Who doesn’t want some extra good luck in the new year? There are many New Year’s traditions around the world that are believed to bring you good luck in the new year. From a champagne toast at midnight to walking around the block with a packed suitcase, here are some of the best New Year’s good luck traditions from around the world. Try one of these New Year’s good luck traditions and have the luckiest year!
Champagne Toast at Midnight
One of the most well-known good luck traditions for New Year’s is doing a toast with champagne right at the stroke of midnight. Several countries around the world including France, Belgium, Germany, and the United States observe the champagne toast at midnight on New Year’s Day. If you’ve ever seen gold rings at the bottom of a glass of champagne, that’s because the round jewelry symbolizes wealth and prosperity in the New Year, so drink up!
Eating 12 Grapes at Midnight
In many Hispanic cultures, it is believed that if you eat 12 grapes while making a wish for each one at midnight on New Year’s Eve, your wishes will be granted. You just have to be sure to finish all 12 grapes before 12:01 a.m. so your wishes will come true in the new year!
Kissing at Midnight
Another common New Year’s good luck tradition is kissing your significant other at midnight. The kiss at midnight is symbolic of your love and affection lasting all year long.
Wearing Different Colored Underwear
So this tradition may sound a little strange, but it’s actually a popular New Year’s good luck tradition around the world. Wearing certain colors of underwear is believed to bring you different types of good luck in the coming year. Red or pink underwear are thought to bring you a year of romance and passion, yellow underwear will bring positive energy and prosperity, blue underwear for good health, and white for peace and happiness. For wealth and money in the new year, wear circles or dots on your underwear to symbolize round coins.
Pack a Suitcase
In certain Latin American countries, a popular good luck tradition is to pack your luggage and walk around your house or around the block with it on at midnight on New Year’s Eve. It is believed that doing this increases your chances of traveling in the coming year. We have a blog dedicated to New Year’s Superstitions to Travel more.
Año Viejo (Old Year)
In Ecuador and other Latin American countries, a popular tradition is making effigies out of paper mache which represent anything bad that happened in the past year, called Año Viejo. At midnight, you set fire to the effigies to burn the regrets of last year while welcoming in the hopes of the new year.
Bake a Coin in a Cake
In Greece and France, a popular New Year’s good luck tradition is baking a coin inside a cake. When the cake is served, the person who receives the coin in their slice is said to have good luck in the coming year.
12 Round Fruits
A popular New Year’s good luck tradition in the Philippines is to display 12 different round fruits, each to symbolize a month of the year. The preferred fruits are pineapple, orange, apple, grapes, banana, lemon, watermelon, mango, papaya, lychee, avocado, and pomelo. Want more details, read Lucky Fruits for New Years.
For more cultural traditions and superstitions from around the globe, explore our guides to Chinese New Year Traditions and Superstitions and Good Luck Charms from Around the World — two of our most comprehensive resources for travelers curious about the beliefs that shape destinations worldwide.
If you are a fan of traditions and superstitions, we have several other blog posts you may want to read including Halloween Traditions Around the World, Super Bowl Traditions and Superstitions, New Years Traditions and Superstitions, New Years Lucky Colors, New Years Lucky Foods & What NOT To Eat On New Year’s Day
