15 New Year's Superstitions to Bring You Good Luck in 2024
A midnight kiss, black-eyed peas, and so much more to keep in mind for 2024! 🎉
After a holiday season of making merry, exchanging gifts, and perhaps indulging in a Christmas dessert or two (or, let’s face it, several), a new year brings the chance to start fresh. When the clock strikes 12 on December 31, you’ll want to give yourself the best chance possible at making 2024 your best year yet. While your strategy should definitely include a soundtrack of the best New Year’s Eve songs to listen to as the ball drops and perhaps a grouping of delicious New Year’s Eve appetizers to nosh on as you celebrate, it also wouldn’t hurt to make sure you’re handling a few of the most common New Year’s Eve superstitions correctly as well.
What is a superstition, exactly? Merriam-Webster defines the term as, among other things, “a belief or practice resulting from trust in magic or chance.” And several have sprouted up over the centuries in relation to this particular holiday. When it comes to things *not* to do on New Year’s Day, superstition dictates that you shouldn’t clean the house or shed any tears. When it comes to New Year’s Eve superstitions regarding love and good luck, customs dictate that you’ll want to swoop in for that midnight kiss, eat exactly 12 grapes (no more, no less), and perhaps add some black-eyed peas, collard greens, or other lucky foods to your meal.
Read on for a closer look at 15 of the most well-known New Year’s Eve superstitions to help you make 2024 one for the record books.
Get a Midnight Kiss
It may seem like kissing someone at midnight is a way to show your excitement for the new year. But actually, it's thought that if you kiss someone you love as the clock strikes midnight, those sentiments will continue for the next 12 months.
Eat 12 Grapes (no more, no less) at Midnight
This food superstition that originated in Spain is meant to bring you luck for the year ahead. Just eat 12 grapes at midnight—one for every month—or put them on a skewer and serve as a fun New Year's Eve cocktail garnish.
Keep Some Extra Cash in Your Wallet
Want to enter a year full of financial prosperity? Then make a run to the ATM so you can fill your wallet with cash. Also, don't loan out any money on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, and don't start the year with any unpaid debts, or you could set a precedent for the months aheads.
Fill Up Those Cupboards
Check and see which grocery stores are open on New Year's Eve, because it's considered bad luck to start the new year with bare cupboards (signaling poverty and hardship).
Open Those Doors at Midnight
Actually, just before midnight, so you can let the old year out and welcome the new one. (It doesn't have to be for long—even those who believe in this superstition can get cold!)
Don't Clean the House
We can really get behind this superstition. If you're concerned about "sweeping" or "washing" away any luck coming your way, don't do any cleaning—including dishes and laundry.
Fill Up on Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
If you want to keep with Southern tradition, eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year's Day will supposedly bring good luck and prosperity, respectively, in the months ahead. Whip up our Braised Greens and Black-Eyed Peas Salad and see what happens!
Avoid the Tears
Save your tears for another day, because crying on New Year's Day could set a year of sadness in motion.
Skip Eating Lobster Even If It's Calling Your Name
You may want to rethink any fancy New Year's Eve food ideas that include lobster. Many cultures believe that eating lobsters before midnight is bad luck because they move backwards, therefore setting you up for a year of setbacks.
Don't Leave the House...
...until someone enters from the outside first. And who that person is will supposedly will say a lot about the luck you'll have in the new year. (In Scotland, the first person in your home also has to bring you a gift!)
Eat Herring
Whether you like your herring pickled or fresh, eating it in some form at midnight is considered good luck in Germany and Sweden.
Make Some Noise 🎉
You may love buying noisemakers and fireworks to set off at midnight, but did you know the tradition originated from a superstition that making loud noise at midnight would scare evil spirits and omens away?
Beware of Eating Chicken
Similarly to lobster, chicken is also a superstitious food to eat on New Year's Eve. Because chickens have wings, all your luck could fly away! (But as far as we're concerned, our Crispy Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Rosemary can only add happiness to your life.)
Carry an Empty Suitcase Around
It can just be around your house for a few minutes, but in Colombia, it's seen as setting yourself up for adventures in the new year.
Were You Born on New Year's Day?
Then superstition says you'll automatically be lucky throughout your whole life—even more so if you're born at midnight!
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