32 of the weirdest New Year’s Eve traditions

It’s been a strange year so in the spirit of strangeness here is a list of 32 wacky New Year traditions from around the world.  Most of them are meant to either ward off evil spirit or draw in good ones.  We may need this.

  1. Round food and clothing patterns to represent coins (Philippines)
  2. Clang pots to ward of evil (Philippines)
  3. Throw paper out the window (Argentina)
  4. Throw furniture out the window (Naples, Italy)
  5. Smash plates against a neighbour’s house (Denmark)
  6. Jumping off chairs at midnight (Denmark)
  7. Gobbling 12 grapes (Spain)
  8. Burning effigies (Ecuador)
  9. Wearing specific underpants (Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Turkey)
  10. Jump over 7 waves to please a sea goddess (Brazil)
  11. Talking to farm animals (Romania)
  12. Dancing in furs and animal masks (Romania)
  13. Lead/tin pouring to tell the future (Germany and Finland)
  14. Sprinkle salt on your doorstep (Turkey)
  15. Hang onions on your door (Greece)
  16. Future telling with apples (Czech Republic)
  17. Have 7, 9, or 12 meals on New Year’s Eve (Estonia)
  18. Sleeping with a mistletoe (Ireland)
  19. Bang loaves of bread against the wall (Ireland)
  20. Drop ice cream on the floor (Switzerland)
  21. Burn scarecrows (Ecuador)
  22. Potato Drop at midnight (Boise, Idaho)
  23. A 400 lbs Peep drop (Bethlehem, PA)
  24. Dropping a (live) drag queen at midnight (Key West, Florida)
  25. 108 bell rings to ward of evil spirits (Japan)
  26. Scary costumes that terrify children (Honshu, Japan)
  27. Have a party at a cemetery (Chile)
  28. Fighting competitions (Peru)
  29. Walk around with balls of fire (Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire)
  30. Smash a peppermint pig (upstate New York)
  31. Dump a bucket of water out the window (Puerto Rico)
  32. Run around  with an empty suitcase at midnight (Columbia)

While the rest of the world gets drunk, watches fireworks, and kiss at midnight.  We may start running around with an empty suitcase, will you adopt any of these traditions?

Happy New Year!

 

27 thoughts on “32 of the weirdest New Year’s Eve traditions”

  1. Linda Hocher says:
    Reply

    I think I’ll stay a little more traditional. A glass of wine and hopefully some fireworks ????. LOL.
    HAPPY NEW YEAR ????

  3. petespringerauthor says:
    Reply

    Haha! Some of these are hilarious. (Smashing plates against the neighbor’s house, talking to farm animals—doesn’t everybody do that?????, dropping ice cream on the floor, run around with a suitcase at midnight.) I imagine what the neighbors are thinking, “Springer’s drinking again.”????

  4. Bitchy After 60 says:
    Reply

    Drop ice cream on the floor! Never! Unless I could be certain that I could get it up under the five-second rule and still eat it. Mind you these days, I am often asleep be midnight on New Year’s Eve.

  5. chris saeger says:
    Reply

    Back in 1980 I was doing some relief and development work in the Sudan. We were in process of building pit latrines out near the border with Chad and introducing the idea of latrines to a group of refugees who were typically nomadic but stranded due to a conflict on the border. We had constructed a demonstration latrine. (Not used as yet.) We climbed down into the pit to celebrate the new year with the idea that we would not be lower in the upcoming year :????????

  8. Rebecca says:
    Reply

    At least for Chinese New Year, the days leading up to the celebrations involve the tradition of cleaning the house to “sweep the evils away.” Also cutting one’s hair to “cut off” the bad stuff from the past year. A lot of “out with the old, in with the new” kind of traditions! Hope you have a wonderful New Year’s celebration!

We would love to hear from you!