In Dillsburg, we have the Pickle Drop. In New York, the United States has the Ball Drop. What about other countries? Obviously New Year’s is a cause for celebration, so do people do what the U.S. does, or do they have other things?
In Spain, people eat 12 grapes at the 12 chimes of the clock, believing that if you eat them all at the right times, you will be lucky. If not, you wait until next year and try again. Now, eating those grapes sounds easy, but really is very hard unless you are an extremely fast eater. I have always been a slow eater, and when I tried this in Spanish class, I failed! I guess I am unlucky this year. This is called las doce uvas de la suerte, or the twelve grapes of luck in English. Italy has a similar tradition, eating 12 spoonfuls of lentils at the 12 chimes.
Many other cultures eat various food items to ring in the New Year. In Japan, people eat soba noodles because they symbolize the physical break from the old year into the new year. Haiti celebrates the Haitian Independence Day on January 1, so Haitians join together for one big holiday to eat soup joumou, pumpkin soup, because Black people were not allowed to have it previous to the end of the Haitian Revolution. In Mexico, families come together to make homemade tamales and give them to others. The Netherlands eats a bunch of oliebollen (deep fried dough balls) because of ancient beliefs about being protected by dough from a Germanic goddess.
Denmark has the tradition of smashing old plates in front of other people’s (specifically family and friends’) doors. The more dishes you have in front of your door, the luckier you will be. In Ecuador, scarecrows are burned at the end of the year to clean the world from all the sin. After midnight in Greece, people smash pomegranates on doors, and the more seeds that are scattered the better off people are.
There are countless other New Year’s traditions, those are just a few! Next time, instead of just watching the ball drop, try eating grapes or throwing plates. It is important to appreciate and do our best to understand other cultures through traditions, just try!
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