New Year’s Eve/ NYE Traditions Around the World
I absolutely LOVE New Year’s Eve! It’s the perfect time to round out the year & celebrate everything that has happened throughout the year! Celebrate triumphs and say goodbye to the misfortunes. New Year’s Eve is all about having fun and celebrating! Do you ever wonder how people from around the world celebrate for the New Year?! I know I certainly do! Today I will share with you a few traditions for New Year’s Eve from around the world. Some you may not have ever heard of and may find pretty interesting!
New Year’s Eve/ NYE Traditions Around the World
United States
In the United States New Year’s Day falls on January 1st each & every year. New Year’s is most commonly celebrated by staying up late to watch the ball drop at the strike of midnight. We do this while enjoying some delicious champagne or sparkling cider for the little ones. We celebrate and enjoy the day with friends and family. It is also common to reflect on the past year and creating New Year’s resolutions to improve ourselves for the upcoming year!
United Kingdom
In the UK they believe that the New Year should bring prosperity to your life. They believe that the first guest that walks through your door after midnight should be a male and he should bring a loaf of bread for eating, whiskey for drinking, and coal for burning to keep you warm. Many crowds of people gather around Big Ben to watch the clock strike midnight and celebrate. They also celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1st!
China
Chinese New Year is not celebrated on January 1st like we celebrate it. It actually does not fall on the same day every year but it is celebrated between mid January to mid February. For Chinese New Year they use music and dancing festivals to celebrate the New Year. It can be celebrated for anywhere from 10-15 days long! Read our post about Chinese New Year here.
France
In France they celebrate the New Year by gathering with friends & family and feasting! They believe that feasting will bring prosperity for the New Year. France also celebrates with a huge feast known as “le Rveillion de Saint-Slyvestre”.
Denmark
Celebrating New Year’s in Denmark can get a bit messy! This is because in Denmark they actually gather plates and throw them at the door to celebrate the New Year. It is believed that the more plates that you have broken, the more friends you will make in the New Year. They also stand on chairs and as the clock strikes midnight, they jump from their chairs, this sort of reminds me of leaping into the new year!
Germany
In Germany, they like to predict the future of the New Year by dropping molten lead into cold water and seeing what shape that it takes. They also gather with friends and family to have meals and celebrate together!
Spain
In Spain it is tradition to eat 12 grapes once the clock strikes midnight. This represents the 12 ticks of the clock and it is believed that by doing this, you will have good luck for the New year ahead!
New Year’s Eve/ NYE Traditions Around the World
Sometimes it’s hard to believe that people celebrate the same things so differently than how we do, but it is definitely an interesting experience to learn about how others do things in their countries and traditions! In our Family we have made Bunuelos from scratch and eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight.
What are YOUR traditions for NYE? What traditions or fun things did you do while growing up? Have they changed as you have gotten older? Tell us how, we LOVE hearing about so many different ways to celebrate the same event!
