It is New Year's Eve today, within a few hours from now, the world will bid farewell to 2019 and welcome the year 2020 with open arms or maybe by hurling a few plates at the door as per tradition.
Many countries across the world have specific traditions around New Year and to be honest, many are weird ways of getting rid of all the pent up frustration. While some head over to the graveyards to chill with the dead, some head hurl dishes at the doors of their loved ones.
To be sure, which one will resonate with the way you want to bid farewell to this year, here’s a list of bizarre New Year traditions from across the world.
1. Want to fall in love? Just put on red undies and your special someone will be on its way.
In some Latin American countries like Brazil and Mexico, people follow the tradition of wearing colour-specific underwear for inviting goodwill in their next year. Wearing red coloured underwear is believed to fetch love for you in the next year, while yellow is for inviting prosperity and white for peace and harmony.
2. Too many plates in the house or frustrated with the year?
Denmark’s New Year’s tradition is to smash plates on the doors of their loved ones at the stroke of midnight. Smashing plates is a historic tradition in Denmark but has been losing popularity lately. The tradition is believed to invite luck and life-long friends in the lives of people.
3. New Year’s party at the graveyard
If you’re in Chile, don’t be surprised if someone asks you joining their New Year’s party at the nearby graveyard. The Chilean people head over to the cemetery soon after the church mass to spend time with the dead.
4. 12 grapes for the 12 months of the year
The Spanish tradition for New Year’s Eve is very simple, all you have to do is eat 12 grapes at midnight. Not one more or one less, 12 grapes exact to represent the 12 months of the year gone by.
5. Throw them all out!
No matter what you’re wanting to do away with this year, if you’re in Italy, you can unapologetically throw it all out of the window on New Year’s Eve. This Italian tradition symbolizes people’s readiness for the upcoming year and a fresh start.
