Wherever you are in the world, one thing is universal: the new year is a time of joy, celebration, and new beginnings. The holiday season is also a time for traditional foods and communal gatherings. However, not every country celebrates this special time of the year similarly. While some common customs can be found worldwide, such as watching fireworks and gathering with your family, others are more unusual. From spending the night in a cemetery to predicting the future with potatoes, here are some New Year’s celebrations from around the world.
Global Celebrations
New Year’s Eve is celebrated with a variety of unique traditions around the world, but many share a common theme of good fortune and new beginnings. In Japan, it’s customary to eat soba noodles at midnight, symbolizing longevity and good fortune. The long noodles represent a long life, making them a perfect dish to start the year with. In Spain, the tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight is believed to bring good luck and prosperity for each month of the coming year. Meanwhile, in the United States, many people enjoy black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day, a tradition that dates back to the Civil War. These legumes are thought to bring good fortune and financial success, making them a staple in New Year’s food traditions across the country.
Ecuador: Burn the Effigies
If you can visit Ecuador on the day of New Year’s Eve and see local people burning an effigy of Batman on a street corner, don’t be taken aback. These effigies, often made to resemble famous people such as politicians and celebrities or popular cartoon characters, symbolize all the misfortunes that happened in the previous year. It is believed that by burning the effigies, people can leave the bad luck behind and welcome a new year.
While the effect of burning a Minion or Simpson effigy on your future is questionable, this is no doubt a fun and unique tradition to take part in.
Turkey: Smash a Pomegranate
The new year is all about hope and a fresh start, so there is no surprise that most New Year’s traditions and practices revolve around bringing good luck to your life. Because pomegranates are considered a symbol of prosperity in Turkey, it is believed that smashing a pomegranate in front of the house can ensure good fortune in the upcoming year. This is a common practice during year’s celebrations in Turkey. If you don’t have a pomegranate, rest assured that sprinkling some salt at the front door may also do the job.
Colombia: Fortune-Telling With Potatoes
Have you ever wondered what the future has in store for you? According to a Colombian traditional belief, you can divine the future with three potatoes.
In Colombia, it’s a tradition to put three potatoes under your bed before going to sleep on New Year’s Eve — one fully peeled, one half-peeled, and one unpeeled. When you wake up, reach underneath and randomly choose a potato without looking. If you take the unpeeled one, you will likely be flush with cash this year, symbolizing the abundance of paper money. If you take the half-peeled one, you’re going to do so-so financially. And if you take the fully peeled tater, you better manage your money more carefully because challenges await ahead.
Estonia: Eat a Lot of Meals Throughout the Day
If you are a food lover, you’ll love spending your New Year’s in Estonia. While some cultures have few foods available, Estonians enjoy an abundance of meals. Estonian people often eat a whopping seven, nine, or even 12 meals on the last day of the year. These numbers are considered lucky, and eating many times throughout the day indicates that you’ll have a year of abundance and great health.
If you’re worried that you can’t finish that much food, don’t worry. Another New Year’s tradition in Estonia is to always leave out a portion for the visiting spirits of their ancestors.
Germany: Melt Lead To Predict the Future
If you wonder what your life will be like in the future, try another fun fortune-telling tradition popular in Germany — “Bleigiessen” (lead pouring).
Preparation for Bleigiessen is quite cheap and easy. All you need are a candle, a spoon, a bowl of cold water, and a piece of lead (or some less toxic alternatives like wax or tin). Otherwise, you can purchase a ready-made “Bleigiessen” kit, as it may not be easy to find pieces of lead lying around nowadays. Light the candle, put the piece of lead on the spoon, and hover over the flame. When the lead has melted, pour it into cold water and use your imagination to guess what the shape means. For example, if you get a round, ball-like shape, congratulations, good luck is coming your way next year.
Denmark: Jump Down From a Chair
To most of us, “leap into the New Year” is just a figurative expression. The Danes, however, take this term quite literally.
“Hoppe ind i det nye år,” meaning “to leap into the New Year,” is a tradition in Denmark. As the clock ticks down to midnight on New Year’s Eve, people will climb on a chair or sofa and then jump down when the clock strikes 12. This tradition is believed to bring good luck for the coming year.
Chile: Spend New Year’s Eve at the Cemetery
Since New Year’s is always associated with joy and hopefulness, it’s hard to imagine spending this time of the year in a place like a cemetery. However, in the city of Talca, Chile, it’s a common practice to spend the last night of the year in the cemetery.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, local people bring some food and drinks with them to the graveyard, light a fire, and wait for the new year to come next to their deceased loved ones. Many actually sleep in the graveyard. While it might sound bizarre at first, those who undertake this tradition believe it brings peace to their souls and a chance to reflect on their life.
South Africa: Throw Old Furniture Out of the Window
As the new year approaches, it’s a common practice to clean our home and get rid of old stuff to prepare for a great start. However, in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, people have taken house cleaning to the next level. They throw away old furniture. Not just small, soft objects like blankets or pillows, but sometimes you’ll even see a sofa or refrigerator flying out of an apartment. So many people have been injured by these flying objects that police now have to patrol the streets during New Year’s Eve and Day to keep residents from chucking their furniture out the windows.
Brazil: Wear White Clothes
The color white is seen as the symbol of peace and harmony worldwide. That’s why it’s a tradition in many places to wear white clothes during weddings and other special occasions.
Because white is also often linked to a new beginning, it’s the most popular color in Brazil during New Year’s celebrations. In this beautiful South American country, people often wear white outfits and celebrate New Year’s Eve on the beach, where they deliver spiritual offerings (usually white flowers and candles) to lemanjá, the queen of the sea, to receive her blessings for the year to come.
Asian Traditions
Asian traditions on New Year’s Eve are deeply rooted in history and culture, each with its own unique customs and foods. In China, the Lunar New Year is a grand celebration marked by family reunions and feasts. Traditional foods like dumplings and niangao (sticky rice cake) are enjoyed, each carrying its own symbolism of wealth and prosperity. In Japan, the New Year, known as Oshogatsu, is celebrated with visits to shrines and temples, and the eating of traditional foods such as mochi and soba noodles. Mochi, a sticky rice cake, is believed to bring strength and good fortune. In Korea, the New Year, or Seollal, is celebrated with traditional foods like tteokguk (rice cake soup) and yaksik (sweet rice dessert). Eating tteokguk is believed to grant the eater a long life and an additional year of age, making it a significant part of the New Year’s celebrations.
Reflection and Renewal
New Year’s Eve is not just about celebrating; it’s also a time for reflection and renewal. Many people use this time to look back on the past year and set goals for the year ahead. It’s a chance to let go of bad habits and embrace new beginnings. In many cultures, traditional foods are eaten to symbolize this renewal. In Greece, it’s customary to eat vasilopita, a sweet bread baked with a coin inside. The person who finds the coin in their slice is believed to have good luck for the year ahead. In Mexico, the tradition of eating rosca de reyes, a sweet bread shaped like a crown, symbolizes the cycle of life and the importance of family and community. These good luck foods are an integral part of New Year’s food traditions, offering a delicious way to start the year with hope and positivity.
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