New Year traditions of the countries of the world: customs and unexpected facts

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Kilograms of tangerines, the smell of fresh spruce, champagne, herring under a fur coat and Olivier - this is what warms the soul of a Russian every New Year. But what do you know about New Year's traditions and customs of other countries? We have selected for you the most unusual facts collected from all over the world.

How many countries, so many traditions

Brazil

According to Brazilian traditions, if you want to protect yourself from evil spirits, then the New Year must be met in all white. And jump over the waves 7 more times, making one wish with each jump. If fate decreed that you do not meet the New Year on the beach, then to fulfill your cherished desires, it is enough to jump on your right leg three times!

Chile

Chileans believe that in order to prosper next year, it is enough to eat a spoonful of lentils at midnight and put 1,000 pesos in your shoes. And if in recent months you have been overtaken by a streak of failures, then it is enough to celebrate the New Year in underwear, put on inside out.

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Colombia

Tired of sitting in your hometown and seeing the same faces every day? Dreaming about travel? Then do like Colombians: grab a suitcase and run around the house while the clock strikes midnight!

South America

What to wear? Open-back or floor-length dress? Maybe a black tie? What about underwear? If you lived in one of the parts of South America, then this question would not be so unusual for you. After all, the inhabitants of Sau Paulo celebrate the New Year in … shorts of different colors, each of which means something special! So, the red ones are chosen by those who dream of finding a soul mate, and the yellow ones are worn with the hope that the coming year will bring considerable profit.

Denmark

The Danes break plates at the doorstep of relatives and friends every January 1st. If, upon opening the door, you find a pile of broken dishes, then this means that you have many well-wishers.

Germany

Fortune telling on coffee grounds? Pf, this is for weaklings! The Germans and Austrians, wanting to know what the coming year has in store for them, melt lead in a spoon, and then pour the resulting liquid metal into a container with cold water. But that is not all! Just as in Russia the evening of December 31 is never complete without "The Irony of Fate", so in Germany on New Year's Eve an 18-minute British comedy show "Dinner for One" is shown on local television.

In Germany, on New Year's Eve, the 18-minute British comedy show "Dinner for One" is shown on local television.

Philippines

According to Filipino traditions, exactly at midnight, the roundest grape should lie in the mouth, and the 12 roundest fruits on the table. In addition, you need to celebrate the New Year with open doors, windows and open lockers to let luck into the house. And if you put on something with polka dots, then you are definitely guaranteed prosperity next year!

Africa

Watch out, dear Johannesburg pedestrian! On New Year's Eve, people get rid of old things in a very unusual way: pictures, TVs and even sofas fly from balconies and windows onto the streets of the city.

Greece

Usually the front door is decorated with some kind of beautiful wreath, but the Greeks are a special people! At the entrance to the house, they hang the head of a bow, as a symbol of rebirth in the coming year.

Japan

In Japan, on New Year's Eve, the bells in Buddhist temples are sounded 108 times, thereby greeting Toshigami, the God of the coming year.

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Ireland

According to Irish superstition, an unmarried woman should place a sprig of mistletoe under her pillow on New Year's Eve.

Ecuador

As a rule, every Ecuadorian family makes a stuffed animal from newspapers or a tree on the eve of the New Year, on which they put on old clothes and a mask, symbolizing the outgoing year. At midnight, the "work of art" is burned, thereby saying goodbye to the problems and failures of the past year.

Estonia

In Estonia, on New Years, you need to eat either seven, nine, or twelve times, because this guarantees abundance in the future. But at the same time, you should not eat every last crumb: it is believed that the leftovers of the dishes should be left to appease the spirits who visit the house on New Year's Eve.

Belgium

Belgians take livestock very seriously. So serious that farmers wish their cows a Happy New Year!

Bolivia

In Bolivia, it is believed that whoever gets a coin in a cake will be lucky for the next year.

I bet you didn't know that …

• In Ethiopia, in addition to 12 months, there are also 13. They celebrate the New Year according to their calendar on the night of August 29-30 (September 11).
• In South Korea and other Asian countries, age counting does not start from the moment the baby is born, but from the beginning of the year, thereby rounding off the time spent in the womb. So, born at the end of December with the onset of the New Year will turn two whole years old.
• Some Americans wear diapers for adults when celebrating New Years in Time Square, because finding a toilet there at the height of the holiday is not easy.
• Once upon a time in Hawaii, New Year was celebrated for 4 months. During the celebration, wars stopped, and instead of work, people only did what they danced and stuffed their bellies with various goodies.

The culmination of the holiday was a massive kiss at midnight accompanied by a romantic song.

• In Venice, on December 31, 2009, Love-2010 was held on Piazza San Marco, in which more than 70 thousand people took part. The culmination of the holiday was a massive kiss at midnight accompanied by a romantic song.
• The Ice Stock Festival is held every New Year in Antarctica.
• In total, there are 14 options for different calendars, which are repeated every 28 years.
• In North Korea, Kim Il Sung's birthday (1912) is taken as the starting point in the Juche calendar. It turns out that instead of 2015, the inhabitants of this country will come to the 113th year of the Juche era.
• On January 1, 2000, at exactly midnight, the recording of the longest song began, the last note of which should sound on December 31, 2999.