--- title: 10 Surprising New Year's Traditions From Across the Globe description: From the Times Square ball drop to hanging onions, here are some of the ways different countries welcome the new year. canonical: https://time.com/6550868/new-years-traditions-around-the-world/ author: Mallory Moench article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-12-28T13:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T09:40:21.000Z article:section: History og:title: 10 New Year's Traditions From Across the Globe og:description: From the Times Square ball drop to hanging onions, here are some of the ways different countries welcome the new year. og:url: https://time.com/6550868/new-years-traditions-around-the-world/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9560a4ea88aa7aab/698b24f616d8840e4cc46378/GettyImages-1898879991.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Times Square New Year's Eve 2024 Celebration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 New Year's Traditions From Across the Globe twitter:description: From the Times Square ball drop to hanging onions, here are some of the ways different countries welcome the new year. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9560a4ea88aa7aab/698b24f616d8840e4cc46378/GettyImages-1898879991.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 New Year's Traditions From Across the Globe > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: 2023: A Year In Review [Watch (HLS stream): 2023: A Year In Review](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aY8VA0xd.m3u8) (4:19)  _Published 2023-12-21. Here's a look back on the most impactful events of 2023._ by [Mallory Moench](https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 9:40 AM UTCPublished: Dec 28, 2023 1:00 PM UTC  The Times Square ball drop ceremony in New York City, seen here on Jan. 1, 2024, is one of many New Year's traditions honored around the world. The Times Square ball drop ceremony in New York City, seen here on Jan. 1, 2024, is one of many New Year's traditions honored around the world.Gotham—Getty Images by [Mallory Moench](https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 9:40 AM UTCPublished: Dec 28, 2023 1:00 PM UTC As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, communities around the world will celebrate the start of 2025 with unique traditions—some more well known than others. From the famous Times Square ball drop to hanging onions, here are some of the ways different countries ring in the new year. ## **Times Square ball drop** Some version of the famous ball [has been dropped in Times Square in New York City](https://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-new-years-eve/nye-history-times-square-ball#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20hundreds%20of%20thousands,watch%20the%20ceremony%20each%20year.) on New Year’s Eve since 1907, although the history of using a ball on a pole to notify ship captains of the time [dates back to the 1800s.](https://time.com/4608451/new-years-eve-ball-drop-history/) Nowadays, hundreds of thousands of revelers pack Times Square, waiting for hours before midnight, while an estimated more than one billion people watch the ball drop on TV, [according to Times Square’s official website](https://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-new-years-eve/nye-history-times-square-ball#:~:text=Each%20year%2C%20hundreds%20of%20thousands,watch%20the%20ceremony%20each%20year.%5C). The major affair always features high-profile TV presenters and celebrity musicians. [This year’s main event will be presented](https://www.timessquarenyc.org/news-and-press-releases/nye-2025-official-lineup#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20%E2%80%93%20December%2026%2C%202024,%2C%20Rita%20Ora%2C%20Carrie%20Underwood%2C) by co-hosts actor Jonathan Bennett and interviewer Jeremy Hassell. It will feature musical performances from Mark Ambor, Mickey Guyton, Rita Ora, Carrie Underwood, and the Jonas Brothers. and more, per the Times Square website. Major broadcast networks will also be celebrating in Times Square, with ABC showing _Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest_ and CNN hosting _New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen_. ## Jumping waves and wearing white In Brazil, revelers often wear white and go to the beach to celebrate the new year. At the ocean, some practice the tradition of making offerings to Iemanjá, or Yemanja, an ocean goddess from traditional Afro-Brazilian religions Candomblé and Umbanda. Gifts [are placed in boats](https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2015/12/104446/festival-yemanja-new-years-eve-brazil-reveillon) and pushed into the ocean. Celebrants [also traditionally jump over seven waves](https://www.iheartbrazil.com/new-year-in-brazil/), thanking Iemanjá for something good that happened in the past year with each wave, and when done, they don’t turn their back on the sea until their feet are out of the water, so as not to receive bad luck.  A couple leaps over the waves on New Year's Eve 2018 on Copacabana Beach, Brazil. Daniel Ramalho—Getty Images ## First footing One tradition in Scotland, [where New Year’s Eve is known as Hogmanay](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-History-of-Hogmanay/), is “first footing”—literally the first foot to enter someone’s home after midnight. To ensure good luck, the first visitor should traditionally be a tall, dark-haired male bringing pieces of coal, shortbread, salt, a [black bun](https://foodanddrink.scotsman.com/food/a-history-of-the-black-bun-including-a-recipe-for-making-your-own/#:~:text=The%20Scotch%20bun%20he%20described,with%20a%20cup%20of%20tea.) and whiskey. The party tradition is achieved sometimes in modern times with having one guest leave just before midnight so they can knock on the door as the new year begins, per[_The Scotsman._](https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/what-is-first-footing-where-the-scottish-hogmanay-tradition-comes-from-and-common-first-footing-gifts-3960956) ### More From TIME ## Ringing bells 108 times In Japan, Buddhist temples ring bells 108 times on New Year’s Eve. This is because in Buddhism, it is believed that there are 108 types of earthly desires, and each strike of the bell will remove one desire. The tradition is called Joya no Kane_._ “Jo” means “to throw away the old and move on to the new” and “Ya” means “night,” [according to Japan Today. ](https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/Guide-to-New-Year-traditions-in-Japan)  People can be seen here ringing a bell 108 times as take part in Joya no Kane while ringing in 2023 in Tokyo. David Mareuil,Anadolu Agency—Getty Images ## Hanging onions In Greece, [families traditionally go to church on New Year’s Day](https://www.greekboston.com/new-year/hang-onions/). After the service, they find an onion that [they hang on the doors](https://greekherald.com.au/culture/all-you-need-know-about-greek-new-years-eve-customs-tradition/) or in their homes as a symbol of good health, fertility, and longevity. ## Finding 12 round fruits In the Philippines, celebrations feature [round items](https://www.tagaloglang.com/new-years-eve-in-the-philippines/), because it’s believed that roundness symbolizes prosperity. Households [pick 12 round fruits](https://gulfnews.com/lifestyle/community/13-quirky-filipino-new-year-traditions-1.1546005499753) for each month of the year. People also fill their pockets with coins, or leave them on tables to attract wealth, and [wear polka dots](https://hongkongnews.com.hk/top%5Fstories/13-filipino-new-years-eve-traditions-and-superstitions/) for good luck. ## Watching British comedy Germans, along with some other Europeans, [have had the tradition of watching](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/dec/30/dinner-for-one-german-television-new-years-eve) the same black and white British comedy sketch from the 1960s, about a butler serving his 90-year-old employer and her deceased imaginary guests, on New Year’s Eve since 1972, [_The Guardian_ reported](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/dec/30/dinner-for-one-german-television-new-years-eve).  The Dinner for One sketch is popular to watch on New Year's Eve in Germany. Siegfried Pilz, United Archives—Getty Images ## Taking a suitcase around the block In [some Latin American countries](https://www.npr.org/2016/12/31/507686717/underwear-dolls-and-more-latin-american-new-years-traditions), people walk or run an empty suitcase around the block to bring good luck and manifest more travel in the new year. ## Leaping into the new year Danes [literally “jump” into the new year,](https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/danish-culture/danish-traditions) standing on chairs or couches to leap off when midnight hits. If you forget to jump at midnight, it’s supposed to bring bad luck for the entire new year. ## Eating a dozen grapes Spaniards celebrate the New Year by [popping 12 grapes in their mouth](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/12/26/168092673/green-grapes-and-red-underwear-a-spanish-new-years-eve), one for each chime of the clock marking midnight, which is supposed to bring good luck for the year ahead. Revelers eat a traditional kind of thin-skinned, pale green grape, which is harvested late in November or December. 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