10 Weird Things People Used to Do at New Year’s

We’re here again, at the doorstep of yet another new year. It is time to don “2026” plastic eyeglasses and drink bubbly into the early morning hours. For most of us, a New Year’s celebration means excitedly counting down the seconds to midnight and partying the rest of the night (morning) away. Some prefer a quiet night at home, while others wait for the new season of a popular series to hit Netflix instead of going out.

A long time ago, however, things seemed very different when it came to the new year. Most people believed that the shift from old to new created an imbalance in the world or a tear in the “veil” that separates the living from the dead. This caused bad luck, disease, or even evil spirits to affect and harass them. So, to protect themselves, people came up with strange customs and traditions. Many of them faded away over time, but we’ll revive them here once more as we wait for what 2026 may bring.

Related: 10 Holiday Traditions Started Because of Poverty

10 Out With the Old (Literally)

In parts of southern Italy, especially in big cities like Naples, people once took “out with the old and in with the new” literally. They gathered broken or unwanted household items and tossed them out of windows on New Year’s Eve. Pots, pans, chairs, and even small appliances were fair game. The belief was simple: old objects clung to old problems and bad luck, and physically removing them made space for renewal in the year ahead.

The tradition was dramatic but dangerous, and over time, many cities discouraged or banned it because of injuries caused by falling objects. Even so, the symbolism survived. Today, many Italians still embrace the idea by clearing clutter or throwing out old belongings before the new year begins—just without the airborne furniture.^[1]

9 Round Objects Everywhere

In the Philippines, shapes play an important role in New Year’s celebrations, and round objects are especially prized because they resemble coins. Families fill their homes with round fruits such as oranges and grapes, wear polka-dotted clothing, and keep coins in their pockets or spread across tables. The more circular items present, the better the household’s financial prospects are believed to be in the coming year.

Some families aim for a specific number of round fruits—often twelve—to represent the months ahead. Noise also plays a role, with fireworks and loud celebrations intended to scare away bad luck. Together, the round shapes and midnight chaos are meant to ensure that prosperity enters the new year loudly and stays put.^[2]

8 Bear Dancing

In rural Romania, New Year’s celebrations once involved men dressing in full bear skins and dancing through villages. Bears symbolized strength and protection, as well as the cycle of death and rebirth, since they hibernate during winter and reemerge in spring. The dances were believed to drive away evil spirits and ensure good fortune for the community in the year ahead.

The performances were intense affairs, often involving drummers and handlers, with ritual movements that included the bear “dying” and rising again to mark the transition into the new year. While modern versions are more theatrical and regulated, the tradition remains one of the most visually striking New Year customs in Europe.^[3]

7 Mirror and Perfume Offers to the Sea

Along parts of Brazil’s coastline, New Year’s rituals once included offering personal items to the ocean in honor of the sea deity Yemanjá. Common offerings included perfume, combs, jewelry, and mirrors, each carrying symbolic meaning. Mirrors represented self-reflection, perfume symbolized attraction and favor, and jewelry stood for beauty and abundance.

The ocean’s response mattered. If waves carried the offerings away, it signaled blessings to come. If items washed back ashore, it suggested caution in the year ahead. In some regions, participants wore white for peace and purification and jumped ocean waves at midnight. Today, many communities encourage environmentally friendly offerings, such as flowers, to preserve the tradition without harming coastal ecosystems.^[4]

6 First Footing

In Scotland, a New Year’s tradition known as first footing held that the first person to cross a home’s threshold after midnight would determine the household’s luck for the year. Ideally, the first footer was a tall, dark-haired man. Fair-haired visitors were associated with Vikings and therefore considered unlucky. The first footer also carried symbolic gifts, including salt for prosperity, bread for abundance, coal for warmth, and whisky for cheer.

Arriving empty-handed was considered a bad omen, and the gift of coal was especially important, symbolizing a warm hearth throughout the coming year. First footing remains part of Hogmanay celebrations today, often treated as a festive ritual with clearly remembered rules.^[5]

5 Burning Wishes and Calendars

In parts of Spain, New Year’s traditions once involved burning written wishes, personal notes, and old calendars just before midnight. These items symbolized unresolved problems and hardships from the previous year. Burning them was believed to prevent negative energy from crossing into the new year.

Fire served as both a cleansing and a final act. Some people focused less on wishes and more on what they wanted to leave behind, trusting that destruction made room for renewal. The precise timing mattered—burning items just before midnight marked a clean break between the old year and the new.^[6]

4 Buying New Clothes for Luck

In Iceland, buying or receiving new clothes before the new year was once believed to predict success or hardship in the months ahead. Clothing was valuable and labor-intensive to produce, so new garments signaled productivity, generosity, and survival. Wearing worn or old clothes on New Year’s Eve suggested stagnation and misfortune.

The belief was reinforced by the legend of the Yule Cat, a monstrous creature said to eat anyone who failed to receive new clothes before Christmas or the New Year. The story acted as both a warning and a motivation, encouraging hard work and contribution to the household. While new clothes remain popular today, the superstition no longer carries the same weight.^[7]

3 Avoiding Scissors for the Day

In some regions of China, New Year’s Day came with strict rules against using scissors or other cutting tools. These objects symbolized separation, loss, and interruption—exactly what people hoped to avoid at the start of the year. Activities like cutting hair, trimming nails, sewing, or tailoring were postponed until later.

The logic extended beyond scissors. Washing hair, sweeping, or taking out the trash could also be avoided, since each action symbolically washed or swept away good fortune. Even skeptics often followed the rules, preferring caution over becoming the person blamed when luck soured months later.^[8]

2 Sleeping Alongside Livestock

In parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic region, New Year’s Eve was believed to be dangerous for animals. Folklore warned that spirits or creatures such as trolls were more likely to harm livestock as midnight approached. To protect them, farmers slept in barns or animal shelters, believing that human presence deterred supernatural threats.

Animals were often given extra food, spoken to aloud, or acknowledged as members of the household whose survival ensured prosperity. In Sweden, families left porridge for the tomte, or nisse, a protective barn spirit. Forgetting this offering risked mischief, spoiled food, or worse in the coming year.^[9]

1 Protecting Eyebrows

In traditional Korean folklore, falling asleep on New Year’s Eve was believed to cause a person’s eyebrows to turn white. White eyebrows symbolized bad luck, loss of vitality, and premature aging. Eyebrows were thought to reflect life force and longevity, so a sudden change was seen as a serious warning.

To prevent this, adults and children were encouraged to stay awake all night. Families turned the evening into a communal event filled with games, stories, food, and conversation. Staying awake was not just about avoiding sleep, but about consciously guarding the boundary between years and welcoming the future with open eyes and intact eyebrows.^[10]