Old rites for New Year around the world  Posted at 12/29/2012
11:02 AM | Updated as of 12/30/2012 11:36 AM  PARIS, France - As
the clock strikes 12 on Monday, millions will pop champagne
corks and light fireworks while others indulge in quirkier New
Year's rituals like melting lead, leaping off chairs or gobbling
grapes.  One of the world's oldest shared traditions, New Year's
celebrations take many forms, but most cultures have one thing
in common -- letting one's hair down after a long, hard year.
For much of the globe this involves sipping bubbly with friends
until the sun comes up, seeing out the old year with bonfires
and flares and off-key renditions of Auld Lang Syne.  But others
have rather more curious habits, often steeped in superstition.
In Finland, say tour guides, people pour molten lead into cold
water to divine the year ahead from the shape the metal sets in.
If the blob represents a ship it is said to foretell travel, if
it's a ball, good luck.  In Denmark, people stand on chairs and
jump o