An array of customs commences as the world rings in the New Year. From front door rituals to champagne glasses, each culture has unique traditions, but all hold the similar idea of a fresh start.

The Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures held an exhibit Dec. 6, 2024, to Jan. 25, 2025, called Ringing in the New Year: New Year Traditions Around the World that showcased various New Year’s traditions of cultures from around the world.

“Human beings have come to understand that (New Year’s is) the beginning of rebirth and new happenings, new beginnings,” said Barbara Schoenberger, the director of the museum. “It’s kind of fun to see how every culture on Earth celebrates it, but they do it in such different and fun ways.”

Different people from around the globe decorate their doors or engage in unique practices to ring in the new year. In Denmark, breaking dishware on doorsteps signals good luck, and at midnight, people leap off chairs or tables in unison. This symbolic act is believed to banish evil spirits and invite good fortune; it’s considered bad luck if you forget to participate.

“Everyone does something for New Year’s, even if it’s silly, and it (can) be a way to bring us all together. It’s supposed to be lighthearted and kind of fun to show the fun celebratory things that people do across the world and across religion.” -Kat Bertram, Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures collections manager.

Thailand’s New Year’s festival, Songkran, is celebrated in mid-April and includes a friendly water fight. During this time, people pour water on each other as a symbolic gesture to wash away misfortunes and welcome a fresh start while also paying their respects to elders and Buddha statues. Thai people widely adhere to Buddhist traditions, in which water represents purity and starting anew.

“It was the most fun I’ve ever had,” said Sarah Russell, who was in Thailand for the New Year’s celebration last April. “Everything is closed the whole day. Everything shuts down, and everyone had water guns and hoses. They run around with buckets of water and drive in their cars. It’s like a huge nationwide water fight.”

Across several cultures, a common practice is thoroughly cleaning one’s house before the New Year begins. Whether it’s in Italy, Scotland or South America, this ritual symbolizes sweeping away the old and clearing space for new opportunities. 

The Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures showcased various cultures’ ways of celebrating the new year, showing that even though people may celebrate in different ways and at different times, most everyone celebrates a new beginning.

“Everyone does something for New Year’s, even if its silly, and it (can) be a way to bring us all together,” said Kat Bertram, collections manager at the Global Village Museum of Arts and Cultures. “It’s supposed to be lighthearted and kind of fun to show the fun celebratory things that people do across the world and across religion.”

In some Latin American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Panama, a particularly lively tradition takes place at midnight. Families grab their suitcases and walk around the block to symbolize a year of travel and adventure. The tradition holds that the more walking and exploring there is, the more prosperous the year will be.

In many Hispanic and Latin American countries — as well as in Turkey — it is customary to match the color of one’s underwear to one’s wishes for the New Year. Street vendors often sell specific colors for this purpose, with each hue carrying its own meaning. Red symbolizes love; yellow symbolizes wealth; and white symbolizes peace, just to name a few.

In Scotland, Hogmanay is celebrated with the “first-footer” tradition — the first person to enter a home after midnight. This person is believed to bring good luck and prosperity, often carrying symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread or a bottle of scotch.

New Year’s Eve is also a time for predicting what lies ahead through symbolic rituals. In El Salvador, people crack a raw egg into a glass of water and leave it overnight. The shapes formed by the egg whites the following morning are believed to reveal insights into the future, whether it be prosperity or potential challenges.

In Russia, people write their wishes on a piece of paper, burn it and drop the ashes into a glass of champagne. The mixture is then consumed at midnight, symbolizing the fulfillment of their desires in the coming year.

A worldwide tradition is to ring in the New Year with noise, as various countries use sound to celebrate and ward off evil spirits. From fireworks to bells, the clamor of celebration fills the night sky in countries like China, where loud noises are especially prevalent. During the Lunar New Year, mandarin oranges symbolize good fortune, while red envelopes containing money are exchanged as tokens of luck and happiness.

While each tradition varies, one thing remains clear: New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations share the same messages of renewal, hope and celebration. From breaking dishware in Denmark to carrying suitcases in Latin America, these rituals reveal how people around the globe seek good fortune and happiness in the coming year.

Reach Riley Paling at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @rileypaling.