When the ball drops on New Years Eve, before the glasses clank, many do something as part of a tradition that they believe could bring love, luck, money or simply leave the bad in the past.
Spain
Eating twelve grapes, one for each minute of midnight on New Year’s Eve, is a tradition in Spain. Each grape symbolizes good fortune and prosperity for one month of the upcoming year. Larger cities, such as Madrid and Barcelona, have central squares where locals congregate to share grapes and pass around cava bottles. BestLife reports the origin of the tradition, “back in the 1800s, vine growers in the Alicante area came up with this practice as a means of selling more grapes toward the end of the year, but the sweet celebration quickly caught on.”
Colombia
Colombians carry empty luggage around the block, hoping for a travel filled new year.
Denmark
In order to drive out evil spirits, Danes celebrate the New Year by smashing broken dishes and glasses against the doors of their loved ones. Additionally, around midnight, they all jump off of chairs while standing on them to “leap” into January in hopes of good luck.
Scotland
All throughout Scotland, “first-footing” is a custom observed on Hogmanay, the country’s New Year’s Eve celebration. It is customary for the first person to enter a home in the New Year with a lucky gift. In order to purify the new year, Scots also organize bonfire celebrations in which participants parade while slinging enormous fireballs on poles that are said to represent the sun.
Philippines
On New Year’s Eve, spherical forms representing coins that stand for prosperity in the upcoming year can be seen all throughout the Philippines. A lot of families have fruit piled high on their dining tables, and some have precisely twelve spherical fruits grapes being the most popular for midnight meal. Many wear lucky polka dots as well.
Brazil
Wearing special underwear on New Year’s Eve is considered auspicious in Brazil and other Central and South American countries including Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. The most popular colors for the New Year are red, which is believed to bring love, and yellow, which is believed to bring money. In Brazil they also believe in wearing white and jumping over seven waves to thank Iemanjá, or Yemanja, an ocean goddess, for the good things that happened during the past year. Time Magazine explained, “they don’t turn their back on the sea until their feet are out of the water, so as not to receive bad luck.”
Greece
In Greece, on New Year’s Eve, homes customarily hang an onion on the front door as a sign of renewal for the next year. Parents use an onion to tap their children’s heads to wake them up on New Year’s Day.
New York
Special peppermint pigs are sold throughout the holiday season in upstate New York. Each person has a turn striking it with a unique candy-sized hammer and indulging in a piece to bring them luck in the upcoming year. Because the peppermint is so potent, take only a tiny bit. Well, at least you’ll be breathing fresh air come January
