New Year's Eve Traditions Around the World

I don't think we have any real traditions here in Jamaica. We celebrate New Year's Eve a little like the people in the United States do, which means lots of drinking, parties and fireworks mostly. I don't know of any superstitions some people might have either. I've never heard of any.

I am in the United States, and most people seem to celebrate with drinking and parties, lots of fire-works also.
We live in the south and many people think you have to eat a dish of black-eyed peas to insure good luck for the new year. If that were true I would have nothing but bad luck-----I can't stand black-eyed peas, lolol.
On a personal level---- when our children were home we had an open house on New Year's Day. It was also our daughter's birthday so of course gifts, cake and ice cream were part of the day.
Now??? LOL, now we think the best way to celebrate anything is a good night's sleep, an EARLY good night's sleep.

There are lots of eating and drinking and lots of firecrackers and fireworks and lots of injuries too.
There are also belated Christmas gift giving when one's so busy last Christmas and did not get home on time.
Others go to church with all the family in tow. New Year's wishes and New year's resolutions are made too.
I'm from the Philippines.

Happy New Year, winterrose. We spend our New Year's Eve and new year based on our lunar month. We have a family get-together on New Year's Eve with a lot of delicious foods prepared for this day, which can be at lunch time or dinner time, based on the tradition of each household. We will have our lunar New Year's Eve on 25th of January, 2009. I am looking forward to its arrival.

When I was still living in Scotland on New Year's Eve would would go "First Footin'". I would stay at home until friends and family came to visit, this was the first foot to cross the threshold of my home, bringing a piece of coal symbolising warmth, a piece of black bun (fruit cake) for food and whiskey (in my house homemade ginger wine)for good cheer and luck in the coming year. Then we would all go to the next house stay a while then the people from that home and would join us and we would go again to the next house. This would continue all night. Then we would go back to our respective homes sleep for a few hours and then get get ready to enjoy a very large meal.
We had one superstition the "first foot" to cross into out home could not be from a redhead they would have to wait until a blond or brunette had entered first!!

I have often wandered about it also. Thanks for sharing this with all of us. It is neat to see what other people do to celebrate.

Thanks for sharing this article with us. It is interesting how New Year;s Eve is celebrated in different places.

The traditions vary where I live. some people gop to church to see the New Year in and others just walk the streets as the markets stay open very late. Others go to stage shows or watch fireworks as the clock reaches 12. Others party really hard and many stay at home just with the family and toast each other at midnight. No particular tradition really. Blessings

We stay home. Don't drink. Watch D*ck Clark on TV.

we PARTY!