Ringing in the New Year can mean lots of different things for different people as wonderful traditions to bring good luck and good health are celebrated around the world on this day of new beginnings. There is something magical in closing the holidays out with practices that pave the way for the new year and a new start. Whether you are preparing your 2025 Vision board, or making a grocery list for your lucky lunches this week as we move into the new year, you can lean into the magic of the season and channel your reflections on 2024 into what you want to get out of 2025, with a pinch of enchantment.
Some people believe that their long-practiced New Year’s traditions are what sustains them, and others may play into it for the wonder of it all for fun. Mindset plays a huge role in the magic that stems from the superstitions generating your outcome for the new year—or maybe it’s sheer luck.
If you’re hoping to embrace love in 2025, there are also good luck practices for finding love. Interestingly enough, a lot of new years traditions surrounding luck and love involve loved ones, food, or circles. If you’re looking for some ways to dawn good luck and good fortune in the new year, here are some superstitions that are practiced around the world that you may wish to try or incorporate into your traditions.
For Good Luck in 2025:
- Eat those black-eyed peas! This tradition is prominent in Southern states, in which you can whip up some black-eyed peas with rice or cornbread. If you saved any ham in your freezer from holiday functions, you can toss in some ham with your black-eyed peas and cabbage or collard greens, which are also said to bring good luck. Referred to as Hoppin’ John in some states, this dish is said to bring good luck and if you slip a coin underneath your bowl, this is said to bring prosperity.
- Make a dish with Lentils or pasta. In Italy, families eat lentils in a similar fashion, a round food symbolizing coins for good fortune in the new year. In Japan, Toshikoshi soba or ‘New Year’s Eve Noodles,’ are eaten to bring longevity and resilience in the new year. If you’re looking for an easy hot meal to whip up during the frigid weather, these are two great options to start your year off with prosperity.
- Eat your grapes: In Spain and many Latin American countries, the tradition of ‘uvas de la suerte’ or good-luck grapes can bring a lucky new year. While this one takes place at midnight on New Year’s Eve, you can try it next year! Eating twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight is meant to bring good luck, one for each month of the year.
- Or Eat any fruit! In the Philippines, there is a superstition that eating round fruits as a part of their midnight meal will bring luck to you in the new year. Similar to the grapes, they encourage twelve different fruits for the twelve months of the year. Filipinos also historically wear outfits with polka dots for the New Year celebration. Just as the year comes full circle, so does their apparel.
- Open or crack your windows to let the new year in. Cold as it may be, it might be fun to try cracking your windows for a moment at midnight to release the old year and yet the new one. Legend has it that any bad luck or spirits can move out of your home as the new year begins. Some families may even traditionally place a lemon in the front passageway to ward off spirits. Even if you just take a moment to crack your windows open this week, some fresh air may do you good.
- Jump off a chair (with caution). The celebration of jumping off a chair with your friends at midnight is thought in Denmark to bring you good cheer and fortune. Some Danish families even participate in smashing plates on loved one’s doorsteps which is supposed to bring them luck and ensure they are well-liked, though that might be seen as disruptive or rude in the U.S.
- Make a little gift or snack basket to set outside your door and bring in on new years day. Many European cultures believe that whatever items first enter the home after midnight on New Year’s Eve, are symbolic of what attributes the year will hold for you. For example, if you set out fruit or cheese and crackers to grab and bring over the threshold into the home, it suggests that you will have health and fortune in the new year. Historically, friends would greet each other with housewarming gifts on New Year’s as part of this tradition, to ensure goodies for one another.
- Decorate your front door! Another Greek tradition is to hang onions and green veggies up at the front door for good luck at the start of the new year. Many cultures believe green veggies are symbolic of money. In Puerto Rico, throwing sugar on your doorstep and pouring water out your windows is said to bring good luck and sweeten your new year.
- Smash the Peppermint Pig! In New York, the tradition of purchasing a little peppermint pig that comes with a toy-sized hammer to take turns smashing at New Year’s will result in good luck. In Turkey, families typically smash pomegranates on their porch to obtain luck in the new year, even more so if they add salt.
- Get an early start. Polish tradition notes if you get an early start to your morning, this will set the tone for an advantageous new year.
- Do a Polar Bear Plunge! Gather your friends and go jump in some nearby water together. Take precautions with this fun exercise and do not go alone. Oftentimes, you can check your local Facebook page to find a group that does this together annually and it could be a fun way to make new friends in the new year.
@njdotcom Who else did the plunge?! ❄️ #polarbearplunge #newjersey #atlanticcitynj #longbranchnj #oceancitynj #brigantinenj Courtesy: Anthony Cuscina and Gary Paul
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For Love in 2025:
- Place a sprig of mistletoe or holly under your pillow before the turn of the year or at the start of the new year. The Irish are full of traditions centered on love and the tide of the new year is no exception. This is a predominantly Irish practice but could be fun to incorporate into your traditions with any leftover Mistletoe from your Christmas decor.
- Dawn that red apparel. In many Latin American countries, it is said that the color of undergarments worn can help determine which virtues you might have in the new year, with love being symbolized by the color red. So eat those grapes and pick out your favorite red underwear. To further that, some people believe placing a rose in your undergarment drawer at the start of the new year will heighten the chances of finding love in the new year.
- Kiss a loved one at midnight! Whether you grabbed your significant other or best friend to smooch on New Year’s Eve- just giving a midnight kiss to a loved one is said to bring love and joy into your new year. Originating from English and German folklore, this concept historically suggested that the person you kissed at midnight would establish your destiny for that coming year. It’s also a great way to spread love and cheer- just don’t grab your co-worker at midnight.
- Add honey! Dating back to the Roman empire, adding honey to whatever dishes you whip up at the start of the new year is said to establish sweetness in your new year.
These different traditions and superstitious practices can allure prosperity or love into your new year and make fun contributions to your new year as you move back into routine. You can try whichever combination of these to learn more about other cultures and see which ones bring good luck to you in 2025. If you’re skeptical about implementing any New Year’s traditions, just keep your heart and mind open to the possibilities, as mindset is key. These actions can be fun for all ages and you never know what you might get out of them.
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