9 New Year’s Superstitions to Kick Off 2024 Right

Eating black-eyed peas and collard greens

A common traditional food for many African Americans and people in the southern U.S., beans and greens are believed to bring in good luck and money. Historically, black-eyed peas were imported to the American South from West Africa, and slaves in the South would often make dishes that reminded them of home – typically rice and beans. Rouhier-Willoughby says the greens are also associated with the color of paper money and prosperity.

Black-eyed peas made with pork, typically bacon, is called Hoppin’ John. Pork is common in many New Year’s traditions around the world, including many European cultures, says Rouhier-Willoughby, “because it’s a fatty meat, and that represents the richness of the new year … [people] will be well-fed, things will thrive.”

There are also practical reasons for pork, particularly ham, being a mainstay in many holiday dishes: It stores well. As far as agricultural cycles – from which many cultures derive their new year’s calendars – she says, “It can be dried, preserved, and then used during the winter in times when there wasn’t refrigeration.”

Eating sauerkraut and pork on New Year’s Day

Santino says the German-American, Polish and other European influences thrive in Ohio, where he lives and where sauerkraut and pork are typically eaten on New Year’s Day. It’s also a regional tradition in North Central West Virginia, according to Shutika. The tradition is still practiced in parts of Europe. Pork is said to be lucky because pigs “root forward when looking for food,” and sauerkraut is lucky due to its health benefits, according to Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

Opening the back and front door at midnight

It may be nippy out there, but in Ireland, this is a common practice to let the old year out and the new one in, says Shutika.

‘The Luck Visit’

Similarly, who you let into your home in the new year can hold meaning. Santino says that in Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and other parts of Southern Europe, the first person who crosses the threshold of your home in the new year is important and can bring good luck, depending on the physical description. Typically, a dark-haired person bearing gifts is a good sign.

Hang an onion on your door

If you are wishing for a baby, take down your holiday wreath and hang an onion instead. This is a common practice in Greece, according to Tom Mould, 54, a professor of anthropology and folklore at Butler University. “The onion was a symbol of fertility, because – as you know – if you leave your onion too long hanging in your cupboard, it sprouts,” says Mould.

Pack your bags … or not

Throughout Latin America, some will tell you to pack your luggage with items for the type of trip you wish to take in the new year. Others, particularly in Colombia, will tell you to walk an empty suitcase around the block a few times to bring forth a year full of travel. It fits a model of belief called sympathetic magic, says Mould. He says it falls under the category of “magic of similarity,” in which “imitating the desired outcome can bring about that outcome.”

Smashing dishes on front doors

In Denmark, smashing plates on your loved ones’ doorsteps isn’t something done in anger on New Year’s Day. You’re actually contributing to their luck. It’s said that the more smashed plates outside your home, the more luck you’ll have in the new year. Rouhier-Willoughby says the tradition falls in line with the new year’s “period of license, where you do things in excess and break all kinds of rules during this transitional period” – whether that’s making noise or destroying things.  

A New Year’s kiss

This now mundane tradition supposedly ensures that both parties have good luck, and conversely, not having someone to smooch may predict a year of loneliness. It’s quite common around the world and mostly not a taboo anymore, but this falls under the same vein, says Rouhier-Willoughby. “It would have been breaking a serious rule in the 19th century, for example, doing any kind of public display of affection,” she says.