Now that the merry days of Christmas are over, the holiday blues have slowly kicked in. Well, not in it’s entirety since we still are feeling festive for the New Year! Yes, put aside your gift lists and make way for the resolutions list. Let’s face it, every year we go through the same thing – “New Year, New Me!” That is, until the box of donuts shows up next to you and indulging causes you to cross off losing weight from your list. When it comes to New Year’s traditions we can name the obvious: making New Year’s Resolutions, kissing your partner at 12, and watching a countdown with fireworks pretty much sums it up. That is, until we came across other traditions that we’d never heard of! Apparently countries around the world have different takes on New Year’s that will make our resolution making look pitiful by comparison! Check out 7 different traditions from different countries around the world:
Spain
Grapes are a delicious fruit that almost everyone enjoys. Well, maybe people living in Spain enjoy them a little more. On New Year’s people in Spain have a tradition that says if you can manage to stuff 12 grapes in your mouth at midnight you have secured yourself luck for the upcoming year! We better start practicing.
Switzerland
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Well, “screaming” can be found a little bit louder in a particular part of the world. Yes, in Switzerland it is a well-known tradition to keep dropping ice cream on the floor in order to secure good luck for the upcoming year. Well, for starters we are thinking of lying on the floor and catching every scoop!
Belgium
We are all about being friendly with people and even with animals, but people in Belgium take it to the next level. Every year, farmers make it a point to go out to their livestock and personally wish each and every cow a Happy New Year! If you refuse to do so, it is said that the entire farm will suffer from bad luck the entire year. Wishing you a Happy “MOO –Year!”
Bolivia
Bolivians combine two of most people’s favorite things. Dessert and money. Every year, bakeries take coins and bake them into their sweet; the customer that finds the coin inside their dessert will be secured luck for the rest of the year! Eating dozens of desserts to find our luck doesn’t seem like too much of a bad idea 
Colombia
Now this is a tradition that we totally are hoping for! On New Year’s Eve you won’t find a single person in Colombia not holding a suitcase. It is said if you carry it all day it’ll enhance your chances of having a travel filled year. And you know how much we love to travel!
Siberia
In Siberia to secure good luck for the upcoming year, people jump in frozen lakes carrying tree trunks! We couldn’t imagine writing down resolutions when you have that as an option.
Ireland
Can we get a sandwich with a side of wall please? Yep, you read correctly – wall. Every New Year, the Irish wipe the supermarkets clean, purchasing loafs of break that will be part of their New Year’s plan. In Ireland, if you take a loaf of bread and throw it at the wall you are getting rid of any evil spirits that may still linger before entering the New Year!
Making a New Year’s resolution list sounds boring now huh? We might do like the Bolivians and clean out the bakeries or take up the French tradition – eat a stack of pancakes (topped with almonds of course!) Happy New Year!
