New Year’s Superstitions and Traditions: 7 Ways to Boost Your Luck (2026)
Why you might want to skip the wings (but go for the donuts!) when you ring in the New Year ...
Quick Reference
- New Year’s Day 2026: Thursday, January 1, 2026.
- 7 luck-boosting customs: midnight kiss, clear debts, fill pantry, first-footing, open doors and windows, New Year’s babies, early-bird right-foot rule.
- Foods for luck: 12 grapes (Spain), pork and sauerkraut (Pennsylvania Dutch), black-eyed peas with collards (US South), round foods like donuts and bagels, pickled herring (Poland), chiacchiere pastry (Italy).
- Foods to skip: lobster (walks backward), chicken (scratches backward), other winged creatures.
- Sources: Farmers’ Almanac folklore archive, regional food traditions, reader letters across multiple generations.
Thinking about munching on wings to welcome the New Year? You might want to reconsider and opt for donuts instead. Here is why.
The countdown to the New Year is on, a significant moment when we bid farewell to the old and welcome the new with open arms. Throughout time, cultures around the globe have linked New Year’s Day activities with the destiny of the upcoming year. Let’s look at some intriguing New Year’s superstitions, age-old beliefs, folklore, and charming food traditions that have stood the test of time. In 2026, January 1 falls on Thursday. For a wider scholarly view of the holiday’s tangled history, see the History.com overview of New Year’s customs.
New Year’s Folklore and Fascinating Beliefs
1) Midnight Smooch
Believe it or not, a romantic kiss at the stroke of midnight could guarantee a year overflowing with love. On the flip side, neglecting this tradition might just spell trouble in paradise. The kiss tradition runs back to medieval English and German harvest festivals where the first action of the new period set the tone.
2) Clear Those Debts
Stepping into the New Year burdened with unpaid debts? Not the best idea if you want to court Lady Luck. Many readers settle their bills, return borrowed tools, and tidy the house before December 31. The folk reasoning: whatever state your books are in on January 1 sets the year’s rhythm.
3) Fill Your Pantry
Ring in the New Year with a well-stocked pantry or risk a year of hardship.
4) First Footing
The first guest to step into your home after the clock strikes twelve can dictate the luck you will have for the entire year. A tall, dashing male bearing gifts supposedly brings the best fortune. According to this belief, no one should exit the house until a visitor has first stepped in, and nothing should be taken out of the house on New Year’s Day. The Scottish version, called first-footing, traditionally calls for the visitor to bring coal, shortbread, salt, black bun, and whisky as gifts of warmth, food, flavor, and cheer.
5) Let the Old Year Fly Away
Opening all doors and windows at the stroke of midnight is a symbolic act of letting the old year escape. Some households also ring bells or bang pots to drive the year’s troubles out the door.
6) New Year’s Babies
Babies who make their grand entrance into the world on New Year’s Day are believed to lead charmed lives. The “Father Time hands the baby” image you see on cards is itself a 19th-century invention popularized by the German printer Joseph Christian Leyendecker on Saturday Evening Post covers.
7) Early Bird Gets the Luck
A Polish tradition suggests that rising early on New Year’s Day sets the tone for the rest of the year. Plus, if you touch the floor with your right foot upon waking, you are paving the way for a year filled with good luck. (You are quite literally starting the year on the “right” foot.)
New Year’s Food Superstitions and Traditions
- Yearning for a sweet year ahead? Indulge in chiacchiere, an Italian carnival fried pastry.
- In Spain and many Latin countries, savoring 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight is believed to usher in a year of luck. One grape per chime, one chime per month.
- For Pennsylvania Dutch (German) households, a hearty meal of pork and sauerkraut is considered a good luck charm for the New Year. The pig roots forward, and the sauerkraut sliced into long strands represents a long life.
- In the Southern US, feasting on black-eyed peas, ham hocks, and collard greens (or cabbage) on New Year’s Day is thought to bring a financial windfall. Peas for pennies, greens for paper money, cornbread for gold.
- Enjoying foods shaped like a circle, such as donuts and bagels, can supposedly bring good fortune in the coming year. The closed circle symbolizes a year coming back around.
- German folklore advocates eating herring at midnight to attract luck for the following year.
- In the same vein, those of Polish descent believe having pickled herring as the first morsel of the New Year brings good luck.
- In Japan, long soba noodles (toshikoshi soba) are eaten on December 31 because their length symbolizes a long life and an easy “crossing over” into the new year.
A Quick Map of Lucky Foods by Region
| Region or culture | Food | Folk meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Spain, Latin America | 12 grapes at midnight | luck for each month |
| US South | black-eyed peas, collards, cornbread | coins, paper money, gold |
| Pennsylvania Dutch (US) | pork and sauerkraut | forward progress, long life |
| Germany | herring at midnight | silver scales mean prosperity |
| Poland | pickled herring (first bite) | silver = wealth |
| Italy | chiacchiere, lentils | sweetness, coins |
| Japan | toshikoshi soba (Dec 31) | long life, easy crossover |
| Greece | vasilopita (cake with a coin) | finder gets a lucky year |
| Anywhere | donuts and bagels | closed circle of the year |
But Don’t Eat These
Wait a minute before you dive into certain foods on New Year’s Eve, to ensure you do not invite any unwelcome luck for the coming year. Lobsters and chickens, for instance, are a big no-no.
You see, the quirky thing about lobsters is their ability to move backwards. Indulging in them just before the clock strikes midnight could bring in potential setbacks. And chickens? Well, they have a knack for scratching in the reverse direction. We would not want that. Even other winged creatures are best avoided, lest your good fortune decides to take flight.
Sure, these traditions may seem steeped in superstition, but the notion that our actions on the very first day of the year could shape our upcoming 365 days is quite a compelling one. So choose your New Year’s Eve actions wisely. For more, see our eat for luck piece, our Hoppin’ John recipe, and our 13 ways to improve your luck piece.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top New Year’s superstitions and traditions for luck?
Midnight kiss, clearing debts, filling the pantry, first-footing, opening doors at midnight, hoping for a New Year’s baby in the family, and rising early on January 1 with the right foot down first.
Why eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day?
In the US South, peas stand for pennies (or pearl-like luck), collards for paper money, and cornbread for gold. The combination is meant to bring a financial windfall.
What is first-footing?
A Scottish New Year tradition. The first person across your threshold after midnight sets the tone of your year. Tall and dark-haired is traditionally the lucky type. The gift list runs to coal, shortbread, salt, black bun, and whisky.
Why are lobster and chicken bad luck on New Year’s Eve?
Folk reasoning ties the food to the year ahead. Lobsters walk backwards. Chickens scratch backwards. Eating either at the turn of the year is said to drag your fortune in reverse.
Why 12 grapes at midnight?
A Spanish tradition (later adopted across Latin America). One grape per clock chime, one chime per coming month. Sweet grapes mean a good month. Sour grapes mean watch out.
When does Chinese New Year fall in 2026?
Tuesday, February 17, 2026. It is the Year of the Horse. Many of the same luck themes (clear debts, clean the house, eat noodles for long life) appear in the Chinese tradition too.
Join the Discussion
Do you believe any of these superstitions? What do you do on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day for good luck? Let us know in the comments below.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
I think these folklore traditions/ superstition informally learned, unofficial knowledge about the world, ourselves, our communities, our beliefs, our cultures, and our traditions that is expressed creatively through words, music, customs, actions, behaviors, and materials. It is also the interactive, dynamic process of creating, communicating, and performing as we share that knowledge with other people.
New Year’s Eve…… I usually stay up till midnight as I’m a NIGHT OWL. I always drink Champagne @ midnight. On New Year’s Day…… I watch the ROSE PARADE on T.V. every year. I’m from Pasadena, Ca. and have gone to almost every parade each year. I slept on the parade route one year in H.S. and have gone to the ROSE BOWL to watch football. I also graduated high school from the ROSE BOWL. HAPPY NEW YEAR…… 2024 to everyone.
I think the best thing to do on new years eve is to be on your knees praying that God will bless, first your country and then your family then yourself. Every thing else is vanity. just sayen.
It’s just another day in the long life of a human.
What you do on New Year’s Eve…you will repeat again in the new year. So….a good meal, music and fun with family and or friends, a toast and a kiss at midnight. Greens and black eyed peas w/ham on New Year’s Day for Luck and good fortune!
We never do laundry on New Years day and we eat bean soup. I’m 58 years old and that’s been going on for over a 150 years in our family.
For my family, by the time the New Year arrives, we are tired of ham and turkey, I do fix black eyed peas and a roast for our dinner. I have always been told, not to wash clothes on New Year or you might wash some family member away. Tradition I know, but I still won’t do laundry on that day. If a man comes in first, good luck all year, if a woman comes in first, bad luck.
I toast in the New Year with a glass of wine, usually alone., snack on grapes, donuts, chips, dip and raw oysters. Wake up early Thank God for the waking and giving me more time with family and friends then cook blackeyed peas with ham, fresh greens, make cornbread, pitcher of unsweetened tea, straighten the house of any clutter because otherwise will be messy all year. Make sure the house is open and filled with fresh air for healthy breathing.
for us, it is a mix. I am PA Dutch traditions (pork & sauerkraut) and my wife is S.C. southern, so we also have blackeyed peas, collard greens and ham.
my dad is S.C. southern too! we had black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread for lunch. my mom and I are Dutch with PA Dutch ancestors, so we mixed in some ham as well.
Black eyed peas setting beside the stove with ham chunks to add to the peas in the fridge will be eating it tomorrow 2022
I’m lazy, I love my crockpot! I start dry beans (any kind) in warm water. Cook on low all night