The breaking of the dishes may be interwoven in Greece with the time when the nightclubs held the “scepters” of entertainment, but in Denmark, the breaking of the dishes does not symbolize the party and the spree, but the good luck! On New Year’s Eve, Danes break old or unused dishes on the doorstep of their own house or their friends, for good luck. In fact, it is said that the more broken dishes one finds outside one’s door on New Year’s Eve, the greater one’s luck! And those of the Danes who do not … break dishes, get in chairs at midnight and jump from them as they believe that the jump in January, the first month of the new year, will eliminate bad luck and bring luck.
Strange customs accompany the coming of the new year in different parts of the world, with a common denominator the search for people to leave behind what taught them the passing year and to welcome the new year with luck.
In the south of Italy, they exorcise the evil of the year that leaves old pots, clothes or other unwanted objects flying out of the windows, a practice that seems to be preferred in Argentina, in its … lighter version as well as old documents and papers without no value anymore for their owner are those that are thrown like another confetti from the open windows, in a symbolic gesture that shows that one leaves behind the past.
If you are a brunette and you have coins (or a piece of black coal according to another version), bread (usually with raisins) and … of course whiskey as gifts on your plate, then you are definitely welcome to kick for the new year in a scottish household. Tradition wants the Scots to pay close attention to who crosses the threshold first after the change of year and they believe that a person with the above characteristics is an omen of good luck. According to relevant publications in the foreign press, it is not excluded that their preference is connected with the Viking era, when the only foreigners … blonde gift they brought were problems.
On the other hand, if you are a single woman, living in Ireland and wanting to find the love of your life, all you have to do is sleep with a few sprigs of mistletoe under your pillow on New Year’s Eve.
In Spain, the most sought after fruit on New Year’s Eve – the old night, as it is called (La Noche vieja) – is the grape, as the custom wants the Spaniards to eat twelve berries (las doce uvas de la suerte) – corresponding to each of the clock strikes (usually in the central square of the cities), when it will mean midnight. In fact, those who do not manage to eat the right number are in danger of being faced with bad luck in the new year for this and some do … practice to be “ready for war” at the right time. It is said to be a custom that has its roots in the beginning of the last century, when in 1909 farmers in Alicante worked out ways to sell the grape harvest, which was particularly rich that year.
On the other hand, in the Czech Republic they prefer seasonal fruits and for this reason they seek their fortune in an apple! They cut it in half and if the shape inside looks like a cross it is a harbinger of trouble in the new year, if it reminds of a star again they can be optimistic that they will find joy.
In South American countries such as Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil, a person’s fate in the new year seems to be determined by the color of the underwear he chooses to host. Ή at least that is what the custom wants… Those who seek love are said to choose the color red, while those who prefer wealth “vote” yellow. Those who again put peace above money and love should be dressed in white.
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