How do you celebrate the New Year’s Eve? Probably going out with your friends or family to see what’s going on on the streets, and take some festive selfies. Then eat and drink, and sleep till evening. Am I close? Well, that’s a boring way to celebrate such a grand occasion. Believe it or not, in different countries and cultures this day is celebrated, well, differently. From casting metal, to throwing bread against the wall. Some of these customs are pretty weird, so sit tight and absorb!
Here are 15 wackiest New Year’s traditions from all around the world.
1. Breaking Dishes (Denmark)
Do you like breaking dishes? Visit Denmark! They collect all their extra dishes, and pop them against the doors and walls. What a hoot!
2. Burning Ugly Scarecrows (Ecuador)
What better way to celebrate a “new beginning” than to turn a paper-filled scarecrow to cinder? The Ecuadorians sure know how to party.
3. Putting 12 Grapes in One’s Mouth (Spain)
The Spaniards are quite dirty when it comes to traditions. For example, if you can fit 12 grapes in your mouth when the clock strikes 00:00, you’ll have good luck in the upcoming year. It’s just so dirty…but I like it!
4. Everything Round (Philippines)
Money is great. Money is coins. The coins are round. Therefore everything else should be round too, in the Philippines.
5. Rainbow Underwear (South America)
Apparently, some South American countries have this strange tradition that allows you to choose your own direction for the upcoming year. It all depends on the color of the underwear you’re wearing! Red trunks mean love, gold is money, and white is peace.
6. 108 Rings (Japan)
The number 108 is very significant in Buddhism, so to cleanse yourself and your house, you have to ding all the bells 108 times. Patience is a virtue!
7. Pouring Water out of the Windows (Puerto Rico)
How would you exorcise evil spirits from your house? Well, try pouring out water from your windows next time.
8. Wishing the Cows a Happy New Year (Belgium)
In Belgium you wish a happy New Year to everyone, even your cows, sheep, and mother-in-law.
9. Baked Coins (Bolivia)
This next tradition makes my teeth hurt just by reading it. Bolivians put coins in their cookies and whoever finds the coin will have good luck this year. That’s gotta hurt, right?
10. Jump As High As You Can! (Denmark)
In Denmark, the higher you jump, the more luck you’ll have!
11. Sleeping at the Cemetery (Chile)
One of the creepiest New Year’s traditions comes from Chile. Whole families camping out at the cemeteries… But why?
12. Bouncing Bread Off the Walls (Ireland)
Well, it’s Ireland after all, what did you expect? That’s how they drive away evil spirits there.
13. Casting Metal (Finland)
Get some molten metal, a bucket of icy water, and pour the metal in it. Wait for it to settle, and now try to figure out what your future is by looking at the weirdly shaped piece of metal! Fun for the whole family.
14. First-Footing (Scotland)
In Scotland, you better always carry a few gifts with you. If you’re the first person to cross the home’s threshold, and you have a gift, you’ll bring good luck to your friends!
15. Eating For Abundance (Estonia)
And finally, we have Estonia. In Estonia everything is quite simple. You eat like there’s no tomorrow That is all. Probably my favorite tradition of them all, to be honest!
