When I think of New Years celebrations around the world, fireworks are what come to mind. There are also various lit-up things that drop- most famously the ball in Times Square in NYC.
There’s also lots of partying, excuses to wear silly hats & glasses and restaurants over-charging to eat out on this very special night.
Last year I wrote about Bizarre New Years Eve Traditions Around the World. The list of traditions came from an article by Buzzfeed.
I came across a similar list in the form of a slideshow from Smarter Travel featuring 12 New Year’s Traditions From Around the World.
Here’s the traditions that made the list:
- Spain– Eating lots of grapes “for each chime of the clock during the countdown” according to Smarter Travel.
- Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico– Walking around with an empty suitcase will bring travel for the upcoming year.
- Italy– Throwing things out the window to let go of the past.
- Brazil– Wear white and wear brand new underwear. The color you pick signifies what you want in the new year.
- Denmark, Germany, Netherlands– Breaking/ throwing dishes at your neighbor’s home/ door. This is a “sign of good luck and camaraderie“.
- Japan– Ringing bells 108 times which has to do with Buddhism and getting a fresh start.
- Switzerland– Dropping ice cream on the floor.
- Greece– Baking a coin into bread. Find it and have good luck for a year.
- Estonia– Eating seven times which is a “wish for abundance” for the upcoming year.
- Philippines– Celebrating with round things. Roundness symbolizes health, prosperity and wealth.
- Finland– Predicting the future with fortune-telling.
- Ireland– Hitting the walls with bread to chase the bad out.
When reading about these odd traditions you’ll notice that the majority of them have to do with luck.
Which tradition would you most like to follow? I’m not big on celebrating New Years but breaking and throwing dishes sure does sound like fun!
Click here to head over to Smarter Travel to find out about each of these 12 New Year’s traditions.
