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In recent years, the grape tradition has become popular on TikTok, where people sometimes combine it with other components, like wearing red underwear or eating the grapes while crouched under a table. (Be careful if you try this one—it can be a choking hazard.)
Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens
If you’re spending time in the southern region of the U.S., you might find yourself eating plates of black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year’s Day. This tradition, which is popular among Black American families, promises good luck and prosperity: the veggies’ color conjures the green of dollar bills, and the peas represent coins. If you’re feeling particularly peckish, add cornbread to the table as it’s said to symbolize gold.
Suitcase Stroll
If you have your sights set on travel for 2025, locate a suitcase to participate in this ritual. In Central and Latin America, those with wanderlust take a stroll with their luggage around the block or put their suitcases in the middle of a room for others to walk around, which is considered a way of attracting good travel for the year ahead.
Break a Pomegranate
Pomegranates are often portrayed as sacred symbols, representing fertility and abundance. In Greek culture, smashing a pomegranate after the ball drops means good fortune in the upcoming year. Some versions of the tradition call for getting a pomegranate blessed while attending church, then hanging the fruit on the front door from Christmas until New Year’s. On January 1, everyone takes a turn smashing it until there are thirteen pieces—one for each month of the year, and an extra for good luck.
Open the Windows
Irish superstition states that every door and window must be open throughout the home when the clock strikes twelve. This symbolizes letting the old year go and welcoming in the new, and it also represents welcoming in the spirits of departed family members, allowing them to take part in the celebration. Worth braving inclement weather for, no?
Wear Polka Dots
In the Philippines, locals dress in polka-dot prints to attract financial prosperity. The round silhouette of the pattern is meant to represent money and good fortune. If you’re considering incorporating polka dots into your NYE outfit this year, take a cue from these street style looks for inspiration.
First Foot In
Scotland keeps the party going by celebrating Hogmanay, which is a time to rejoice from New Year’s Eve through January 2. The Scottish partake in “first-footing,” where the first person to enter the house on New Year’s Day is seen as a harbinger of luck for the coming year. Traditionally, this person should bring a small gift. Consider packing a piece of coal, shortbread, or some whisky (a perennial favorite). These gifts symbolize elements of luck, like warmth and food.
New Year’s Underwear
In Latin American culture, a popular tradition has revelers wearing colorful underwear to attract different qualities to their lives for the year ahead. For example, it is believed that green represents wealth, red represents love, and blue represents wellness. And generally, the new year’s underwear has to be new (what better excuse for a shopping spree?).
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