New Year Traditions Around the World

Europe: grapes, plates and lucky visitors

Spain. At midnight, Spaniards eat las doce uvas de la suerte, the twelve lucky grapes, one on each chime of the clock. Millions watch the bells of the Puerta del Sol in Madrid on TV. Finish all twelve in time and the year ahead is said to be lucky. It's harder than it sounds, which is half the fun.

Scotland. New Year's Eve is Hogmanay, and it's a bigger deal in Scotland than Christmas was for much of its history. The best-known custom is first-footing: the first person to cross your threshold after midnight sets the luck for the year. Traditionally the ideal first-footer was a tall, dark-haired man carrying gifts such as coal, shortbread, salt or whisky. Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party draws visitors from all over the world.

Denmark. Danes save chipped plates and old dishes all year, then throw them at the front doors of friends and family on New Year's Eve. A big pile of broken crockery in the morning means you're well loved. Some Danes also stand on chairs and jump off at midnight, leaping into the new year.

Germany. Many Germans watch Dinner for One, a short British comedy sketch recorded in 1963, on New Year's Eve. It's barely known in Britain but has been a German TV fixture for decades. Fireworks are huge too, and people wish each other a guten Rutsch, a "good slide" into the new year.

Italy. Red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring love and luck. At dinner, lentils are served with cotechino or zampone sausage, because the small round lentils look like coins.

Greece. Families cut the vasilopita, a cake with a coin hidden inside, on New Year's Day. Whoever finds the coin has luck for the year. Some households also hang an onion on the door as a symbol of rebirth and growth.

The Americas: white clothes, suitcases and burning dolls

United States. Hundreds of thousands of people crowd into and around Times Square in New York to watch the ball drop, while far more watch on TV. In the South, New Year's Day means Hoppin' John, a dish of black-eyed peas and rice, plus collard greens for money and cornbread for gold. Philadelphia holds its Mummers Parade, and Pasadena hosts the Rose Parade.

Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, huge crowds dressed in white gather on Copacabana Beach for fireworks over the ocean. White stands for peace and a fresh start. Many people jump over seven waves, making a wish for each one, and some leave flowers in the sea as offerings to Iemanjá, the sea goddess of Afro-Brazilian tradition.

Mexico and much of Latin America. The 12 grapes tradition traveled from Spain, and people often make a wish with each grape. The color of your underwear matters: red for love, yellow for money. Some people walk around the block with an empty suitcase at midnight, hoping for a year full of travel.

Ecuador. Families build life-size dummies called años viejos, "old years," stuffed with paper and sawdust. They're often dressed as politicians, celebrities or cartoon characters. At midnight they're set on fire to burn away the bad of the past year.

Asia: bells, noodles and round fruit

Japan. Shōgatsu, the Japanese New Year, is the most important holiday of the year. On New Year's Eve, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times in a ritual called joya no kane, representing the 108 earthly desires in Buddhist teaching. Families eat toshikoshi soba, "year-crossing" buckwheat noodles, for long life. On the first days of January, many make their first shrine or temple visit, hatsumōde.

Philippines. Families display 12 round fruits, one for each month, because round shapes resemble coins. Polka dots are popular on clothes for the same reason. Kids jump at midnight, hoping it will make them grow taller, and people make plenty of noise to scare off bad luck.

South Korea. Koreans celebrate both January 1 and Seollal, the Lunar New Year. On January 1, crowds gather at Bosingak Pavilion in Seoul to hear the bell rung 33 times at midnight. Many also travel to the east coast or climb mountains to watch the first sunrise of the year.

China. January 1 is a public holiday, but the big celebration is Lunar New Year, which falls on February 6 in 2027. Expect red decorations, family reunion dinners, red envelopes of money and dumplings shaped like old silver ingots.

Oceania and the first places to celebrate

Australia. Sydney's fireworks over the Harbour Bridge and Opera House are among the first major New Year displays broadcast worldwide each year. Because it's summer there, plenty of Australians celebrate at the beach or with a barbecue. There's even an early family-friendly display at 9 p.m. so kids can see fireworks before bedtime.

New Zealand and the Pacific. Kiribati's Line Islands, including Kiritimati, are the first inhabited places to reach midnight because they sit in the UTC+14 time zone. Samoa and Tonga follow soon after, with New Zealand among the first larger countries to celebrate.

Customs that show up everywhere

Look closely and you'll see the same ideas repeating across continents. Round foods and coin-shaped foods stand for money. Long noodles mean long life. Loud noise, fireworks and bells chase away bad luck. Clothing colors carry wishes. And almost everyone tries to clean, settle debts or start fresh before midnight, so the old year's mess doesn't follow them into the new one.

There's also the midnight kiss, the toast, and singing Auld Lang Syne, which spread from Scotland around the English-speaking world and beyond.

How to bring world traditions to your own party

• Grape challenge: Hand out cups of 12 grapes and try to eat one per chime. Seedless grapes are kinder.
• Lucky food buffet: Serve lentils, black-eyed peas, soba noodles and a vasilopita-style cake with a coin (warn guests first).
• Dress code: Ask everyone to wear white like Rio, or red for luck.
• First-footer: Pick a guest to step outside before midnight and knock right after, bringing salt, bread and something sweet.
• Bells and noise: Hand out bells or noisemakers to scare off last year's bad luck.

Mixing three or four traditions is enough to make the night feel special without turning it into a project.