Lucky New Year’s Eve Traditions

Set yourself up for good luck in 2026 with these New Year’s traditions said to bring prosperity, happiness, and fresh beginnings.

30 New Year’s Superstitions Said To Bring Good Luck

As another year comes to a close, our family always enjoys leaning into a few New Year’s traditions that are both meaningful and fun for us. Some of these rituals have been part of our celebrations for as long as I can remember, while others are simple little habits we’ve picked up along the way. Whether it’s a favorite food we make every year or a small moment we pause to acknowledge at midnight, these traditions help mark the transition into a new year with intention and hope.

This year, we’re also open to trying something new. There’s something comforting about repeating traditions you love, but there’s also joy in discovering fresh ones that might just stick. This list brings together New Year’s customs from around the world — some we already follow, some we’re curious to try — all centered around welcoming good luck, prosperity, and positive energy for the year ahead!

1. Eating 12 Grapes at Midnight

In Spain, eating one grape with each of the 12 clock chimes at midnight is said to bring good luck for each month of the coming year. Successfully finishing all one dozen grapes before the last chime is considered especially lucky. This is one that my mother-in-law insists that we do every year, and so far I can’t argue with her as each year gets better than the last!

2. Black-Eyed Peas

Whether served on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, black-eyed peas symbolize prosperity and good fortune for much of the Southern United States. The peas are said to represent coins, while collard greens (often served as an accompaniment) represent paper money.

Related: Make our Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Recipe for your New Year’s celebrations!

3. Lentils

In Italy, lentils are a classic New Year’s dish because their round, coin-like shape symbolizes wealth and abundance. Eating lentils is thought to ensure financial prosperity in the year ahead.

4. Prosperity Noodles

In Filipino culture, long noodles eaten at New Year symbolize long life, good health, and prosperity. The length of the noodles represents continuity and longevity, and they are traditionally not cut before eating. A friend of the family introduced us to this custom, and it is a tradition that we’ve adopted as noodle dishes are favorites with the kids!

5. Wearing Colorful Underwear

Red is associated with love, passion, and vitality. Wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is believed to bring romance and good fortune in the coming year. Yellow is another popular underwear choice for NYE because it represents happiness, optimism, and success. This tradition is especially popular in countries like Brazil and Mexico as a way to invite joy and positive energy.

6. Making Loud Noise at Midnight

From fireworks to pots and pans, noise-making traditions exist worldwide. The belief is that loud sounds scare away evil spirits and negative energy, clearing the way for a fresh start.

7. Opening Doors and Windows

In many cultures, opening doors and windows at midnight symbolizes letting the old year out and welcoming the new year in, inviting fresh energy and opportunities. It can also symbolize letting out “bad energy” and inviting better energy for the new year.

8. Champagne Toast

This almost universal way to ring in the new year is said to bring joy and good fortune. Kids can join in too with a bubbly cotton candy mocktail!

9. Eat Cornbread

Since it is gold in color, cornbread represents gold and fortune in new year’s celebrations.

Related: Try our sweet Northern Cornbread recipe or our Copycat Crumble Cornbread Cookies!

10. Eating Pork

Pigs root forward when they eat, symbolizing progress and forward movement. Eating pork on New Year’s Day is thought to bring advancement and success.

11. Avoiding Chicken or Lobster

These animals scratch backward or move sideways, symbolizing setbacks. Avoiding them is believed to prevent regression or bad luck.

12. Clean Up Before New Year’s Day

Cleaning before the new year represents clearing away old energy, bad luck, and unfinished business, making room for new blessings. So if you felt the pull to put away decorations or find a place for all that post-Christmas clutter, your intuition may be leading you in the direction of good luck!

13. Avoiding Cleaning on New Year’s Day

Continuing on the cleaning customs, many cultures believe cleaning ON New Year’s Day can sweep away good luck or prosperity meant for the year ahead. So take that well-deserved break!

14. Carrying Money in Your Pocket

Carrying cash into the new year symbolizes financial abundance and is believed to attract wealth.

15. Dropping Coins into a Drink

In some European traditions, placing coins in champagne or wine at midnight is meant to invite prosperity and financial stability. I’d wash the coins first though and definitely drink with a straw so you don’t swallow them!!

16. Eating Round Foods

Round foods symbolize cycles, wholeness, and continuity. Cakes, donuts, oranges, and breads are popular New Year foods for this reason.

17. Kissing at Midnight

This romantic tradition symbolizes affection, connection, and harmony. It’s believed to bring love and strong relationships into the new year. So grab that special someone and get ready!

18. Fireworks Displays

Fireworks are more than just entertaining, they are also thought to ward off evil spirits and celebrate renewal. The bright light and noise represent joy, hope, and fresh beginnings.

19. Writing Down Worries and Burning Them

This ritual represents letting go of burdens from the past year. Burning the paper symbolizes release and emotional cleansing.

20. Writing Goals and Sleeping with Them Under Your Pillow

This tradition focuses on intention-setting. Keeping written goals close is thought to plant them in your subconscious for the coming year. If you usually make new year’s resolutions, this is a way to take them one step further!

21. Staying Awake Until Midnight

In some cultures, staying awake symbolizes diligence and commitment. Sleeping through midnight is thought to invite laziness or missed opportunities.

22. Invite The First Guest Of The New Year

In Scottish tradition, the first person to enter a home after midnight determines the household’s luck. This special guest, known as the “First Footer,” may also bring symbolic gifts with them, such as coal, whiskey, or shortbread.

23. Eating Fish

Fish symbolize abundance because they swim in schools of many. Eating fish for new year’s is believed to bring prosperity and unity.

Related: Looking for an easy fish recipe? Our salmon sushi bake recipe is always a crowd-pleaser!

23. Jumping Seven Waves

In Brazil, many people jump seven ocean waves while making wishes. The number seven represents luck, and the waves symbolize cleansing and renewal. You can make one wish per wave, so if you’re near a beach, this is a great way to set yourself up for lots of luck!

24. Wear Polka Dots

Another tradition in the Philippines, wearing polka dots has a similar symbolism to round foods, as the round shapes on clothing also represent coins and money.

25. Throw Water Out The Window

In some places such as Puerto Rico and Cuba, tossing water out the window on New Year’s Eve signifies washing away the previous year’s bad luck. It leaves a clean slate for the new year ahead!

26. Step With Your Right Foot

Taking the first step (literally) of the new year with your right foot is said to be a way to “start the year off on the right foot.” Pun absolutely intended!

27. Leap Into The New Year

In Denmark, it is a tradition for some to actually jump into the new year for good luck. If you stumble, fall, or forget, that is said to be a sign of bad luck, so step carefully!

28. Onions In The Doorway

In Greece, hanging a bundle of onions over the threshold is said to symbolize rebirth and/or fertility.

29. Carry A Suitcase

Taking a short walk with an empty suitcase is a tradition in some Latin American cultures. It is said to be a way to bring more travel opportunities and adventure into your life.

30. Eat Green Cabbage

Another popular food tradition from the American South, green cabbage is thought to represent green as in money, and bring prosperity for the new year. My mother in law likes to serve it with black eyed peas for double the luck!

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