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The new year is upon us! With tomorrow bringing in 2020, people around the world are celebrating the start of a brand-new decade. The roaring 20s are back!
If you’re wondering how people around the world celebrate this period, we’ve got you covered. These are just a few of the weirdest, wackiest traditions we’ve ever heard of… but if you believe in superstition and want to make sure that you have good fortune (and plenty of bread!) for the new year, pay attention!
If you’re in Italy during the new year, you might be seeing a lot of restaurants with lentil specials. That’s because traditional Italians believe that lentils are lucky, and usually eat them with some sort of pork dish (like sausage) to signify a bountiful future.
Bonus: Brazil and Chile believe about the same thing: that these coin-shaped legumes will bring you luck.
In Colombia it’s tradition to fill your pockets with lentils (uncooked, we assume. We hope.)
There is a special dish in Japan that is called a toshikoshi soba noodle soup, or year-crossing soup. It is made from long and thin soba noodles that are easily cut.
The noodles are meant to signify both a clean break from the past and a long and healthy future. Fun!
After you eat your long, thin noodles, consider making some noise. No, not like a rock concert. Make some noise to ward off evil spirits!
Joya no kane is a Buddhist ritual that involves ringing temple bells 108 times on New Year’s Eve. Some communities also will bang pots together, light fireworks, and more.
The extra noise is believed to help ward off evil spirits and protect you for the coming year.
Under where?! Seriously; it’s thought in many Central and South American countries that the color underwear you wear is important going into the new year! Red means love, yellow means good luck, green means money, and white is peace.
Wouldn’t yellow basically cover them all?
Banging bread against the wall as an Irish tradition has two uses. One, it apparently wards off evil spirits, because we all know evil spirits are scared of gluten. And two, it is supposed to help prevent a bread shortage in the future year.
We’re not entirely sure where the history of this comes from, but it’s tradition – and good luck! – to wear polka dots on news years in the Philippines.
Variations on this tradition are actually pretty common in several places. Bakeries or families will bake a dessert or cake with a coin in it. If your slice has the coin, you can expect good fortune and luck in the coming year!
Hopefully, it won’t start with a trip to the dentist.
