Around the world, everyone is preparing to say goodbye to 2024 and get ready to celebrate the new year. New Year celebrations are filled with joy, excitement, and a wide variety of traditions around the world. While we all celebrate differently, some traditions share similarities around the globe. Read on to learn more about different ways to celebrate the New Year around the globe!
- Eating Grapes!
In Spain and other countries, eating 12 grapes when the clock strikes midnight is a way to ensure good luck for the next 12 months of the new year. There are some variations of this tradition, like eating 12 round fruits in the Philippines, as round items symbolize prosperity.
- Ringing Bells!
In Japan, Buddhist temples will ring bells 108 times on New Year’s Eve. In Buddhism, there are 108 earthly desires, so ringing these bells symbolizes removing these desires, casting out the old and welcoming the new. Noise-making is a common tradition across countries and cultures. In China, firecrackers are popped to ward off darkness from the old year past during the Lunar New Year. Fireworks celebrations are also very popular.
- Jumping!
In Brazil, wearing white and jumping over the waves in the ocean is a common tradition. Celebrants jump over seven waves and then, once they are done, walk backwards out of the water. It’s bad luck to turn your back on the sea before your feet touch the sand again. In Denmark, people will jump when the clock strikes midnight, standing on chairs and couches, and it’s bad luck for the rest of the year if you don’t participate!
Happy New Year from Yonkers Public Library!
Alison Robles is a Part-Time Junior Clerk at the Crestwood Library. She is an avid reader with a passion for YA lit, historical fiction and fantasy. A Yonkers native, she is currently pursuing an MS in Information and Library Science from the University at Buffalo.