It’s the end of the year–seems like 2023 just began a couple of weeks ago!
What are some of your New Year’s traditions and resolutions? Here are some of the most popular resolutions for 2024 so far:
- Saving money
- Exercising more
- Eating healthier
- Spending more time with friends/family
- Losing weight
- Spending less money
- Spending less time on social media (!)
- Reducing stress on the job
We’ll probably sweep out the house (Irish and Scottish tradition) at midnight, then on New Year’s Day eat collard greens and black-eyed peas (US South tradition–the greens represent folding money and the peas are supposed to represent coins).
Here are some other traditions from around the world:
- Lucky Foods: 12 grapes (or raisins) are eaten on New Year’s Eve in Spain, Portugal, and most of South America (In Italy it’s 12 spoonfuls of lentils, one with each chime of the midnight clock). In Germany, you’d eat a marzipan pig for good luck and in France, the lucky food is the pancake.
- Polka Dots: In the Philippines, round shapes are considered lucky, so wearing polka dotted clothing and eating round foods is the thing to do.
- The Empty Suitcase: In Mexico, you ensure a year filled with travel and new experiences by carrying an empty suitcase around the house (sometimes literally all the way around the outside) or walking around it inside.
- Predicting the New Year: In German-speaking countries, as well as Bulgaria, Czechia, Türkiye, and Finland, you can predict what may happen in the New Year by melting a little bit of lead or tin and dropping it into cold water. The shape it forms tells you what your future will be (a ball means luck will roll to you).
- Jumping Waves: In Brazil, you wear white and run into the ocean to jump over seven waves, each representing a different wish or request of a different god.
- Throwing Out the Negative: In Cuba, all the house’s negative energy (and bad spirits) are gathered into a bucket of water, which is then flung out the front door before midnight.
- Red Undies: In Italy and Spain, wearing red underwear is considered lucky (Spaniards believe it must be new underwear to work properly).
- First Footing: In Scotland, your first visitor of the New Year may bring luck to your house, but they must traditionally be a tall, dark-haired man bringing gifts of coal, shortbread, salt, a black bun, and whiskey!