Five... four... three... two... one. Happy new year! Hang on. Let's back it up a little bit. New Year's Eve celebrations are just around the corner. But are you left with still trying to find a place in Richmond to bid adieu to 2013 and welcome 2014? Or are you looking to discover a unique or just plain whacky way of celebrating the change in the calendar? Read on and find out about a host of new year's traditions from around the globe, and what celebrations from the past were like.
Rockin' in the new year The biggest parties in town this year are at the River Rock Casino Resort that range from a blast from the past of '80s retro music, to some big band sounds for you to gently sway to on the dance floor.
"New Year's Eve, it's our busiest day of the year," said Roland Monteiro, the resort's general manager, adding that usually all of the 393 hotel rooms are booked. "And this year we have pretty much something for everyone aged 20 to 80."
The night's headliner is 1980s girl band The Go-Go's which rose to fame on the strength of hit singles including We Got The Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed and Vacation.
"We thought to ourselves, what would transcend a number of generations," Monteiro said, "and we came up with the decade of the '80s. People in their 20s think the music is
pretty cool in a retro kind of way. And those in their 30s to 50s remember it from their own childhoods.
The Go-Go's will be playing at the River Rock Show Theatre and the event includes dinner.
If you are looking for a more laid back, traditional way to usher in 2014 with some big band sounds and slow dancing, the River Rock Casino Resort also has that with legendary Vancouver bandleader Dal Richards and his Orchestra performing in the Whistler Ballroom.
Richards, 95, is certainly no stranger to New Year's Eve shows - this year marks his 78th consecutive show.
For 25 years - 1940 to 1965 - he and his band were part of a cross-Canada New Year's Eve radio show on CBC. Richards and his orchestra would do their set from the Panorama Roof location at the Hotel Vancouver, and due to the time zone shifts across the country had the distinction of signing off the broadcast each year.
"That was pretty exciting for listeners to enjoy bands from different cities, and different locations," said Richards.
Richards' first New Year's gig was at a small hall on West 6th Avenue, east of Granville Street in Vancouver.
"It was a little parish hall, and I was still in high school at the time," Richards said. "It paid $10. I thought that was pretty good."
For the past decade, Richards, who was born in Marpole just across the water from the River Rock, has been at the helm of the casino resort's show.
And now that he's nearing 80 New Year's events, does the gig ever get old? "No, it's always exciting," he said, without any hint of hesitation, "because New Year's Eve is a special night, of course. And I enjoy seeing the people.
Tickets to both events are available through Ticketmaster.
Traditional celebrations It seems that just about every country has a unique way of saying good-bye to the year past and enticing good fortune for the one to come.
If you are from Central and South America, the colour of your underwear should never be taken lightly on New Year's Eve because the shade you pick can either bring in love or money.
In Bolivia, bright yellow undies are supposed to help increase fortune, while in Mexico, red brings love and happiness.
If you're Spanish, you'd better like grapes at midnight. Why? As they count down the last 12 seconds before midnight, Spaniards like to gobble down a dozen grapes - one per second to signify good luck for each month of the new year. If you happen along a sour one, that means an off month, while the sweet ones predict good fortune.
Estonians are also into eating to attract good luck, although they have to loosen their belts a tad more than those in Spain.
That's because the tradition - to either the horror or delight of weight loss planners and gyms - is to eat seven meals on New Year's Day.
The feat's origins rest in the belief that if a man is able to eat seven to 12 full meals, he could expect to see an abundance of food throughout the year. It also means that he has the strength of seven men.
In Denmark it is a good sign to find your door heaped with a pile of broken dishes come New Year's Day.
That's because old dishes are saved year round to throw them at the homes where friends live on New Year's Eve. So, the more broken crockery you have to sweep up on Jan. 1 is a blessing in disguise - it means you have many friends.
Welcoming friends - at least of the described "right type" - is how the Scots celebrate new year's.
It's part of the tradition called first-footing where to bring in good luck for the new year, the very first visitor to step their foot in your door on New Year's Day should be tall, dark and bearing coal, shortbread, salt, a black bun and whisky.
This is apparently a throwback to the Viking days, when locals would evade their blonde-haired visitors.
Filipinos dress in polkadots because the roundness signifies prosperity. Pockets are also filled with round coins, which are jangled to attract wealth. Coins can also be left on top of tables and in drawers.
And at the exact moment of midnight, Filipino children jump as high as they can because they believe this will make them taller.
New Year's past Back in the 1930s, Richmond was known as quite the place to ring in the new year.
According to the historical reference book Richmond, Child of the Fraser, the Steveston Opera House was one destination that was popular not only with local residents but also those in nearby Marpole and other parts of Vancouver.
What helped make the opera house popular and made the commute from Marpole possible was the BCER's (British Columbia Electric Railway) interurban trolley. New Year's revellers would use the southbound line to link up with the opera house which was built in 1890 by W.H. Steves on the south east corner of Chatham Street at Second Avenue.
Another hot spot for many New Year's festivities in Richmond was the Cambie Gym in the 3700 block of Sexsmith Road.
The building was home to numerous community groups, including the Richmond Athletic Club which organized several New Year's celebrations.
