A sample of Estonian cuisine during a festival.The New Year is often imagined as a single moment -— glasses raised, balloons and confetti, hugs and kisses, “Auld Lang Syne,” fireworks flaring and a countdown shouted into the dawn of a new calendar. Across oceans and cultures, the turning of the year is shaped by rituals and gestures passed down through generations.
Luck is swallowed, rung away, broken, scattered, or shared, depending on where midnight finds you. Let’s visit 13 countries – an ambivalent number – and see how they welcome 2026:
Argentina
Pink underwear is worn for love — a hopeful gesture for many! Others run around their homes or blocks carrying empty suitcases, with the belief it will ensure travel in the coming year. In business districts, shredded documents are tossed from windows — a symbolic release of the old year’s burdens. As night deepens, the streets fill with parties, music, dancing, and spontaneous celebrations which stretch all the way till morning.
Australia
One of the first nations to greet the New Year, their celebrations are usually done outdoors — beach parties for the more adventurous, while families opt to gather together for backyard barbecues. Most importantly, when the clock strikes midnight, the country pauses to witness the fabulous fireworks over Sydney Harbor, as it heralds the beginning of another year for the continent.
Brazil
Along the many coasts, crowds dressed in white gather by the seashore, waves lit by fireworks overhead. Afro-Brazilian traditions honor the goddess Yemanjá. At midnight, seven waves are jumped over, each leap paired with a wish.
Chile
For some families, midnight is spent among the dead. Cemeteries glow with candlelight as loved ones gather beside graves, welcoming the New Year in quiet remembrance. The practice, which began in the 1990s, insists that going forward does not require forgetting the past.
China
Homes are thoroughly cleaned to sweep away lingering bad fortune, then dressed with red lanterns and chunlian — calligraphic couplets pasted on doors to ward off evil spirits. Noise then takes over: firecrackers explode, drums thunder, and the air fills with sound meant to drive away misfortune. Lion and dragon dances weave through streets, while elders pass out hongbao, red envelopes of money given as blessings for the year ahead. It is no coincidence that firecrackers are central — they were, after all, invented in The Middle Kingdom!
Denmark
The arrival of the New Year is marked by deliberate destruction. Old plates are thrown against the doors of friends and family on New Year’s Eve. By morning, a doorstep scattered with broken porcelain is a compliment, a sign of loyalty, friendship, and luck waiting to enter!
Estonia
The day is counted in meals — the more, the better! Seven, nine, or twelve servings are eaten, each believed to grant strength for the year to come. Whether followed fully or symbolically, the tradition frames nourishment as wealth and preparation for the challenges ahead.
Greece
The New Year is welcomed at the doorstep. A pomegranate is smashed against the door at midnight, with its seeds scattered across the floor. The more they spread, the greater the promise of good fortune. This ties domestic space to ancient ideas of fertility and renewal.
Japan
The New Year is welcomed through Joya no Kane, literally meaning midnight bell. On the eve, Buddhist temple bells are rung 108 times to cleanse the earthly desires believed to burden the human spirit. In many places, worshippers take turns striking the bell themselves, ushering in the year through reflection and release.
Scotland
Celebrations stretch far beyond midnight. Hogmanay is defined by first-footing, the belief that the first visitor to cross a home’s threshold sets the tone for the months ahead. Coal, shortbread, and whisky are carried as symbols of warmth, sustenance, and good cheer, exchanged quietly in the dark hours after the year turns.
South Africa
In some urban neighborhoods such as Johannesburg, the year begins with an emphatic letting go. Old furniture and household items are thrown out of windows, a dramatic gesture meant to clear space for what lies ahead. Though discouraged for safety reasons, the symbolism continues to be followed to this very day.
Spain
The year begins with discipline and timing. As midnight arrives on the 31st of December, twelve chimes ring out, each matched with a grape. One for every month ahead. The tradition, which took root in the early twentieth century, demands focus — eat too fast or too slow and the rhythm is lost. Families gather, bowls are prepared in advance, as they wait for the sound of the first chime as broadcasted on television from Puerta del Sol, Madrid’s premier central square.
Philippines
In our shores, round shapes dominate the celebration. Polka-dotted clothing, coins tucked into pockets, and tables filled with round fruits turn the circle into a symbol of prosperity. Of course, let’s not forget the kids — and kids at heart — jump once the clock strikes midnight, in hopes they may grow in height!
In any language — Manigong Bagong Taon, Feliz Año Nuevo, Happy New Year!