In the USA on New Year's Eve we watch the ball drop, watch fireworks, have toasts, kiss at midnight, and make resolutions. What do other countries do to ring in the New Year?
In Belgium and Romania, farmers have this odd but adorable tradition of whispering their wishes to their livestock like cows and goats. They believe that these animals have the ability to speak on New Year’s Eve.
In Switzerland, they intentionally drop ice cream during New Year’s Eve because they believe it will bring abundant blessings for the upcoming year.
England:For good fortune in the newly arrived year, Brits believe the first guest to enter through the front door should be a young, dark-headed male bearing gifts such as bread (to be full), salt (to be wealthy) and coal (to stay warm).
Japan:Oshogatsu is celebrated with family, which both cleans and decorates the entire house together. Then naturaldecorationssuch as pine branches, plum blossoms, and bamboo play a special role in preparing for the New Year celebration.
Denmark:As a sign of friendship, people save their old dishes in order to break them on each other’s front doors. Residents will allow these broken dishes to pile up in order to show who has the most friends.
China:To symbolize happiness and good luck in the New Year, Chinese celebrants paint their front doors red. In general, red colors New Years Eve in China, with red packets of money for children, red rackets for married couples, and red lanterns.
Puerto Rico:In addition to cleaning their homes as the Japanese do, Puerto Ricans clean everything— the car, the garden, and even the streets. They also have a practice of throwing buckets of water out the window in order to do away with the bad juju of last year.
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