Tonight is the last night of 2014, and around the world, tons of traditions will be embraced in force in the hopes of bringing a prosperous and wonderful 2015. If you’re looking for something fun to add to your New Year’s Eve, check out these traditions from around the country and the world:
1. First-footing – Scotland
Be the first to step across a friend or neighbor’s threshold, and bring with you gifts such as a coin for prosperity, bread to always have food at the house, salt for flavor, coal for warmth or whisky to represent cheer.
2. Wear Specific Underwear – Latin America
In several different parts of the world (especially Latin America), women buy and wear a specific color of underwear to promote a good year. Red and pink are believed to bring love, yellow will bring happiness and peace and white will bring fertility and health.
3. Eat White Grapes with each Gong – Spain
It is considered good luck to eat one white grape with each strike of the clock as it hits midnight. It’s a lot harder than it sounds, so be careful if you decide to try this one!
4. Eat Lentils/Black-eyed Peas at Midnight – Chile/US
Lentils and Black Eyed peas are both believed to bring a prosperous New Year if eaten at midnight.
5. Break dishes – Italy
In Italy and a couple of other places, people will throw dishes at their neighbor’s front doors. Not only does it symbolize the good old “out with old and in with the new” but the idea is that the more dishes you have by your door, the more friends you have and the more fortunate you will be. Sounds fun, up until the cleanup part…
6. Bang Bread against the Wall – Ireland
It was believed that banging bread against the walls and doors of a house on New Year’s Eve will chase out the bad luck and bad spirits and invite the good spirits in.
7. Walk Around your Block with an empty suitcase – Colombia
Walking around your block with an empty suitcase is believed to bring a prosperous year full of travel and good memories.
8. Watch the Ball Drop – NYC
Every year in New York City, the iconic crystal ball will slide down as the clock counts down to midnight. While this started as a New York tradition, it is televised around the country, and people across the US take part in the countdown on TV.
What’s your favorite New Year’s tradition? Let me know in the comments, or join us in the forums!
Have a Happy New Year!
At mid night you walk everyone out of the house youngest to oldest and reverse the order coming in BUT before you come in you bang on pots with wooden spoons. It’s a Polish thing! 🙂
I’ve not heard of that before. How fun! Thanks for sharing, Sarah!!