New Year superstitions and traditions: global edition

one lucky month

Fun fact: One theory traces the habit to 1900s Alicante, where a farmer reportedly promoted it to sell a grape surplus. In Mexico the grapes are often taken as twelve wishes instead.

True

Fun fact: White is linked to the orixa Oxala, who symbolises peace and harmony in Candomble and Umbanda, and the custom spread from Copacabana Beach in the 1970s.

Scotland

Fun fact: Traditionally the first-foot should be a new arrival after midnight, ideally bringing coal, shortbread or whisky. The custom is also recorded in northern England and the Isle of Man.

False

Fun fact: In China and Vietnam sweeping on New Year's Day is taboo because it might sweep the new luck away, so families clean before the new year begins.

Denmark

Fun fact: Friends and family save old crockery all year and throw it at each other's front doors at midnight. A bigger pile on your doorstep is taken as a sign of popularity.

True

Fun fact: Lentils are the traditional New Year's Eve dish in Italy, usually served with cotechino sausage, and their coin-like shape is said to promise prosperity.

Songkran

Fun fact: Songkran falls around 13 to 15 April, and its water-splashing is described as ritual cleansing and washing away bad luck.

All traditions focus on partying

Fun fact: In Bali, Nyepi (the Day of Silence) is marked by fasting, meditation and no work, travel, fire or entertainment for 24 hours, and the airport closes.

False

Fun fact: Fireworks and firecrackers are very popular at Lunar New Year, where they were traditionally lit to ward off evil spirits, and Diwali is marked with fireworks too.

True

Fun fact: In Japan, toshikoshi soba is eaten on New Year's Eve; some traditions say the long noodles symbolise long life, others that they let you leave the year's hardship behind.