Every December 31st, the world celebrates New Year’s Eve. Many people enjoy a nice party with
friends or a romantic dinner on this night. However, some countries have very unusual New Year’s
Eve traditions. Here are traditions from five countries!
South Africa: In the city of Johannesburg, some people throw furniture out their windows. They have
even thrown out microwaves and fridges. Police have warned people not to do this but the practice
continues anyways.
The Philippines: Filipinos have many different customs for New Year’s Eve. One of these is to make
lots of noise to scare away evil spirits. Another is to turn on all the lights in the house to
make the New Year bright and cheerful.
Brazil: Many people wear different colors to bring something new for the coming year. Wearing white
is said to bring in luck. Wearing yellow is a wish for money. Wearing red clothes is a wish for
passion and romance.
Greece: A popular New Year’s Eve tradition in Greece is to bake a cake with a coin inside of it.
After the cake is baked, people slice it into pieces and give one to each of their family members.
Whoever gets the piece with the coin inside will have good luck in the coming year.
Ireland: For many centuries, it has been a New Year’s tradition to bang bread loaves on doors and
walls in a house. This chases the bad luck out of the house and invites good luck inside.