Happy New Year from everyone at Newsinspain!
We would like to thank all our readers for their continuing support and look forward to a bright new and exciting 2023. Please remember to take care on the roads and do not drink and drive- the penalties are higher than ever and it just isn’t worth it! Wherever you are in the world celebrating the arrival of 2023, have a fantastic time, take care, and we hope to carry on supplying you with the latest news and stories from around Spain for years to come.
New Year Tradition in Spain
Spanish people celebrate the New Year with great warmth and gusto (pleasure, excitement, enthusiasm). Lots of food, drinks, song, dance, and gifts add festivity and fun to the New Year celebration in Spain.
The streets are beautifully lit, shops display all kinds of holiday merchandise, and friends and family participate in festive parties dressed in thick woollies to combat the chilly December night. New Year traditions in Spain reflect the cultural heritage of the Spanish people. Have a look at some unique New Year traditions in Spain. New Year’s Eve in Spain is known as Noche Vieja (Old Night).
It is a custom to stay at home till midnight and at midnight people eat doce uvas (twelve grapes), one at each stroke of the clock. This is supposed to bring good luck, prosperity, and happiness in el Año Nuevo (the New Year). In main cities, people congregate in the plaza central (main square). In Madrid, people gather in the Puerta del Sol and eat the grapes. Then they dance the night until the early hours in the morning.
There is a tradition in Spain to host a children’s parade on January 5 or DÃa de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day). Children come to see the parade and ask for gifts from the people who are dressed as three Kings Menchior, Gaspar and Balthasar. Later, before going to bed, children leave their shoes or dinner plate out hoping that when they wake up they will find gifts left by them. A typical New Year dessert consists of Roscón de los Reyes. This is a large ring-shaped cake that is decorated with candied fruits. There are some surprises hidden inside the cake and the person who unravels the surprise is crowned as king or queen of the household.
Predictions for 2023
No one really knows what is going to happen in 2023, however, below, is a collection of predictions from some of the world’s top institutions that make fascinating reading!
- Countries agree on an international treaty mandating the largest companies, including big tech, to pay more corporate tax abroad and a smaller share in their home countries. Link
- 65% of the global population will have its personal data protected by privacy regulations. Link
- Members of the United Nations-backed Race to Zero campaign is required to restrict the development, financing, and facilitation of new fossil fuel assets, including banning future coal projects. Link
- The European Union implements the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) for large public-interest companies with more than 500 employees. Link
- The European Space Agency launches the Hera Mission, a binary asteroid system designed to detect threatening asteroids weeks before they get near Earth. Link
- The OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched in 2016 to visit the asteroid Bennu, returns a 2.1 ounce sample of the rocky body back to Earth. Link
- The combined market for PCs and tablets declines 2.6 percent before returning to growth in 2024. Link
- NASA and Axiom Space launch the second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX rockets. Link
- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches the world’s first wooden satellite. Link
- The COVID-19 pandemic ends. Link
- General Motors sells 20 all-electric car models, combining battery-electric and fuel-cell-electric vehicles. Link
- Global gas markets remain tight as Russian pipeline gas exports decrease, keeping energy prices high, in spite of gas demand falling in Europe due to aggressive energy-saving measures. Link
- Global polysilicon capacities nearly double by end of this year to 536 GW compared to 295 GW in 2022. Link
- UN finally delivers a climate plan to reduce emissions caused by global shipping industry. Link
- The first government to replace its census with big-data technologies Link
- 10% of reading glasses will be connected to the internet. Link
- 80% of people on earth will have a digital presence online. Link
- 90% of the global population will have a supercomputer in their pocket. Link
- Acoustic earthquake shields developed to protect cities from earthquakes begin seeing initial use Link
- Modifying genes to renew all body issues to youthful versions becomes possible Link
- The cost of solar panels, per watt, equals 1 US dollars Link
- World population forecasted to reach 7,991,396,000 Link
- World sales of electric vehicles reach 8,546,667 Link
- Predicted global mobile web traffic equals 66 exabytes Link
- Global Internet traffic grows to 302 exabytes
