NEW YEAR. Faced with the fifth wave of Covid-19, there will be no fireworks or gatherings possible on New Year’s Eve on December 31, 2021. Other New Year’s 2022 health restrictions could still be announced by the government following the meteoric rise of the Omicron variant.
[Mis à jour le 22 décembre 2021 à 13h57] Faced with the increase in Covid-19 cases and the worrying progression of the Omicron variant, the government has asked the prefects to renounce the concerts and fireworks of December 31, 2021, and to ban the consumption of alcohol on the public highway. But the New Year’s restrictions might not end there “if it is found that there is a very strong resumption of the epidemic linked to the Omicron variant and a risk,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.
The scientific council already wishes to toughen these measures. In his notice published on December 16, the scientific council called for the establishment of a curfew for New Year’s Eve: “in view of the acceleration of the epidemic, and the risks associated with festive activities at the end of the year, restrictive measures Significant measures must be capable of being taken by the authorities on New Year’s Eve (including where applicable in the form of limitation of collective activities or curfews), with the possibility of a territorial variation “. A health defense council is expected to take place after Christmas to decide whether or not to take additional measures.
While France is facing a meteoric rise in Covid-19 contamination, the atmosphere will be less festive on December 31, 2021. Indeed, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Friday December 17, at the end of yet another Health Defense Council, that the New Year 2022 will be without fireworks nor gatherings on public roads because of the Covid-19. “The prefects will prohibit wild gatherings, the consumption of alcohol on public roads and will invite municipalities to give up fireworks,” he detailed.
Therefore, the famous fireworks from the Arc de Triomphe de Paris will not take place, once again, this year 2021. In the other large cities of France, this announcement will not greatly change the usual festivities, since Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse or even Nice, no longer draw fireworks on New Year’s Eve, and have been for several years. Only small French towns such as Lavandou or ski resorts which had scheduled the fireworks display on December 31 are affected by this new restriction.
At the heart of the concerns, the rise of the Omicron variant, very contagious and which could be “dominant” in France from the start of 2022, according to Jean Castex. The Prime Minister recalled the importance of barrier gestures before the holidays by encouraging the French to “wear a mask, avoid hugs, regularly ventilate enclosed places”. Jean Castex also called on the French to limit the number of people participating in the end-of-year celebrations, “whether at home, in a restaurant, a party hall or a bar”, where it will also be prohibited. to dance … With Christmas Eve, the need to avoid large tables. Without wishing to quote “a precise number”, the Prime Minister clarified that “the fewer we are, the less risks we take.” Unusual night, getaway in the countryside … What if we had a memorable New Year’s Eve despite the Covid-19?
Where to spend a family New Year’s Eve to celebrate the stroke of midnight and definitely say goodbye to 2021 before wishing each other a happy new year 2022 ? To end the year 2021 on a high note, bet on an unusual New Year’s Eve! Magic, music, light promenade, take the path to theaters, museums or beautiful restaurants and discover our selection of the must-sees for December 31, 2021:
Do you want to take some fresh air for these end-of-year celebrations, far from the crowds? Treat yourself to a big breath of iodized air on theIsland of Re, a cruise in the Rhône valley or in the Aquitaine region or even in a famous inn in Mont-Saint-Michel. You can also mark the occasion by trying new experiences: let yourself be tempted by a New Year’s Eve in an igloo or in an alpine yurt …
If you want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Paris with great pomp, know that you will probably have to put a cross on the fireworks.
- Show at the Moulin Rouge : the famous Pigalle cabaret celebrates the New Year every year in the most Parisian of atmospheres! Champagne and canapes, review “Fairyland“, dancing evening, party favors and an exceptional gift!
- New Year’s Eve in an iglooIce Kube Bar, 1-5 passage Ruelle, 75018 Paris: What could be more frosty than waking up in an igloo? To celebrate the New Year, The Ice Kube Bar, the trendy bar made entirely of ice, normally offers special formulas.
- If you want to celebrate New Year’s Eve with all your little tribe, you must opt for an evening that seduces the whole family at Disneyland Paris or to Asterix Park.
Send a greeting card
► All our Happy New Year cards
The New Year’s Eve meal is a privileged moment to share a tasty meal with family or friends. Original like the restaurant Dans le Noir? in Paris, dancing like the Pavillon Henri IV, gastronomic like Le Petit Nice Passedat with a view of the big blue or romantic like the Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly, there is plenty to do in the land of gourmets!
And if you’ve had a hangover after New Year’s Eve, there are remedies to get you thinking the next day, and start sending your most beautiful greeting cards to all your loved ones!
For some people, the New Year is also an opportunity to do a good deed and be useful to a charity. For this, many associations are looking for volunteers at this end of year period and it is sometimes possible to offer its services at the last moment. Les Restos du cœur is still looking for volunteers for the end-of-year celebrations. (Submit your volunteer work). The Red Cross (here) where the People Relief (here) may have local needs for solidarity events or specific marauding on December 31. Many associations, such as Society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Foundation of France Where Handicap International, propose to make a donation or to give a one-off help for this passage in the new year.
Did you know that New Years Day, which falls on January 1, has not always been like this. Why was this day chosen? What were the other first days of the year? We invite you to go back in time and discover the tribulations of the new year.
Practical information
It all started in 46 BC, when Julius Caesar decided to replace the lunar calendar until then in force by a solar calendar, called “Julian” (from the name of the emperor). Much like our current calendar, it is divided into 12 months and 365 days, with an additional day being added every four years (leap year). Only difference: the first day of the year is March 1, a very important month in Rome because it is associated with the god of war. This distribution has left traces today: our last months of the current year are thus called October (from “octo”, the eighth), November (from “novo” the ninth) and December (from “decem” the tenth) when they are now the tenth, eleventh and twelfth months of the year.
New year, a regional specificity
In 532, the Church decides to start the year on January 1, month which immediately follows the birth of Christ fixed at December 25, 753 of the year of Rome (the foundation of the eternal city being used as point of departure for the Roman calendar) by the Pope Liberates. However, January 1 is not the first day of the year for everyone. In some regions of France, it is Easter, the anniversary of the resurrection of Christ, which serves as the New Year.. But that does pose some problems: Easter is a moving date that corresponds to the first Sunday after the spring full moon (March 21). We can therefore just as easily end up with years of varying lengths… which turns out to be very complicated in use. In other countries or regions, Christmas is chosen as the start of the year: for example, in Lyon, Poitou, Normandy or Anjou …
From the Edict of Roussillon to the Gregorian calendar
On August 9, 1564, by the Edict of Roussillon, King Charles IX imposed January 1 as the compulsory starting point for each year. The measure took effect on January 1, 1567. In 1582, a new calendar was born: the so-called Gregorian calendar, named after Pope Gregory XIII (pope from 1572 to 1582). The structure of the Gregorian calendar is analogous to that of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar gives an average time of the year of 365.2425 days. To ensure a whole number of days per year and to correspond to the solar reality, we regularly add (every 4 years in principle) a leap day, February 29. When European Catholics wake up the day after Thursday, October 4, it is actually Friday October 15 according to the new calendar. The year 1582 has ten days less to catch up with the sun. The Julian calendar was indeed not in agreement with the solar year, it advanced by about 11 minutes. It is to restore this gap that the Pope’s reform came into force. On the other hand, no modification of the date of the new year. It is this calendar that is still in effect today.
September 22, revolutionary new year
But on September 22, 1792, the Convention proclaimed the Republic. Symbolizing a break with the old order, the development of the republican calendar requires more than a year of debates in which David, Chénier and Fabre d’Eglantine take part. The final project was adopted on October 24, 1793: the start of the new era was set for September 22, 1792, which thus became the 1st Vendémiaire, year I. Each year began on the day of the autumn equinox, when the length of the day is equal to that of the night, which, depending on the year, may correspond to September 22, 23 or 24, a date which is fixed by decree. The year is divided into twelve months of thirty days, themselves divided into three “decadi” of ten days (to remove any Biblical reference to the seven-day week), followed by five “complementary” days also called “without- culottides “. The leap year is called “franciade” and the day added every four years, the day of the Revolution.
Back to January 1
In 1805, a return to the old system became necessary: France must have the same calendar as the rest of Europe. January 1, 1806 (11 Nivôse year XIV) thus marks the abandonment of the revolutionary calendar for the Gregorian calendar. Since then, January 1 has remained the first day of the year.
New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. For the anecdote, Saint-Sylvestre was a pope who exercised during the reign of the emperor Constantine I between January 31, 314 and December 31, 335. This 33rd Pope of Rome, also called Sylvester I, established the tolerance of Christianity within the Roman Empire.