Aromas and rituals of New Year and Christmas in different countries

France: 13 desserts

In France, 13 desserts are prepared on Christmas Eve – in honor of Christ and his twelve apostles. Desserts remain on the table for three days and all family members taste each one. There is no exact list of Christmas desserts – recipes vary by location and chef’s creativity. But there are obligatory ingredients that are included in sweets in one form or another: dried and fresh fruits, white and black nougat, marmalade, marshmallows, dates and nuts.

Christmas marshmallow от Parle Moi de Parfum

The fragrance is dedicated to the childhood memories of perfumer Michel Almarak about Christmas desserts. His favorite delicacy was marshmallow with orange and vanilla. It is he who is heard throughout the entire fragrance. The perfume turned out to be a sparkling powdery marshmallow with orange blossom and vanilla sugar.

Bali: prayers to the gods & banana boats

Balinese women start their day with prayers and offerings to the gods. On New Year’s Eve, these offerings are especially generous, and the prayers are longer. Gifts to the gods are placed in baskets woven from banana leaves – this is rice, a cut of tropical fruits, decorated with flowers, petals and seeds.

Durga by DS & Durga

An almost narcotic composition of exotic flowers and fruits. The loudest tuberose is heard here, which is set off by ripe melon, bitter chrysanthemum, spicy ylang-ylang, honey jasmine and cool iris. The gods will definitely be happy with the offerings, and those around them will be happy with your exotic train.

Sweden – gingerbread cookies

Before Christmas, all Swedish homes are filled with the aroma of gingerbread cookies, the aroma of which is so intense that it can be heard even on the street. Every Swedish family has its own recipe, but the essential ingredients are ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves.

Alien Fusion от Thierry Mugler

Here are almost all the ingredients of Swedish gingerbread cookies, with the addition of refreshing orange blossom, sweet-intoxicating tuberose and soft vanilla. The composition turned out to be tart-spicy at the beginning and flowery-languid in disclosure.

Brazil – Oceanfront and Yemanja

In Brazil and throughout Latin America on the evening of December 31, residents put on white robes, light candles and go to the ocean to honor the goddess of the sea and the ocean, Yemanja. It symbolizes the beginning of life, spiritual wealth and material well-being. People bring her flowers and fruits, thank her for the events of the year and ask for blessings for the next year. And then everyone eats sweets and fruits, drinks rum cocktails and dances the dance of a happy life.

Pirates’ Grand Reserve от Atkinsons

Almost Brazilian happiness and New Year in a bottle. There is everything you need for this – aged cask rum, pod vanilla, cherry-sugar heliotrope, inviting and relaxing jasmine, dark chocolate with cardamom, soft suede and ambrette seeds.

Italy – Christmas cupcake and nougat

Italians know how to enjoy life and the process of eating. On Christmas and New Year’s holidays, each hostess bakes a Panettone cupcake with raisins and candied fruits, chocolate and nuts. And also a delicacy torrone is being prepared, reminiscent of nougat, which has been on tables since the time of Ancient Rome. It contains raisins, honey, three types of nuts and egg white. With such a set of sweets, Italians visit each other on New Year’s holidays and stock up on glucose for the whole year. These kits can also be found in stores. Therefore, the average Italian invariably gets a couple of muffins and a couple of packs of nougat every Christmas.

Milk and Chocolate от Chabaud Maison de Parfum

There is everything here to reproduce the atmosphere of the Italian Christmas sweet feast. Lots of milk and dark chocolate, biscuits, biscuits, whipped cream and even ricotta cheese. Every sweet lover will find his own dessert in it. Although perfumer Sophie Shabo claims that it contains only vanilla, dark chocolate, milk, jasmine and teak wood.

Russia – tangerines and champagne

New Year in Russia is associated with tangerines and champagne. There are several versions of where the tangerines came from. One of the versions says that in Russia tangerines were grown in Abkhazia and ripened by December, and it was a new fresh fruit for the New Year’s table. At that time, apples were already boring to everyone and were not considered something festive. Another version says that tangerines appeared in Russia in 1963 as an attribute of the New Year after a dry cargo ship from Africa moored in Leningrad with full holds of tangerines. Champagne has been a favorite holiday drink of all Russians since time immemorial. Not a single New Year goes by without it.

Tangerina by Dr. Gritti

The first minutes of the opening of the aroma are the very New Year’s holiday of childhood in Soviet times. Sweet citrus juice, tangerine crusts, sweets, cookies, gingerbreads and even a crust of Borodino bread. Towards the base, the aroma warms and softens – jasmine and musk appear in it.

China: tangerines, rice and caramel

New Year is celebrated twice in China. According to European tradition – on the night of December 31 to January 1. Residents of the country celebrate it in the family circle, modestly and calmly. And it is customary to celebrate the real Chinese New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice, which falls on one of the days between January 21 and February 21. Since ancient times, it has been customary in China to give two tangerines to friends for the New Year, which symbolize wealth and abundance. And before leaving home, the guest is again presented with two tangerines. Thus, a mutual desire for prosperity was obtained. Traditional sweets are certainly present on the tables as desserts: apples or bananas in caramel, peanuts in sweet glaze, fried bananas in batter, rice balls with honey, caramelized peaches. The changing symbol of each new year is the image of an animal whose year comes according to the calendar.

Aurica от Boadicea the Victorious

The mascot scent is dedicated to the 2020 Chinese Year of the Rat and embodies the oriental traditions of wealth and abundance. It starts with tart cedar needles, slices of juicy tangerines, dizzying ylang-ylang and pineapple soaked in syrup. The heart of the fragrance is Cambodian oud, spicy marigolds, fiery rose and noble jasmine. The base of the composition is dense and enveloping – chocolate patchouli, smoky vetiver, warm sandalwood surrounded by relaxing amber, soft musk and vanilla.

Cuba: bananas, grapes, coca-cola and rum

The tradition of celebrating the New Year in Cuba has been shaped by the Spanish and African cultures. For the new year, Cubans wear new clothes in yellow or red, which symbolize good luck and prosperity. At midnight, to the sound of the chimes, everyone eats grapes together, making wishes. The number of grapes symbolizes the months of the year. Some Cubans count how many sour berries were and how many were sweet. This foreshadows the number of good and bad months in the coming year. Cubans’ favorite New Year’s snack is fried bananas. For dessert, the hostesses serve pies with coconuts, guava, pumpkin and oranges, sweet potatoes, banana puddings. An alcoholic drink, without which no holiday is complete – rum. On its basis, cocktails are made with liqueurs, coca-cola, fruit juice and ice cubes.

Cubata by Jacques Zolty

The fragrance is dedicated to Cuba, its inhabitants, musical rhythms and fiery dances. It has everything that Cuban life is unthinkable without – rum with cola and lime, spices, Cuban cigars and hot leather. A couple of zips – and you plunge into the rhythms of salsa, see flickering snow-white smiles and feel a passionate gaze on you.

India: flower buds, candies and fruits

India holds the record for the number of New Years celebrations in a calendar year. Christians celebrate it on January 1, Muslims – on the first day of the month of Muharram. Some residents of the country celebrate it in late October – early November, the day of Diwali. The traditional Indian year begins on March 21-22, the first day of the month of Chaitra.

Hindus paint the skin with henna patterns that can attract happiness and good luck for the whole year, put on new festive clothes and decorate it with fresh flowers of pink, white, red and purple colors. The holiday itself is celebrated at a rather modest family table. But on the first morning of the year, mothers prepare large trays with fresh fruits, sweets, and flower buds for their children as gifts. Mothers try to make the tray for the baby beautiful and memorable. And even if there is a couple of sweets and one fruit on it, they lay out magnificent compositions from flowers that delight everyone.

Wild python от Mancera

The scent consists of many exotic flowers and fruits, evoking vivid emotions and deep feelings. Honey peach is mixed with osmanthus flowers, sweet jasmine – with caramel and orange blossom, intoxicating tuberose – with musk and vanilla. The aroma, like a bright exotic fireworks, takes you into the world of dreams and flowers.

Iran: green grass and spring flowers

Southeast Asia celebrates New Years in the spring as the beginning of a new life. In Iran, New Year is celebrated on March 21, the day of the vernal equinox. A few weeks before the holiday, people plant wheat or barley grains in a small dish. By the New Year, the grains sprout, which symbolizes the beginning of spring and a new year of life. For the Iranian New Year, they do not decorate a Christmas tree, but they set the table where sprouted wheat grass is always present – for rebirth and renewal, Persian sweet pudding – for abundance and fertility, sweet dried lotus fruits – for love, spring flowers – a symbol of youth and spring.

Love Mimosa by Amouage