these might make you rethink how you
celebrate the new year welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 strangest
and most interesting new year’s
traditions
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
counting down cultural New Year’s
traditions that you may not be familiar
with number 10 eating 12 grapes in 1909
Spain officially began a juicy New
Year’s custom originally popularized by
vine growers looking to make some extra
profits it involves consuming 12 grapes
at midnight with each grape coinciding
with the ring of the puede does Seoul
tower bell known as the twelve grapes of
luck the tasty tradition is meant to
bring you good luck and good health in
the coming year the eating of the grapes
has become so popular that it’s even
transcended at Spanish roots and is now
also practiced in the Philippines and
the United States after all grapes are
basically just wine waiting to happen
number nine baking coins into bread
while this tradition takes place all
over the world it’s mostly associated
with Greece on January 1st the Greek
slice a cake known as Vesey lupita which
contains a coin that’s supposed to bless
their home for the new year and bring
good luck to the coins recipient this
tradition is derived from the legend of
basil of Caesarea who gathered money
from town locals to pay off the army
that was besieging their city the plan
worked and the army was so embarrassed
that they left without the cash basil
then baked the change into loaves of
bread and everybody got their coin back
creating a tradition that’s tasty and
lucrative number 8 burning effigies and
scarecrows back in 1895 a yellow fever
epidemic took a toll on the Ecuadorian
town of Guayaquil in response the locals
burnt coffins filled with the clothes of
the infected hoping to rid themselves of
disease and purify the town in the
process today the burning is more about
fun than purification some people burn
effigies of specific figures including
politicians sports
stars and even superheroes while others
try to leap over the flames 12 times
with each jump symbolizing another month
left in the past however if you’re into
this tradition beware of too much smoke
inhalation as that most definitely will
not bring you good luck
number seven wearing colored underwear
when you’re getting dressed for New
Year’s Eve it’s important to color
coordinate for the event this tradition
is trendy in Latin America as both men
and women choose specific colors for
specific results red underwear signifies
passion while yellow panties are
supposed to bring good luck
there are many options so think it
through and find the underwear that best
suits your needs for the new year just
make sure you don’t eat or drink too
much on New Year’s Eve or your
underpants might experience an
unexpected color change number 6
dropping ice cream on the floor on New
Year’s Eve in Switzerland everyone has a
free pass to dirty up the kitchen like
many traditions dropping ice cream is
done for good luck and it typically
involves just one scoop for ice cream
purists this could be viewed as a
downright unacceptable waste of
delicious dessert but for the Swiss it’s
an act of pure joy
apparently mother earth likes ice cream
as much as the next person and is
willing to reward those who feed her
with a year full of luck and success let
the ice cream hit the floor number 5
jumping over seven waves Brazilians are
no stranger to partying on New Year’s
Eve but for those who want to please the
gods specifically Yemanja the goddess of
the sea they head to the beach to pay
their proper respects this involves
throwing offerings into the water to let
them be carried away by the ocean
followed by jumping over seven waves and
making a wish after each one what better
way to start off the New Year than
getting in touch with nature plus seven
wishes are better than one number for
dancing in bare firs be prepared to bear
witness to one of the fuzziest ways to
ring in the New Year known as whistle
this tradition takes place between
Christmas and New Year’s Eve as people
dawn real bear furs to ward off evil
spirits the faux bears then play
dead before getting up again to signify
the impending resurrection brought on by
spring as fun to watch as it is to take
part in this tradition has the added
benefit of providing the participants
with extra warmth during one of the
coldest times of the year number three
throwing household items out the window
looking to unburden yourself of useless
material possessions then this cathartic
and slightly dangerous New Year’s
tradition is for you in Italy people are
known to toss unwanted items out their
window on December 31st as a way of
ushering out the old to make way for the
new it’s a lot fun for all involved
assuming there’s nobody walking by below
traditions evolve over time of course
and as years have gone by the size and
weight of the thrown objects has
increased but that hasn’t stopped people
from chucking them onto the street
anyway the tradition is even spread to
South Africa to the dismay of South
African authorities number two lowering
of the opossum we’re not too sure Dick
Clark would approve of this one in the
American southeast there are New Year’s
celebrations in which a marsupial is the
star of the show at North Carolina’s
Brasstown drop a possum is suspended and
lowered throughout New Year’s Eve as a
unique alternative to New York City’s
famous Times Square ball drop oh and
there’s also a competition for the title
of possum Queen do they do that in New
York City didn’t think so
while this tradition isn’t for everybody
it’s definitely in a league of its own
when it comes to strange New Year
celebrations before we unveil our number
one pick here are some honorable
mentions
number one fireballs
goodness gracious great balls of fire
in Scotland the celebration known as
Hogmanay is less of a tradition and more
of a cultural event one part of the
celebration at least in the town of
Stonehaven involves constructing wire
fireballs that are swung throughout the
streets like any big-time festival
there’s also music and lots of
activities but they’re kind of hard to
notice when people are running through
the streets literally swinging balls of
fire when the clock strikes midnight
Hogmanay continues on into the night
until the remaining fires are thrown
into the harbor to be extinguished do
you agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from watch mojo and
subscribe for new videos every day
celebrate the new year welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 strangest
and most interesting new year’s
traditions
before we begin we publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’re
counting down cultural New Year’s
traditions that you may not be familiar
with number 10 eating 12 grapes in 1909
Spain officially began a juicy New
Year’s custom originally popularized by
vine growers looking to make some extra
profits it involves consuming 12 grapes
at midnight with each grape coinciding
with the ring of the puede does Seoul
tower bell known as the twelve grapes of
luck the tasty tradition is meant to
bring you good luck and good health in
the coming year the eating of the grapes
has become so popular that it’s even
transcended at Spanish roots and is now
also practiced in the Philippines and
the United States after all grapes are
basically just wine waiting to happen
number nine baking coins into bread
while this tradition takes place all
over the world it’s mostly associated
with Greece on January 1st the Greek
slice a cake known as Vesey lupita which
contains a coin that’s supposed to bless
their home for the new year and bring
good luck to the coins recipient this
tradition is derived from the legend of
basil of Caesarea who gathered money
from town locals to pay off the army
that was besieging their city the plan
worked and the army was so embarrassed
that they left without the cash basil
then baked the change into loaves of
bread and everybody got their coin back
creating a tradition that’s tasty and
lucrative number 8 burning effigies and
scarecrows back in 1895 a yellow fever
epidemic took a toll on the Ecuadorian
town of Guayaquil in response the locals
burnt coffins filled with the clothes of
the infected hoping to rid themselves of
disease and purify the town in the
process today the burning is more about
fun than purification some people burn
effigies of specific figures including
politicians sports
stars and even superheroes while others
try to leap over the flames 12 times
with each jump symbolizing another month
left in the past however if you’re into
this tradition beware of too much smoke
inhalation as that most definitely will
not bring you good luck
number seven wearing colored underwear
when you’re getting dressed for New
Year’s Eve it’s important to color
coordinate for the event this tradition
is trendy in Latin America as both men
and women choose specific colors for
specific results red underwear signifies
passion while yellow panties are
supposed to bring good luck
there are many options so think it
through and find the underwear that best
suits your needs for the new year just
make sure you don’t eat or drink too
much on New Year’s Eve or your
underpants might experience an
unexpected color change number 6
dropping ice cream on the floor on New
Year’s Eve in Switzerland everyone has a
free pass to dirty up the kitchen like
many traditions dropping ice cream is
done for good luck and it typically
involves just one scoop for ice cream
purists this could be viewed as a
downright unacceptable waste of
delicious dessert but for the Swiss it’s
an act of pure joy
apparently mother earth likes ice cream
as much as the next person and is
willing to reward those who feed her
with a year full of luck and success let
the ice cream hit the floor number 5
jumping over seven waves Brazilians are
no stranger to partying on New Year’s
Eve but for those who want to please the
gods specifically Yemanja the goddess of
the sea they head to the beach to pay
their proper respects this involves
throwing offerings into the water to let
them be carried away by the ocean
followed by jumping over seven waves and
making a wish after each one what better
way to start off the New Year than
getting in touch with nature plus seven
wishes are better than one number for
dancing in bare firs be prepared to bear
witness to one of the fuzziest ways to
ring in the New Year known as whistle
this tradition takes place between
Christmas and New Year’s Eve as people
dawn real bear furs to ward off evil
spirits the faux bears then play
dead before getting up again to signify
the impending resurrection brought on by
spring as fun to watch as it is to take
part in this tradition has the added
benefit of providing the participants
with extra warmth during one of the
coldest times of the year number three
throwing household items out the window
looking to unburden yourself of useless
material possessions then this cathartic
and slightly dangerous New Year’s
tradition is for you in Italy people are
known to toss unwanted items out their
window on December 31st as a way of
ushering out the old to make way for the
new it’s a lot fun for all involved
assuming there’s nobody walking by below
traditions evolve over time of course
and as years have gone by the size and
weight of the thrown objects has
increased but that hasn’t stopped people
from chucking them onto the street
anyway the tradition is even spread to
South Africa to the dismay of South
African authorities number two lowering
of the opossum we’re not too sure Dick
Clark would approve of this one in the
American southeast there are New Year’s
celebrations in which a marsupial is the
star of the show at North Carolina’s
Brasstown drop a possum is suspended and
lowered throughout New Year’s Eve as a
unique alternative to New York City’s
famous Times Square ball drop oh and
there’s also a competition for the title
of possum Queen do they do that in New
York City didn’t think so
while this tradition isn’t for everybody
it’s definitely in a league of its own
when it comes to strange New Year
celebrations before we unveil our number
one pick here are some honorable
mentions
number one fireballs
goodness gracious great balls of fire
in Scotland the celebration known as
Hogmanay is less of a tradition and more
of a cultural event one part of the
celebration at least in the town of
Stonehaven involves constructing wire
fireballs that are swung throughout the
streets like any big-time festival
there’s also music and lots of
activities but they’re kind of hard to
notice when people are running through
the streets literally swinging balls of
fire when the clock strikes midnight
Hogmanay continues on into the night
until the remaining fires are thrown
into the harbor to be extinguished do
you agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from watch mojo and
subscribe for new videos every day
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