New Year celebrations are a big deal not just in India, but also across the globe. There are several fascinating New Year’s Day traditions around the world that you should know about. Let us look at a few of them in this article.
New Year Traditions Around the World- A Closer Look
Here are some of the most exciting New Year traditions around the world:
- Fireworks displays are a common New Year celebration across several countries, including Australia’s Sydney Harbor, Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach, Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, etc. From New York to New Zealand, several cities and regions celebrate the New Year in style with marvelous fireworks.
- People also throw glasses and plates on doors to keep bad spirits away in Denmark, while effigies of famous individuals are burnt in Ecuador to keep away last year’s bad juju!
- Citizens in Johannesburg, South Africa, celebrate the New Year by dumping their old furniture out of windows, while Greeks hang onions outside their doors after Church services on New Year’s Day. This is believed to symbolize growth and fertility.
- In the Philippines, locals pick 12 round fruits for every month of the coming year. People in Denmark also try to jump off chairs together at midnight in some cases!
Some other New Year Traditions Worth Noting
If you thought the celebrations listed above were quirky, there’s more:
- Portugal, Spain, and other Latin American nations eat several lucky foods on New Year’s Eve. It is usually 12 grapes or raisins in Colombia and 12 spoonfuls of lentils in Italy (mirroring the 12 clock chimes at midnight).
- The French eat pancakes for New Year, while Germans prefer pig-shaped marzipan for good luck. Ring-shaped items and doughnuts are preferred in the Netherlands, while Estonians feast up to 12 times on New Year’s Eve to gain strength!
- Scotland celebrates Hogmanay which begins on 30th December and concludes on New Year’s Day. One of the common traditions is first footing or being the first to visit neighbors and friends with a gift. The redding of homes is another tradition, involving deep cleaning almost everything, especially the fireplace.
- Brazilians believe in wearing something white at the Festa de Lemanja on New Year’s Eve and jumping into the sea at midnight. The key is to jump over seven waves, indicating requests made by the person to unique Gods or Orixa.
- Mexicans walk about with empty suitcases on New Year’s Eve or put them in the center of the room and walk around them!
- Cubans throw buckets of dirty water out of their homes in the build-up to midnight!
- A tradition in Germany, Bulgaria, Turkiye, Czechia, and Finland, is to heat small lead pieces, cast them in cold water, and predict something for the coming year (based on the shape that forms).
- Russians observe 12 seconds of complete silence before midnight while the Irish use bread to bang their walls (outside) and set an extra plate at the table (for anyone lost in the earlier year).
- In Spain’s Catalonia region, everyone looks for the man with many noses or L’home dels nassos. Local lore believes that he starts with as many noses as the number of days in that particular year. However, he keeps losing them one by one (with the passing of each day). He reportedly grants the wishes of those who manage to find him. Children are encouraged by their families in this task, and they eventually realize how hard it is since he has just a single nose left on the last day of the year!
These are some of the most exciting, quirky, and fun traditions for New Year across various countries. And of course, the celebrations are incomplete without the right New Year gifts for your loved ones. You can pick from several delightful options at FNP to surprise them in style ahead of 2025. Also, make sure you don’t forget to celebrate the occasion with delicious New Year cakes. From butterscotch to Black Forest, there are plenty of choices available here as well.
