Many countries around Asia have unique ways of observing Lunar New Year. Some of these are famous, but Singapore has one special way,    1     you may not know about. Each year, cooks across the country prepare yu sheng, a salad made with raw fish. The salad is placed at the centre of a dinner table. Diners will gather around and use their chopsticks     2    (throw) the salad up into the air. This practice is known     3     Lo Hei.

Since its origins as     4     simple raw fish dish back in the 1930s，the recipe has undergone a series of transformations, and even until today, people are still finding innovative ways to present this dish. The dish     5    (bring)to Singapore in the late 19th century by the migrants from China.

“Lo Hei”, in Cantonese (广东话)    6     (literal) translates to “tossing (掷) up good fortune”, and it refers to the ritual (仪式) adopted in Singapore that involves a group of people gathered around a     7    (mass) plate, tossing its contents violently while saying out lucky    8    (phrase) before eating it. For example, when the golden crackers (薄脆饼干) are added, everyone will say “bian di huang jin”. This     9    (mean) “the entire floor will be covered with gold”. A1so, it is popularly believed that the higher the toss, the     10    (good) your prospects and fortune in the year ahead.

2 . Four European Festivals You Don’t Want to Miss in 2023

Festival Medieval (中世纪的) de Sedan

For an unforgettable slice of Medieval France, head to Festival Medieval de Sedan in May. Held at the largest medieval castle in Europe, the Chateau de Sedan, the festival brings the spirit of the Middle Ages alive. Exciting tournaments and atmospheric parades take place around the castle grounds. Around 15,000 people come to explore the castle. Just be prepared to climb a lot of stairs!

La Fete de la Musique

There’s music in the air throughout France on 21 June. This is when La Fete de la Musique (Music Day) takes place. The first all-day musical celebration was first held in Paris in 1982 but later became celebrated in 120 countries around the world. During the festival, thousands of musicians gather in the streets, bars, and cafes giving free public performances.

Festival d’ Avignon

Another fantastic French festival not to miss is the Festival d’ Avignon. The annual theater festival is held in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes in Avignon. During this time, Avignon transforms its architectural heritage into various grand performance venues. Tens of thousands of theater lovers of all ages come to enjoy theatre, dance, visual arts, and live music.

Bastille Day

Celebrated nationwide on 14 July, Bastille Day is the biggest and most important festival in the French calendar. It marks the day that Parisian civilians and peasants stormed the fortress (堡垒) and prison of Bastille. This caused events that would end the monarchy (君主制) and start the age of liberty and equality. Celebrations are held all over France, including large-scale public events and parties.

Tea is commonly considered native to Southern China. However, in a garden in Geling village in Metog county in the Tibet autonomous region, the morning air is filled with the sweet aroma of     1     (fresh) picked tea.

Tsering Yangdron, a 25-year-old Monba, one of the ethnic groups     2     live in this region, skillfully makes her way through the garden, carefully picking tender tea leaves and tossing them into a bamboo basket tied to her waist. Tea picking     3     (become) a habit for her over the past five years. After she is done, Tsering Yangdron goes back home, where she also runs a homestay. “We have come up with       4     dish of fresh tea buds fried with eggs,” she said. A kilogram of fresh tea buds       5     (sell) for 300 yuan. Once     6     (dry) and processed to make green tea, their value increases significantly.

Geling was once inaccessible as a result of the dense forests,     7     the opening of the Metog highway in 2013 significantly improved connectivity and created opportunities for economic growth. Prior to Huang Jiabin’s appointment     8     the village’s Party secretary, the tea plantation in Geling was a neglected piece of land.

“    9     (realize) the valley was suitable for growing tea, since 2018, we have improved the management of the tea plantation, introduced advanced planting techniques and provided training for     10     (village),” Huang said.

6 . Here are some of the world’s most unusual events.

World Ice Golf Championship, Greenland

For more than 10 years the World Ice Golf Championship has been seen as the most extreme golf competition in the world. In 1997, architect Rolf Henning-Jensen was asked to design the world’s first ice golf course among huge iceberg and heavy snows of Uummannaq, a small town on the west coast of Greenland-600 km north of the Arctic Circle. There golfers face extreme temperatures as their first task to deal with. Then it will take players time and patience to accommodate themselves to white “green” and orange balls to play with. Determined by weather conditions, this event is scheduled for March each year in Greenland.

Balloon Fiesta, the United States

Have you ever been taken to the sky in a hot air balloon? The yearly Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta gives you the chance to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the city and countryside. Since 1972, perfect October weather, blue skies and wind known as the “Albuquerque box” have worked together to allow balloonists to control their way thanks to the direction of blowing winds. This is the only place in the world to enjoy balloons flying in the blue skies each October.

El Colacho, Spain

The world’s most dangerous festival takes place every year in a small Spanish village Castillo de Murcia near Burgous. El Colacho means the devil’s jump and in fact this is the act of baby-jumping. Its purpose is to force a devil to leave the child’s body. Men dressed as devils jump over small babies to guard them against illness and bad spirits. Many consider the festival to be dangerous as “jumping devils” could hurt babies. But locals believe the action protects their babies from bad things and organize the jump in the streets, so people can watch or even join.

10 . We did a quick survey of New Year traditions around the world, and couldn’t help but notice that the traditions might reflect cultural varieties? but the meanings behind them are pretty universal.

Philippines

In Philippines? families hold traditional dinner parties called Media Noche to greet the New Year. Circle-shaped fruits are their favorites, such as grapes, oranges and melons, since they look like coins, you know. Filipinos actually try to choose 12 different kinds of fruit to put on the table—one for each month in the New Year.

Make sure you leave some food in your plate. It’s bad luck to start the New Year off as a hungry wolf.

Spain

Many Spaniards will eat 12 fresh grapes at midnight—one with each strike of the clock. Each grape represents a wish for happiness and good luck for every month in the coming year. This “12 grapes in 12 seconds“ custom came from a grape farmer in the Alicante region who wanted to promote his produce about a century ago. The tradition has spread to other countries too? with a few adjustments. In Portugal? they eat 12 dried grapes. In Peru? they eat a thirteenth grape.

Denmark

In Denmark_? they eat kransekage, a big horn-shaped cake, on New Year’s Eve. When they’re finished with the cake, it’s Danish custom to throw the used plates against the front doors of their friends and neighbors. It’s actually a sign of friendship.

Italy

Pork sausages are usually served on New Year’s Eve in Italy. Italians choose pork because they think pigs are fat and keep moving forward, while other animals, such as chickens or cows, move backward or stand still.

But whatever you eat into the New Year in Italy-pork, fish or chicken-make sure you stay at home. Italians throw old possessions out of the window after midnight as an out-with-the-old, make-room-for-the-new gesture.