Unique New Year in Argentina
The pieces of confetti fluttering through the streets of Buenos Aires around lunchtime on December 31 appears celebratory, but the explanation behind the custom is more practical: Argentines shred all their old documents and papers before the the curtain falls on the year, to symbolise leaving the past behind. It’s hardly the most hazardous thing flying out of windows around the world on New Year’s, though — many other Latin American countries are fond of throwing buckets of water, while South Africans inelegantly deposit their old furniture onto the street from great heights.