Christmas is over and now everyone is starting to get ready for the next holiday of the season and also the last one for this year: New Year’s Eve. People are ready to begin a new year, full of new experiences and life lessons but let’s see how different countries celebrate and which are their superstitions that will guarantee “success and prosperity” for the next year.
In Romania, kids usually go around the village/town, caroling a song named “Sorcova”, dressing up in bearskins, in order to ward off evil spirits and to wish people a good and wealthy year. Here, it’s said that everyone should avoid getting angry or upset because they will remain negative for the next year too. People also throw coins into rivers for luck.
In Spain, people try to eat 12 green grapes during the last 12 seconds of the year. If they run out of time, it’s said that this is a sign of bad luck for the next year, while if they eat them all, their year is going to be full of good fortune.
In Greece, people bake a sweet yeast bread, called vasilopita. Eaten at midnight, the bread is made in honor of Greece’s revered St. Basil. Before serving the family, beginning with the oldest member, households set a slice of bread aside for the saint and another portion for those in need. A coin is baked into the bread and the person whose slice contains the coin is in for a year filled with good fortune.
In Brazil, they eat particular foods that are said to bring good luck for the next year. They also consider the number 7 as a lucky number; eating 7 pomegranate seeds will guarantee wealth and seven grapes ensure abundance in all areas of life. The more adventurous Brazilians will jump over seven waves in the ocean and make 7 wishes as they leap.
In Ireland, the Irish have a tradition of banging bread against the walls of their houses. This is how they “make sure” that the evil spirits are chased away and good luck is welcomed in that house.
In The Philippines, the nation celebrates the New Year by serving 12 round fruits. The round shape symbolizes coins, which represent prosperity and wealth for each month of the upcoming year.
In Colombia, Colombians place three potatoes—one peeled, one unpeeled, and one half-peeled—under their beds. At midnight, they pull out the first potato they touch. Peeled means they’ll have financial problems, unpeeled indicates abundance, and half peeled… means they’ll be somewhere in between.
In Italy, Italians have a tradition of wearing red underwear, which is associated with fertility and good luck.
In Denmark, people smash plates by throwing them at their friends’ or neighbors' front doors. Some say this is a method of leaving any aggression and ill-will behind before the new year begins. Also, it’s said that the bigger the pile of broken dishes, the better luck you’ll have.
In Turkey, it’s considered good luck to sprinkle salt on your doorstep as soon as the clock strikes midnight. It’s said that this tradition brings peace and prosperity for the families.
In the USA, one of the most common traditions are making resolutions for the new year (and also, writing them down so you can see if you kept them before the end of the year), and the countdown. For the lucky ones that have a partner, when the clock strikes midnight, they get to kiss them, meaning that during the next year, the couple is going to be still together.
In France, the druids started off the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, believing that mistletoe has mystical powers that ward off evil spirits. But unlike elsewhere in the United States and Northern Europe, ‘S’embrasser sous le gui’ (to kiss under the mistletoe) happens on New Year's Eve, rather than at Christmas. It brings good luck and, if you’re in love with the person you’re kissing, a wedding before the end of the following year.
However, New Year’s Eve is not all about traditions and superstitions. It’s just a fun way of entering the new year, so if you don’t succeed in eating all of the 12 grapes in the last 12 seconds of 2021, don’t worry, that doesn’t exactly mean you’ll have a bad year. This is just a way of bonding for the people on this Earth, which are all celebrating the beginning of a new time.
I wish you a happy new year, hoping that all of your wishes will come true and you’ll have a better year than this one. I know it’s been hard but yet, here you are and this is an amazing accomplishment and I am proud of you. You got this!! 2022 is our year.
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