New Year’s Eve traditions can be exciting for people across the globe. Below are some of the most common, organized by country of origin.
If you’re ringing in the New Year with loved ones, you may find it interesting to discover how traditions are carried out across the world. You might also become inspired to incorporate one of these customs into your own New Year’s Eve celebration.
From eating 12 grapes at midnight to jumping in the ocean, these traditions signify the beliefs and cultures of different people that are often tied to similar intentions. The many NYE traditions celebrated worldwide help unite people to promote hope and prosperity.
ARGETINA
Put Your Right Foot Forward
Take the first step into the new year with your right foot forward—literally. In Argentina, it’s believed that taking your first step with your right foot at midnight brings good luck.
BOLIVIA
Wear Red (or Yellow) Underwear
In Bolivia, the color of the underwear you’re donning as you enter the new year has a direct correlation to how it will go. Wearing red is supposed to bring love and passion into your life, while yellow or gold attracts money.
BRAZIL
Jump Seven Waves
In Brazil, it’s considered good luck to start the new year by jumping over seven waves. You get one wish for each wave, so be ready with your list for 2025!
Wear White
Some folks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are used to wearing white on New Year’s Eve. The practice is rooted in the belief that wearing the color will attract peace for the coming year.
Tossing White Flowers in the Ocean
Brazilians have a custom of throwing white flowers into the sea each new year. Doesn’t that sound so romantic? Residents will toss flowers and candles into the Atlantic Ocean as offerings to Yemoja, a god of water who can pass along good things in the upcoming year.
CANADA
Take a Polar Bear Plunge
All around the world, people will be kicking off 2025 by running into freezing cold lakes and oceans. The tradition was started in Vancouver, Canada in 1920 by a group of swimmers who called themselves the Polar Bear Club. In the U.S., these events are usually held to raise money for charity.
CHINA
Red for Good Luck
Red is a color that denotes good fortune and happiness, and in China, it’s a hue that’s often attached to New Year’s. You’ll spot decorations, fans, gift packets, and lanterns in shades of red.
CHILE
Dine on Lentils
The Chilean superstition of consuming lentils at midnight stems from the round legumes’ resemblance to coins. Eating a good serving of lentils is believed to bring more money into your life.
Sleeping in the cemetery to be with deceased loved ones
In Talca, Chile, residents gather in local graveyards on the last night of the year. However, their New Year’s Eve traditions are not considered sad or negative occasions. Instead, people sleep in these graveyards to welcome the New Year with their departed loved ones. Families gather at the gravesites, often with food and drinks, to stay overnight right beside the graves of family members. Some people reflect quietly, while others celebrate with loved ones, sharing meals and making toasts to honor those no longer with them.
COLOMBIA
Carry an Empty Suitcase
Want to go places in 2025? Take a cue from the Colombians, who walk around the block carrying empty suitcases on New Year’s Eve to bring a year filled with travel.
Three Potatoes
On New Year’s Eve, Columbians place one peeled, one unpeeled, and one half-peeled potato under their beds. When the clock strikes midnight, they pull out the first potato their hand touches, and the potatoes symbolize different things: a peeled potato means financial ruin. An unpeeled potato promises a good year all around. And a half-peeled potato is a mix of good and bad for the year.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Cutting Apples
While we might be used to cutting up apples for a pie, in the Czech Republic, cut-up apples hold unique significance when it comes to New Year’s. On New Year’s Eve, residents will cut apples in half and the shape inside denotes what one can expect in the coming year. For instance, while a star is good, a cross can foretell a future illness.
DENMARK
Leap Into the New Year
Have you ever seen someone standing on a chair at your New Year’s Eve celebration? Chances are, they’re celebration with a particular Danish tradition in mind where you literally leap into the new year at midnight for good luck. Why not give it a whirl?
Smash Dishes
This Danish tradition is a great way to take out any pent-up anger you don’t want to bring into the year. Smashing old or unwanted dishes outside your loved ones’ doors on New Year’s Eve is supposed to bring them luck—the bigger the pile of broken dishes, the luckier they’ll be.
ECUADOR
Burn Some Photographs
Everyone who has gone through a nasty break-up is familiar with this ritual. In Ecuador, it’s common to find photos of things or old memories you don’t want to bring into the new year and burn them before midnight to avoid carrying them along with you.
Burning scarecrow effigies
In Ecuador, people build and burn scarecrows that signify the past year. Ecuadorians start by constructing scarecrow-like figures with old clothes, paper, wood, or other materials. As the clock strikes midnight, Ecuadorians come together and set the scarecrows on fire. This activity is meant to symbolize the end of the past year, with the figures often resembling disliked public figures or the past year’s events.
ESTONIA
Feast All Day
For those of you with stomachs that never feel full, this Estonian New Year’s superstition will be the one to follow. In Estonia, there’s a tradition of eating either seven, nine, or 12 meals on the last day of the year in order to begin the next one with the strength of the same number of men as meals you’ve eaten. The more you eat, the stronger you’ll be.
GERMANY
Pouring lead to predict the future
One of the most common classic New Year’s traditions in Germany is Bleigießen. It involves pouring molten metal to forecast the coming year’s fortunes. While historically lead was used, today, safer materials like tin or wax are used instead because of health concerns. People may melt these metals in a spoon over a flame and quickly pour them into cold water. The solidified metal forms random shapes, which people interpret in different ways to predict future events. Commonly seen shapes and their meanings include, for example, a ship for travel, a ball for good fortune, and a tree for growth.
Lucky Pig
Pigs? And New Year’s? There’s actually a connection between the two, at least in Germany. Germans call this custom “Glücksschwein,” which translates to “lucky pig.” Pigs appear as marzipan treats, and noshing on them can foster good fortune in the new year.
Eat Herring
Whether you like your herring pickled or fresh, eating it in some form at midnight is considered good luck in Germany and Sweden.
GREECE
Hang an Onion on Your Door
It might not look or smell the best, but in Greece, hanging an onion on your door on New Year’s Eve symbolizes rebirth heading into the new year. As for January 1, parents are said to tap the onion on their children’s foreheads to usher in prosperity for the 365 days ahead.
Baking a Coin into a Cake
On January 1st, people from Greece celebrate St. Basil’s Day with a special cake known as “Vasilopita,” which contains a single coin. The person who finds the coin is believed to be blessed with good luck for the new year.
Smashing Pomegranates
No matter what time of year it is, pomegranates are very important in Greece. In Greek mythology, the fruit represents abundance and life, things that are tied to New Year’s there. Just after midnight, Greeks will crush pomegranates against their doors—the number of seeds that fall to the ground symbolize how much good luck you can expect in the new year.
IRISH
Put Mistletoe Under Your Pillow
Mistletoe isn’t just a Christmas tradition. The Irish believe that if you put a sprig of mistletoe, holly, or ivy under your pillow on New Year’s Eve, you’ll dream of your future love.
Bang Some Bread
You’ve heard of breaking bread, but how about banging it? Families in Ireland have a New Year’s tradition of banging loaves of Christmas bread against the walls and doors to ward off evil spirits and pave the way for a healthy and prosperous new year.
ITALY
Tossing old items out of windows
Like South Africa, Italy also literally casts off the old to make room for the new. Italians might dispose of old items by throwing them out of windows. This act symbolizes saying goodbye to negative experiences and making resolutions for the coming year. While not as commonly practiced as it once was, the tradition remains in some areas. It’s especially done in southern parts of Italy, where anything from pots and pans to clothes may find its way onto the streets.
Lucky Lentils
Italy is almost always known for dishes like spaghetti and linguini, but during New Year’s celebrations, it’s all about the lentils. Italians see lentils as mini, edible “coins,” and if you include them in your New Year’s Eve dinner, they’ll bring some luck into your life.
JAPAN
Clean Your House Before Midnight
In Japan, there’s a New Year’s tradition called “osoji” or “o-souji,” which involves giving the house a thorough cleaning before midnight. This practice stems from the belief that a clean home helps purify the space and prepare it for a fresh start in the new year. We could all use that!
Eat Soba Noodles
People in Japan traditionally eat soba noodles on New Year’s Eve. According to the superstition, the meal will melt away the pain and difficulties of the previous year.
Ringing bells 108 times
In Japan, the New Year’s Eve tradition, Joya no Kane, involves striking temple bells 108 times as midnight approaches. This ritual is a symbolic way to get rid of 108 earthly temptations or evil spirits that, according to Buddhist beliefs, cause human suffering. Temples nationwide participate in this ceremony, often attracting locals and visitors to collect lucky charms and experience the ringing that is said to purify the soul for the coming year.
Watch the Sunrise
Watching the first sunrise of the new year is called “hatsuhinode” in Japan. This practice is thought to bring good fortune for the year ahead, and many people rise early to find a picturesque spot, such as a beach or hill, to enjoy the view.
LATIN AMERICA
Throw Water Out of a Window
In Latin America, one New Year’s tradition involves throwing a bucket of water out the window to signify cleansing and renewal. What better way to prepare for a new year than by leaving the past behind you?
MEXICO
Eating a grape with each bell strike and making a wish
In Mexico, as the clock nears midnight on New Year’s Eve, families and friends prepare a cup or bowl of 12 grapes. With each of the twelve strikes of the clock at midnight, individuals consume one grape for each chime. This custom, known as “Las Doce Uvas de la Suerte,” translates to “The Twelve Grapes of Luck,” and it’s more than a festive activity. As the clock’s bell rings, people make a wish for every grape eaten, which represents each of the 12 months.
NETHERLANDS
Eating desserts for good luck
In many cultures, eating round foods or ring-shaped foods is a common way to commemorate the end of the old year. In the Netherlands, it’s traditional to eat oliebollen, a dessert similar to a doughnut made of fried dough. The tradition, which started as a way to protect oneself from evil spirits during Yule, continues to this day, and oliebollen are now a staple New Year’s food for many Dutch people.
PHILIPPINES
Wear Polka Dots
Here’s a New Year’s clothing tradition that doesn’t involve sparkles! In the Philippines, wearing polka dot-patterned dresses, shirts, or pants on New Year’s Eve is a tradition that’s believed to bring good fortune in the new year.
Find Round Objects
Round items are all the rage on New Year’s Eve, especially in the Philippines! Because the circular shape symbolizes money and wealth, it’s the more the merrier! According to this tradition, you can wear polka dots, carry coins, and eat round foods like donuts, bagels and cookies to boost your funds for the next 12 months.
POLAND
Wake Up Early
As the old adage goes, the early bird gets the worm. And if you’re up and at ’em on January 1, Polish tradition suggests that you’ll easily rise on the early side every day for the rest of year.
PUERTO RICO
Cleaning Streets, Cars, and More
At the start of the new year, Puerto Rico just might be the cleanest country around, since their tradition is to clean their homes and cities top to bottom, from indoor spaces to cars to streets. It’s a way to start out with fresh energy in the new year.
Step Backwards into the Sea
In Puerto Rico, some greet the stroke of midnight—and keep evils spirits at bay—with a quick fall backwards into the waves of the ocean. If you’ll be beachside for New Year’s, it certainly can’t hurt to do the same.
ROMANIA
Toss a Coin
Similar to throwing change and making a wish, many Romanians believe that tossing a coin in the river on New Year’s Eve will provide good luck for the whole year. So, gather your pennies and bring on the good fortune!
RUSSIA
Drink Your Wishes
Across the pond in Russia, it’s a tradition to drink your New Year’s wish! Over there, people write their New Year’s wish on a piece of paper, burn it, put the ashes into a glass of champagne, then drink it. Cheers!
SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES
Serve Herring
Consuming this silver fish at midnight is very common in Scandinavian countries. The shiny color is supposed to represent money, and it’s believed that eating it will bring luck and prosperity.
SCOTLAND
Carefully Choose Your First Guest
In Scotland, a tradition known as first-footing will supposedly determine whether your household has good luck or misfortune for the rest of the year. For prosperity in 2025, superstition says the first person to enter your home at midnight should be a tall, dark-haired male. He should also bring symbolic gifts like coins or black buns. It’s worth a shot, right?
SOUTH AFRICA
Throwing furniture out of windows
One common New Year’s Eve custom in South Africa is tossing furniture from windows. Johannesburg’s Hillbrow district is particularly known for this unconventional New Year’s tradition. The act symbolizes discarding old, unwanted items from the past year, making room for new opportunities and a fresh start. However, it’s not a chaotic free-for-all; the police have outlined safety and legal concerns while providing increased monitoring during the festivities.
SPAIN
Eat 12 Grapes at the Stroke of Midnight
Eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight is customary in Spain. With each chime of the clock at midnight, you have to pop another grape in your mouth—it’s no easy feat! Each grape symbolizes a month, and successfully eating all 12 promises a lucky year ahead.
SWITZERLAND
Throw Some Ice Cream
On December 31, instead of toasting with a glass of champagne, ring in the new year the Swiss way and throw a scoop of ice cream on the ground. Doing so is supposed to bring luck and prosperity.
Ringing the bells
While you may be familiar with setting off fireworks as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s, Switzerland, a country that is home to many Christian churches, takes a different approach. In both villages and cities, it’s traditional for the church bells to start ringing just before midnight, with many people going outside or opening their windows to listen and welcome in new year’s day.
TURKEY
Smash Pomegranates
Take a cue from Turkey and smash a pomegranate outside your front door to bring good luck in the year to come! The ruby red fruit is seen as a symbol of abundance, health, and prosperity.
Sprinkling Salt
In the United States, spilling the salt can represent bad luck, but in Turkey, sprinkling salt is encouraged. Turks will sprinkle salt on their doorsteps at midnight, something that can generate success in the new year.
OTHER TRADITION – COUNTRY NOT MENTIONED
Bang Pots and Pans
Before there were noisemakers, people made their own joyful ruckus by banging pots and pans at the stroke of midnight. This tradition was once thought of as a way to drive away evil spirits.
