7 New Year’s traditions from around the world

The end of the year is a festive time to look back at the highlights from the last 12 months while toasting to new beginnings and the year ahead. From raucous beach parties and breaking dishes to spring-cleaning and grape-eating, take a trip around the globe to learn how different cultures and countries celebrate the turn of the calendar with their own unique New Year’s Eve traditions.

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Scotland is home to one of the most notorious New Year’s traditions in history: Hogmanay. The world-famous celebration in the country’s capital of Edinburgh is a three-day affair that begins with a torchlight procession down the historic Royal Mile and concludes with an epic party in the streets below Edinburgh Castle with live music and Ceilidh dancing. At midnight, Scottish revellers take part in a rousing singalong to the legendary New Year’s Eve tune, Auld Lang Syne. The Gaelic custom of ‘First Footing’ is also a common New Year’s Eve tradition in Scotland; to ensure good fortune for the upcoming year, the first person (first foot) to enter into your household after midnight must arrive bearing symbolic gifts of shortbread, salt, coal, and whisky.

Chinese New Year (also known as Spring Festival) marks the beginning of a new year on the Chinese calendar and typically takes place between late January to late February. The 15-day celebration kicks off with a family feast full of symbolic dishes like dumplings (for wealth), whole fish (for fortune and surplus), noodles (for longevity), and rice balls (for family reunion). Other Chinese New Year traditions include lion and dragon dances, festive firecrackers, and outdoor markets. Lucky red envelopes of money are given to children as gifts and bright red decorations adorn homes and businesses as a sign of good fortune.

Each year, Rio de Janeiro is the epicentre for Réveillon (New Year) in Brazil as millions of party goers descend on the city’s iconic Copacabana Beach for dazzling firework displays and an epic celebration like no other. Revellers drink caipirinhas and dance on the sand to Samba music while wearing head-to-toe white as a symbol of peace and prosperity. Réveillon also includes a spiritual element as Brazilians present offerings to the Queen of the Ocean, Goddess Iemanjá, in the form of candles and flowers. At the stroke of midnight, it is a New Year’s tradition to jump over the waves seven times and make seven wishes for the year ahead.

As March ushers in a period of seasonal change and rebirth, Iranian New Year (Nowruz) marks the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The New Year’s tradition has been celebrated in Iran and globally among the Persian diaspora for more than 3,000 years. Iranian families prepare for Nowruz weeks in advance by conducting a deep clean of their homes – a ritual of cleansing, purging, and renewal. Iranian New Year traditions also include buying new clothes and setting tables with a spread of seven symbolic items (haft-seen).

While North Americans typically enjoy glasses of Champagne on December 31, rambunctious revellers in Spain are likely to be found eating 12 lucky grapes as part of a superstitious New Year’s Eve tradition. Grapes are eaten in rapid succession at the stroke of midnight, one for each chime of the clock. The custom began in the early 1900s as a way for farmers to unload their excess crop and is now a beloved ritual in Spain that is thought to bring good luck and success for the 12 months ahead.

A colourful expression of island culture, art, and dance, the Junkanoo street carnival is a must-see New Year’s tradition in the Bahamas. Each year, crowds line the streets of Nassau starting at 2 a.m. on January 1 to catch a glimpse of this vibrant spectacle, which features oversized parade floats and performers dressed in elaborate costumes. Cowbells, goatskins, oil drums, whistles, brass horns, and other musical instruments are used to create a cacophony of celebratory island rhythms that lead to a street party that lasts until 10 a.m.

In Denmark, it’s customary to mark the New Year by shattering dishes to banish bad spirits. Each year on December 31, Danish merrymakers throw old plates, glasses, and dishware at the doorsteps of friends and family members as a sign of affection to bring good fortune to the home for the coming year. You might also see people jumping off chairs or ledges when the clock strikes midnight as revellers literally leap into the New Year.