of my friends. Dressing up in our best clothes, we went to a very nice Italian restaurant for dinner. We filled ourselves with wonderful food and great conversation. I became sad when I talked about what I would be doing next year because I knew it meant my time with my friends was coming to an end. Of course, my best friend made a joke about me leaving and I was no longer sad. You know someone is a great friend when they know you are sad without having to tell them and they know how to make you happy without even trying.
After dinner we danced and celebrated the New Year with joy and good cheer. Everyone was so happy that night. I remember how tired I was driving home that night. I had celebrated, laughed, and even danced harder than any other New Years Eve celebration. It is always important to celebrate life when the New Year approaches. Life is a precious gift that we need to treasure with light and happiness.
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