Are you doing anything special for New Years Eve to ring in 2025? Me, I’m sitting alone, blogging and working on articles for this ever-growing website, my favorite thing to do. Instead of pancakes, I cracked open a can of crab meat, cooked it in butter, and ate it with a Meyer lemon. As I wait for 2025, it is a night for thinking about how much has happened. It is a time to be amazed at how many memories I have. I think of the people I’ve known, the places I’ve been, the songs I’ve heard and played, and the dreams I’ve yet to spend. One thing I’ve long loved is exploring unique things, events, places and ideas. In that spirit, below are ten of the strangest New Year’s rituals from around the world, and then what some friends told me they are each doing tonight.
Eating 12 Grapes (Spain): In Spain, it is customary to eat 12 grapes at each stroke of midnight, with the belief that this will bring good luck for the upcoming year. Each grape represents a month, and if you can finish them in time, you are said to have good fortune ahead[1][3].
Smashing Plates (Denmark): Danes save unused dishes throughout the year to smash against the doors of friends and family on New Year’s Eve. This act symbolizes friendship and good luck for the year ahead, with larger piles of broken plates indicating more good fortune[1][8].
Scarecrow Burning (Ecuador): In Ecuador, people create effigies called “año viejo” made of old clothes and stuffed with newspaper. At midnight, these scarecrows are set on fire to symbolize the burning away of bad luck from the previous year[1][8].
Jumping Over Seven Waves (Brazil): On New Year’s Eve, Brazilians often jump over seven waves at the beach, making a wish with each jump. This ritual is linked to honoring the sea goddess Lemanjá and is believed to bring blessings for the new year[3][6].
Colored Underwear (South America): In several South American countries, wearing specific colors of underwear on New Year’s Eve is thought to influence your fate for the coming year: red for love, yellow for wealth, and white for peace[1][2].
First-Footing (Scotland): This Scottish tradition involves being the first person to enter a home after midnight, ideally bringing gifts like coal or bread to ensure prosperity and luck for the household throughout the year[1][8].
Dropping Ice Cream (Switzerland): In Switzerland, it is a quirky tradition to drop ice cream on the floor at midnight as a way to celebrate and bring good luck for the new year[1].
Furniture Disposal (South Africa): In some areas of South Africa, residents throw old furniture out of their windows at midnight as a way to discard bad luck and make room for new beginnings[1][5].
Animal Whispering (Romania): In Romania, farmers attempt to communicate with their livestock at midnight. Success in this endeavor is believed to bring good fortune for the upcoming year[1][5].
Fireballs (Scotland): During Hogmanay in Scotland, particularly in Stonehaven, participants swing large fireballs made of wire and cloth through the streets as part of a dramatic celebration that symbolizes purification and warding off evil spirits[3][4].
These rituals reflect unique cultural beliefs and practices that add color and significance to New Year’s celebrations around the globe.
In 2017, here’s what several people I asked said they would be doing:
A: I’m singing at the Hyatt in midtown for their NYE party.
T: I’ll make happy pancakes for dinner, berries and organic sour cream, topped with a square of dark chocolate. I’ll sing the New Years song.
K: I don’t believe in New Years. It’s just a numerical event. If anything I would celebrate the solstice, but I don’t really celebrate anything. I celebrate a moment something shifts.
J: I’m going to party like it’s 1999, because in 1999 I was 12 and I just stayed home and watched movies. I’ll be watching The Sound of Music.
J: Some good friends of mine just bought a house.. helping them move in and celebrating with them at their house. Then go downtown to see my best friend whose in town from Seattle right now ?
C: I’m bundled up in bed, with a glass of bubbly and a slice of cheesecake watching Seven Samurai. That’s my New Years!
S: Just finished a delivery and pulled off the road to wish on the North Star. Headed to a friends for a bit. I never like nye ?
K: Candlelight service at the place I am staying. They used to run a homeless mission for 15 years in Stockton.
S: Party at a local pub. Happy New Year!
M: I am going to watch a play tonight and then maybe hang out until the new year!
I: I am at a fancy club in Boston with my parents & friends.
S: Mellow night. Going to get my beauty sleep soon!
C: Going to a friend’s place with my lover to make dinner and play a game – then might go to a party after ?
Some of the above was written for New Year’s 2017, but this article revised for 2025 is still something people may find for years to come, so leave a comment if you have a favorite New Year’s ritual.
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[1] https://bayleyspm.co.nz/article-display/25-strangest-new-years-traditions-from-around-the-world,114
[2] https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/g25360543/new-year-traditions/
[3] https://www.watchmojo.com/articles/top-10-strangest-and-most-interesting-new-year-s-traditions
[4] https://www.barcelo.com/pinandtravel/en/weird-new-years-traditions/
[5] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/astrology/others/10-strangest-new-year-traditions-from-around-the-world/articleshow/68205584.cms
[6] https://www.afar.com/magazine/new-years-traditions-from-around-the-world
[7] https://parade.com/living/weirdest-new-years-eve-celebrations
[8] https://travel.earth/strange-new-years-eve-traditions-from-around-the-world/