You surely have your own New Year's Eve traditions, like celebrating with noisemakers, a kiss at midnight, or watching the ball drop in Times Square. No matter where my family is, we seek out fireworks to watch to usher in the next year. We have been lucky enough to spend New Year’s Eve in several different countries around the world. Read on to learn about three of my favorite New Year's Eve traditions from Europe, hailing from Spain, Denmark, and Scotland, respectively.
Eat 12 lucky grapes in Spain on New Year’s Eve (Photo credit: Deposit Photos)
New Year's Eve traditions in Spain
Spain has some delightful traditions for the New Year (Nochevieja in Spanish). People wear red-colored underwear for good luck. You can’t buy yourself the underwear, however. It has to be given to you!
Of course, Spaniards also drink champagne at midnight. For good fortune in the new year, you need to drop a gold object into your champagne glass (such as a ring). Then you drink the champagne from the glass and retrieve your lucky charm.
At midnight on New Year's Eve in Spain, you should eat 12 green grapes, one for every strike of the clock. Each grape represents a month of the year and will give you good luck if you finish all 12 grapes in time. This tradition is carried out in public in the major squares in Spain's cities. My family joined the Spaniards eating grapes at the Plaza Nueva in Seville when we were there for New Year's Eve a few years back. I didn’t check to see what color underwear the Spaniards were wearing, though!
Fireworks in Copenhagen on New Year’s Eve (Photo credit: Deposit Photos)
New Year's Eve Traditions in Denmark
You know how egging is considered a bad thing done by naughty tricksters on Halloween? Well, in Denmark they take throwing things at doors on New Year’s Eve to extreme lengths. The Danes save their broken plates during the year and then smash them against their friends’ doors on New Year’s Eve. The more broken crockery you have on your front step, the more popular you are.
The Queen of Denmark makes a speech, which is broadcasted to the Danish populace each New Year’s Eve. Then it's time for fireworks and the usual reveling. Fireworks were traditionally set off in many countries because they scared off evil spirits. Presumably, the evil spirits were not sufficiently scared off by some good Danish plate throwing.
Fireworks over Edinburgh Castle (Photo credit: Deposit Photos)
New Year's Eve Traditions in Scotland
Hogmanay, or New Year’s Eve, in Scotland is taken so seriously that the second of January is a holiday as well. It takes the Scots two days to recover from the Hogmanay celebrations. Hogmanay probably has a pagan background coming from the Vikings' influence. Moreover, for about 400 years, Christmas was not celebrated in Scotland. After the Protestant Reformation, the Church of Scotland believed Christmas was a Roman Catholic festival. People only celebrated and exchanged presents at New Year. In fact, Christmas did not become a public holiday (and a day off from work) in Scotland until 1958.
Many of the old Scottish New Year's Eve traditions are still practiced all over the country. For example, right after midnight, everyone sings Auld Lang Syne, a Scottish poem turned folksong. For good luck in the new year, the first person who enters a house after midnight on New Year’s Eve in Scotland should bring a gift of whiskey and/or shortbread. There is a pecking order of luck, too, for that first person who enters. The best person to show up is a tall dark-haired man and the unluckiest is a red-headed woman.
To scare away evil spirits, many Scottish towns and cities host firework displays, torchlight processions, and bonfires. The town of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire has a unique Fireballs custom. A procession of people swing balls of fire above their heads until they reach the harbor, where they dump the fireballs into the sea. Can you guess what music is played during this firey cavalcade? No, not Jerry Lee Lewis's Great Balls of Fire…it's traditional Scottish bagpipes, of course!
Do you know other fun New Year's Eve traditions from Europe? What are your favorite New Year's Eve traditions? Let us know in the comments below!
About Shobha George, The Expat Travel Mama
What an informative post. I did know about Some of these traditions. Very enjoyed to reading this:)
LOL. I think the Scots were worried about Viking raiders who were generally tall blonde men. Vikings on your doorstep was never going to be a good day.
I may be Latina, but I am with the Scots on this one I would prefer it if a “tall dark-haired man” walked through my door first too! LOL
I just heard about eating grapes this year and cannot believe I’ve never heard about this before! New tradition for us!
It’s always fun to do something you haven’t heard of before! especially if it involves food 🙂
My middle kid and I usually complain about why we stay up so late on New Year’s, and not July 31 or Nov. 30. We also play the Game of Life on the Wii, and snack and have sparkling grape juice. I’m not ready to go to bed right away, so I stay up and … read blogs. This is perfect for my first post read of 2017! Such cool traditions I never knew about.
I’d eat 12 tamales at midnight.
Reading blogs sounds like a great way to ring in the New Year to me! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful 2017!
I think it’s a pretty easy one to to but people have said gobbling down a grape for each chime (you have to finish in time) is harder than it sounds.
I had never heard of the red panties or the grape thing before. Very interesting information!
thank you!
So many different traditions for New Year’s Eve! The green grape eating in Spain is a simple, yet inviting one!
I absolutely love reading these traditions, its so cool to see how different cultures ring in the new year. My ancestors are from Scotland but i had no idea of their new years tradition though. We do have a shortbread recipe from my great great grandmother that we still make to this day, that was probably used for New Year’s traditions way back when.
I don’t really do any new years tradition’s I’ve heard of many over the years like sending someone with brown hair to be the first to knock on the door for luck, it is strange how and where they come from.
Hubby would love to live in Scotland and invite everyone over after midnight just to collect all that whisky lol. What interesting traditions are had throughout the world!
I expect they drink it as fast as they collect it! It would be a fun though!
These are all really cool traditions to learn about. My area has its own new Year traditions, like eating cornbread and greens.
yummy! cornbread! I am a big fan of anything that involves food 🙂
Looks like we lucked out this year! We spent the past week in Edinburgh and just moved on to Aberdeen yesterday. We are going to try to make it to Stonehaven, weather permitting.
I can’t wait to see your photos of the balls of fire! I’d love to spend Hogmanay in Scotland but it’s probably a little too crazy with our kids so young still.
We have a family tradition of soending Christmas and New Year in a different country each year. So far we’ve done USA, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Thailand, and UAE. The Germans are outrageous with their fireworks! I think everyone riding the metro with us was carrying about 10 kilos of personal fireworks! We’ll be partying on the beach in Abu Dhabi for NYE tomorrow.
That is so cool! Why am I not surprised it takes the Scots two days to recover? They know how to party! LOL
It’s probably easier to give an official bank holiday than it is to deal with most of the population pulling a sickie!
It is a dream of mine to celebrate NYE in Edinburgh … they sure know how to party there!
Definitely the Scots I have met do know how to party! Hogmanay is effectively a giant street party so I’m sure you’d love it.