Eating Lobster on New Year's Eve Can Bring You Bad Luck
Around the world on December 31, you'll find people clinking their glasses at New Year's Eve parties, sharing a kiss with their loved one and making as much noise as possible once the clock strikes 12. While these New Year's traditions may be fun, some are also said to bring good fortune. And even if you don't believe in certain rituals, it can't hurt trying, right? We could all use some extra luck for 2024, and these New Year's Day superstitions could add a little more success to your year ahead.
Countries across the globe have developed their own ways to welcome in the new year and keep away any misfortune. For instance, many believe in starting the year off with a clean home to sweep away the old and get ready for the new. If you don't feel like cleaning, try eating lucky foods like round fruits or black-eyed peas and wearing New Year's colors like white. Easy-peasy. Just make sure you pay attention to the things you shouldn't do on New Year's Eve, like eat lobster or put your purse on the ground.
Intrigued for more ways to bring fortune into 2024? Take a look at these New Year's superstitions for luck in love, money and health.
Keep Your Cupboard Fully Stocked
According to superstition, having your pantry or cabinets filled to the brim on New Year's Day signifies good luck and will help you and your family to avoid hardship or poverty in 2024. According to Southern Living, it is a popular southern ritual.
Walk Around With an Empty Suitcase
One superstition that those who have caught the travel bug will be excited to get behind is carrying around an empty suitcase on New Year's Eve. The custom is supposed to welcome new experiences and a year filled with traveling. It is mostly practiced in Spain and Latin American countries.
Throw Furniture From a Window
In some European cultures, you can find people throwing couches, fridges and more from their window when the clock strikes midnight. The action is thought to symbolize doing away with the old and welcoming in the new.
Eat 12 Grapes
Grabbing a healthy snack come New Year's Day can do more than just kick-start your new year's resolution. In many Latin countries, eating 12 grapes (one for each month of the new year) is thought to bring good luck.
Keep Cash in Your Wallet
You may want to run out to get some cash ahead of New Year's Eve. According to superstition, keeping a full wallet will bring financial stability and prosperity for the next 12 months.
Eat Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
In the south, it is considered good luck to include a plate of collard greens and black-eyed peas as part of your New Year's Eve meal. Both foods are believed to signify prosperity and well-being for the new year.
Avoid Crying
Be careful not to shed any tears come January 1. Crying at the start of the new year has been said to set the tone for a year full of sadness and sorrow.
Make Noise
While it may be tradition to cheer, blow horns and sound off noisemakers on New Year's Eve, the exercise is said to come from a superstition. Making loud noises at midnight is thought to help ward off evil.
Leave Windows and Doors Open
Similar to the old adage "out with the old and in with the new," leaving your doors and windows open on New Year's Eve is said to let out the old year. With all the fresh air circulating, you're sure to also welcome in the new year (and maybe a draft).
Wear Polkadots
In the Philippines, it is considered good luck to wear anything with polka dots on New Year's Eve. People who live there also surround themselves with other round objects like coins and even round fruit, like oranges, to welcome wealth in the new year.
Don't Eat Lobster
We know, a lobster dinner sounds delicious on almost any night of the year, but you may want to be weary of it on New Year's Eve. Several cultures believe it to be bad luck to eat lobster because the crustaceans move backward. If you are looking towards the future and new beginnings, you don't want anything to hold you back.
Jump in the Air
If you're hoping to gain a little height in 2024, you may want to try this out. It is believed in the Philippines that if you hop up and down at midnight on New Year's Eve, or try to jump in the air as high as you can, you can grow taller.
Break Dishes
In several countries, it is considered good luck and a sign of friendship to break dishes and plates on the homes of those closest to you. If you wake up on New Year's Day with a ton of broken dishware in front of your home, it's safe to say that you're well liked.
Eat Soba Noodles
People in Japan traditionally eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve. According to the superstition, the meal will melt away the pain and difficulties of the previous year.
Don't Clean Your Clothes
If you've been avoiding doing laundry or sweeping, you may want to hold off a little longer. Some frown upon cleaning up and cleaning clothes during New Year's Eve. It is thought that you could accidentally wash away or wipe away good luck headed your way.
Share a Midnight Kiss
A kiss at the stroke of midnight can be more than a sweet gesture to show your significant other how much you care. In ancient Rome and Scotland, the exercise was thought to help prevent a year of loneliness.
Clean the House
If you aren't into leaving messes around the house for the sake of good luck, this superstition may appeal to you. Many people around the world believe in starting New Year's Day with a clean house in order to avoid carrying the old or dirt of last year into the new year.
Look Outside Your Window
In some countries, young women are encouraged to look at their window come New Year's Day. The belief is that if they see a man outside, it signifies that they will find love in the new year.
Burn Photos
An Ecuadorian superstition calls for burning photos of old memories in order to make way for the new things to come. The superstition requires that photos be burned before midnight so that they don't make it into the new year.
Eat Vasilopita
You may be familiar with eating King Cake in celebration of Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. But, a cake that is similar to the pastry that is also popular in New Orleans (it also carries a trinket inside), is known to bring good luck on another holiday. In Greece, the tradition of eating vasilopita on New Year’s Eve can bring good luck if you find the hidden coin in your slice.
Eat Round Food
For many cultures, eating round foods is believed to bring abundance and prosperity for the new year. In Europe and the United States, the tradition calls for 12 round fruits to symbolize each month of the year. But in countries like the Philippines, you're supposed to eat 13, a number considered as lucky.
Wear White
In Brazil, people wear white, walk into the ocean and jump over seven waves for good luck at midnight on New Year's. But even if you don't jump into the ocean, simply wearing white can still (hopefully) bring good fortune.
Hang Onions
On New Year's, households in Greece hang onions on their front doors as a symbol of growth and rebirth, a tradition that has been kept since the Ancient Greek times.
Watch the Weather
According to New Year's weather folklore, the forecast during the first 12 days of the year can predict how good or bad it will be during all months of 2024. That means if it rains on January 2, you might expect rainy weather during the second month of the year, February.
Don't Put Your Purse on the Ground
In many cultures and countries like China and Portugal, placing your handbag or purse on the floor is said to be bad luck and lead to money problems. So whatever you do, don't put your purse on the ground!
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