While celebrating the new year with fireworks and champagne is a typical practice around the world, are you familiar with these other customs?
There may be a global celebration of the new year every year on December 31, but not everyone follows suit. Everyone in the US is familiar with the customs: watching the ball drop in Times Square, kissing a loved one at midnight, and seeing an excess of fireworks. However, in other parts of the world, rituals can involve anything from opening a new pomegranate to cleaning the house thoroughly.
Continue reading to find out about fourteen distinct New Year’s Eve festivities from Japan to Spain.
1. Several nations: Consuming lucky foods
Sharing a dinner with loved ones is a universally beloved way to ring in the new year. Certain “lucky” foods are associated with good fortune in different cultures. For instance, in Colombia and other Latin American countries, it’s twelve grapes or raisins; in Italy, it’s twelve spoonful’s of lentils, one for each of the twelve midnight bells.
French New Year’s celebrations aren’t complete without a stack of pancakes. While the Dutch enjoy doughnuts and ring-shaped treats, the Germans favor marzipan in the shape of a pig as a lucky charm.
Because of the belief that one gets the power of that many men the next year for every meal taken, Estonians feast as many as seven, nine, or even twelve times on New Year’s Eve.
On New Year’s Day, people all over the American South eat collard greens and black-eyed peas as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Just for fun, here’s a little-known fact about collard greens: green is a symbol of money.
2. Scotland: The house ripping and “Auld Lang Syne”
The Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration known as Hogmanay begins on December 30 and continues until the first day of the new year. Although Hogmanay festivities take numerous forms around the nation, the most prevalent is the practice of “first footing,” which entails paying early visits to relatives and neighbors, frequently accompanied by a symbolic present.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, people assemble to sing “Auld Lang Syne,” a worldwide favorite with its Scottish roots, but the redding of the home is the most significant custom. In essence, this is a thorough cleaning of the entire house, beginning with the cabinets and ending with the front door. The hearth is one area that gets special attention; the ashes are swept away so that the new year can begin with a clean slate for the whole family.
On December 30, if you are fortunate enough to be in Edinburgh for the celebrations, you can anticipate to witness pipers and drummers guiding torch-bearing citizens on a parade across the city. A brisk plunge in the frigid waters of the Firth of Forth rounds out the celebration on New Year’s Day.
3. Philippines: 2Wearing polka dots and eating spherical fruits are three things that Filipinos do.
The Filipino people think that round shapes, like polka dots, bring good fortune and prosperity to the new year. It is also believed that eating round fruits, such as grapes, pomelos, oranges, watermelon, and longan, is a lucky charm. Do you have any other entertaining suggestions for children? Do your highest possible jump the second the clock strikes midnight. For some, it’s a New Year’s resolution to be taller.
4. Brazil: Donning white garments while plunging into the water
The African custom of wearing whit3e on New Year’s Eve has been around for a long time. On this night, Brazilians honor Lemanjá, goddess of the sea, at the Festa de Lemanjá. All of the participants, clad in white, rush into the sea at precisely midnight in order to leap seven waves, marking the event’s climax. Every wave and jump represent a distinct orixá, or god, that the swimmer is addressing. Put them in the same category as New Year’s resolutions or dreams.
5. Mexico: Exploring the country without a travel bag
We are fully in support of this one: To welcome a year full of adventure and new experiences, Mexicans have a particular New Year’s Eve ritual. Some Latin American countries have a tradition where individuals will go around with an empty suitcase or place it in the center of a room and walk around it. Some others even go the extra mile by walking the entire length of the street with their bags empty.
6. Cuba: Flailing a pail of water out the front entrance
When the Cuban New Year begins, locals traditionally gather all the evil spirits and negative energies from the previous year and send them flying out the front door. Around midnight, it’s usual to witness people throwing dirty water out of their homes in buckets. If you happen to be out and about in a Cuban neighborhood on New Year’s Eve, be cautious.
7. Greece: Pomegranate hanging and smashing
The Greek tradition of podariko, which means “good foot” in English, is believed to bring good fortune to the new year. People traditionally hang pomegranates from their front doors in the days leading up to the event as a symbol of good fortune, abundance, and fertility. On New Year’s Eve, right before midnight, everyone will leave the house and turn off the lights. Then, one lucky person will be sent back in, right foot first. If executed properly, it provides prosperity to the household throughout the year. The next step is for someone else to take the pomegranate in their right hand and smash it against the door. The more seeds that run out, the more luck you’ll have in the new year.
8. Germany: Finding the future through melting
It is traditional to heat little pieces of lead, drop them into cold water, and then use the shapes that emerge to create a new year’s prediction in many parts of German-speaking Europe, Finland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Türkiye. If a ball shapes up, for instance, good fortune will smile upon you. Tin figures to melt are now included in kits throughout German-speaking countries.
9. Russia: twelve seconds of quiet before the clock strikes twelve
In the hours before midnight, Russians reflect on the prior year’s most significant events as a way to express gratitude, and they utilize the twelve seconds of quiet to make wishes before the clock strikes midnight.
10. In Spain: on the hunt for the multi-nosed man
On New Year’s Eve, a unique figure makes an appearance in the Catalonia region of northern Spain. You can discover the man with as many noses as there are days in a year at L’home dels nassos, also known as the man with many noses, and he grants wishes if you can find him. In this Spanish tradition, kids are urged to search for him, not realizing that he’s quite elusive on the last day of the year because to his remaining nose.
11. Denmark: Physically launching into the new year
Danes will physically jump into the new year at midnight by jumping out of chairs and sofas. If you ever find yourself in Denmark to celebrate the new year, you should do what the locals do—leap into the air—because failing to do so is considered bad luck.
12. Ireland: Adding a seat to the table
As one of their many New Year’s rituals, the Irish smash bread against the outside walls of their homes to ward off evil spirits and provide a clean slate for the coming year. But perhaps the most famous is the practice of placing a second plate on the dinner table to honor those who have died in the previous year.
13. Red underwear is a local tradition in Italy and Spain.
Wearing red underwear is a lucky charm for both Italians and Spaniards. On the other hand, Spaniards maintain that new underwear is also necessary for good luck. But the Italians take it a notch further: as the New Year approaches, they frequently toss out old belongings as a symbol of the arrival of new beginnings.
14. Visiting a shrine in Japan to obtain fortunate charms
There is an emphasis on virtue in Japanese New Year’s customs. It is customary to attend the local temple on Shōgatsu (fresh Year) to trade in the lucky charms (omamori) from the previous year for fresh ones. Following this, celebrations will continue with traditional New Year’s fare including prawns (said to bring longevity) and herring roe (said to increase fertility).