TigerChef

Ever wondered how the rest of the world celebrates their New Year’s Eve? What are their New Year’s traditions and beliefs? Well, I was curious so I did some research and boy am I amazed. Thought I should share it with you. Here goes:

In Spain, the Spaniards celebrate New Year’s Eve by eating grapes. They invite several friends over for a late dinner. Late meaning 9:00 in the evening at the earliest! A few minutes before 12:00 a.m., they bring out the dessert which consists of bunches of grapes. With each ring of the midnight bells, everyone eats one grape. This tradition which has been passed on for many generations is meant to carry with it some good luck for the New Year.

In Colombia, it is the custom to construct a dummy representing the closing year. Each family member donates some clothing that is no longer worn to make the dummy. They then stuff it using straw and firecrackers. Every participating member then takes a piece of paper and writes down a bit of bad luck or some fault that they would want to free themselves of. At 12:00 am on the button, the dummy is lit and left to burn until all that is left of it are ashes. The old year’s faults and bad luck is thought to disappear together with the dummy.

 In Greece, it is a tradition to serve New Year's Bread at 12:00am on January 1. They place either a coin or a charm inside this special bread. At exactly midnight, the head of the family slices the bread and distributes it to each family member, in age order. The member who receives the piece of bread with the coin or charm is believed to be showered with good fortune throughout the New Year.

In Denmark, marzipan ring cake is served at midnight together with champagne. They then light fireworks after midnight. In the morning, the Danes want to wake up and hope to find a large heap of broken dishes at their door. Dishes are saved the whole year so that on New Year’s Eve, they will have what to throw at their friends homes. The more broken dishes the merrier since that means that they have a lot of friends.

In Britain, it is believed that the first visitor in the New Year to your home will either bring along with them good or bad luck. If the first person is a male, he is believed to bring good luck with him. As a rule, the visitor will bring a gift of money, bread, or coal to ensure that the family will have an abundance of these things all year long. However, it is believed to be a sign of bad luck  if the first visitor is red-haired, blond or a woman!

This is just a tiny peek into the hundreds and hundreds of different customs that are celebrated around the world on New Years Day. Whatever your particular custom or tradition is, no matter which part of the world your in, we wish you all the best of luck and a very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year.  May you experience lots of joy and success. No matter how you celebrate, remember to stay safe.

Filed under: Holiday • History • General

Tags: around the world, holiday, new years, new years eve, traditions and beliefs