By Hien Bui & Britney Tran, Staff Writers
A new year ushers in a lot of things. For some people it may even indulge in new traditions. But whether it sounds familiar or completely wacky, some traditions are just as conventional as dropping a ball in New Year’s Eve. Here are some New Year’s traditions from around the world that you may or may not have ever heard of:
Europe
- In Spain, people eat 12 grapes on New Year’s to represent each stroke of the clock at midnight. Each grape also represents good luck for each of the 12 months of the coming year. This is a widespread tradition and, in larger cities, people gather in masses to eat their grapes together and celebrate.
- The citizens of Denmark ring in the new year with the sound of shattering flatware. Throwing old plates and glasses at the doors of family and friends symbolizes the banishing of bad spirits. People also stand on chairs and jump off of them together when the clock strikes midnight in order to “leap” into January in hopes of good luck.
Asia
- On Japanese New Year, families would get together and celebrate by ringing 108 bells, symbolizing the elimination of 108 troubles. This would all initiate before the clock struck 12.
- Songkran, also known as Thai New Year, kickstarts with a traditional water festival. Here, Thais would celebrate by throwing water. Water on the streets, water on each other, water on their monks, water everywhere!
South America
- During the holiday season, it’s summer in the southern hemisphere. Argentinians have adopted the tradition of celebrating their New Year’s at the beach. While sunny California isn’t exempt from winter, spending New Year’s at one of our many beaches might be a memorable time.
- Columbians predict their financial situations for the upcoming year with potatoes. What you do is take three potatoes: fully-peeled, half-peeled, and unpeeled. You throw them under the bed and, without peeking, grab the first one you encounter. Choosing the unpeeled foretells a good fortune while a half-peeled potato represents a normal year. A fully-peeled potato means you will have financial trouble in the new year.
Australia
- Australians celebrate New Year’s with many festivities the night before. From then, the start of the new year is signified by the ringing of 12 bells from their church. As soon as they hear these bells, Australians would start howling, cheering, honking their horns, and starting clamors. This is to ring in the New Year.
