Every New Year’s Eve, we embark upon mysterious customs whose origin no one seems to know. Why do we drop a ball in New York City’s Times Square? Why is there so much smooching at the stroke of midnight? And in Denmark, why are there all those broken plates outside of a beloved neighbor’s door?
These seemingly random activities actually have rich histories. We’ve chosen these ten customs — some universal, some local – to shed light upon their origins, and hopefully, after you read about them, you’ll know why you’re in Italy wearing red underwear.
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1. Kissing your beloved at midnight
When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’ll see a lot of people kissing each other. But don’t worry, it’s not just because they’re all drunk. They’re actually engaging in a custom that dates back to the Ancient Roman winter festival known as Saturnalia, during which people would gather with friends and family, feast, and exchange gifts. They would also drunkenly and indiscriminately kiss each other.
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2. ‘Auld Lang Syne’
If it’s midnight on New Year’s Eve, the first thing you’re going to hear is the dulcet strains of “Auld Lang Syne,” a poem written by 18th-century poet Robert Burns. Once it was set to music, it became customary to sing it on Hogmanay, the last day of the year in Scotland. It spread throughout the region until 1929, when bandleader Guy Lombardo led a performance of it at a New Year’s Eve celebration. At that point, it caught on everywhere, including in New York City’s Times Square.
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3. Eating 12 grapes at midnight
In Spain, eating one grape for each of the twelve chimes at midnight is customary on New Year’s Eve. This tradition is believed to date back to the early 20th century, and it’s believed that eating the 12 grapes will lead to luck and prosperity all year. This tradition hasn’t really caught on in the United States, but if you’re at a party at 12:01 and someone is eating grapes, ask them what part of Spain they’re from.
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4. Wearing white
We all know it’s a terrible faux pas to wear white after Labor Day, but in Brazil, they didn’t get the memo. In that particular South American nation, you’re supposed to wear white for the New Year in order to attract peace and spiritual protection in the year to come. If you choose to observe this tradition and someone gives you guff, just tell them you’re simply observing your traditional Candomblé religious beliefs.
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5. Dropping a ball
If you’ve ever watched “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and wondered why there are thousands of drunken revelers standing in the freezing cold for hours until the ball drops, the answer is “it’s a relic from the long-bygone days of maritime navigation.” Back in the day, offshore ships relied upon onshore “time balls” to ensure the accuracy of their marine chronometers, and in 1907, they repeated this custom in New York City’s Times Square. Amaze your friends and relatives this New Year’s Eve by laying this nugget of information on them at 11:59 and try to use the full minute to explain it.
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6. Breaking plates
Here’s one that’s specific to Denmark – in the new year, Danes throw plates against their friends’ front doors, and all that broken dinnerware is meant to signify good tidings. While most of us would respond to such an activity by calling the police, apparently, people in Denmark are delighted to find shattered earthenware all over their front stoops.
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7. Wearing red underwear
If you’re in Brazil and wearing all white per their New Year’s custom, you can still observe the Italian New Year’s tradition of wearing red unmentionables since they’ll be under your clothes, and no one will see them. In Italy, wearing red underwear is meant to attract good luck in the year ahead, and while we cannot ascertain the veracity of this claim, we have no problem with people wearing colorful undergarments if it makes them happy. We don’t judge.
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8. Burning “año viejo” in effigy
In Colombia, burning an effigy filled with old, useless crap you don’t want anymore is a custom that symbolizes letting the past go, as Kylo Ren advised Rey to do in “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi.” In Colombia, the effigy is named “año viejo,” which translates to “old year.”
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9. Pouring molten tin
In Germany, a New Year’s custom exists wherein molten tin is poured into cold water, where it takes a unique shape. That shape is interpreted as a sign of what to expect in the coming year. Known as “Bleigießen,” this practice is referred to colloquially as “pouring lead,” but tin has been used for years, ever since the dangers of lead poisoning were discovered. In 2018, Germany and the European Union banned the sale of old lead-pouring kits. This practice hasn’t caught on in the States, but anywhere in Europe where German is spoken, you’ll likely see it being put into action. By the way, if your poured tin hardens into the shape of a frog, you’re supposed to win the lottery.
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10. Baking a coin into a cake
The tradition of baking things into cakes isn’t just for convicts looking to escape from prison with a hidden metal file! In Greece, the New Year’s Day cake known as Vasilopita will have a coin baked into it, and the lucky person who gets the slice with the hidden prize is supposed to receive good luck in the coming year.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
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