35 Best New Year's Traditions to Ring in 2025
Raise your glass to these fun rituals!
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There's no better time than New Year's Eve to look back on the past year and anticipate what’s coming next! Around the world, people celebrate with a variety of traditions, like watching the Times Square ball drop, making New Year's resolutions, and even preparing lucky foods for the new year.
There are countless ways to mark the occasion, many of which can be enjoyed right from your own living room! If the idea of going out or throwing a New Year's Eve party doesn’t appeal to you, consider following the example of Ree and Ladd Drummond. One year, they swapped their elaborate New Year's Eve dinner plans for a cozy night in, filled with movies and football. Sounds like a pretty great way to ring in the new year!
For more great options, check out this list of classic New Year's traditions and New Year's superstitions to usher in 2025. In addition to sprucing up your last night of 2024, these ideas will also help you brush up on your New Year's trivia. You'll be enlightened by all the various ways to usher in a new year full of endless possibilities. And don't forget to raise a glass at midnight with one of the best champagne cocktails.
For more ways to ring in the New Year:
Drink Your Wishes
Across the pond in Russia, it's a tradition to drink your New Year's wish! Over there, people write their New Year's wish on a piece of paper, burn it, put the ashes into a glass of champagne, then drink it. Cheers!
Smash Pomegranates
Take a cue from Turkey and smash a pomegranate outside your front door to bring good luck in the year to come! The ruby red fruit is seen as a symbol of abundance, health, and prosperity.
Wear Polka Dots
Here's a New Year's clothing tradition that doesn't involve sparkles! In the Philippines, wearing polka dot-patterned dresses, shirts, or pants on New Year's Eve is a tradition that's believed to bring good fortune in the new year.
Watch a New Year's Day Parade
Kick off the new year by watching or attending a parade. In the U.S., two of the most renowned examples are the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, and the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia. You can likely find a local event to attend, too.
Write a Letter to Yourself for Next Year
This New Year's tradition is an everlasting gift! It involves reflecting on the past year, setting goals and intentions for the future, and capturing your thoughts and feelings in a personal letter to be opened on the next New Year's Day. Your future self will thank you!
Clean Your House Before Midnight
In Japan, there's a New Year's tradition called "osoji" or "o-souji," which involves giving the house a thorough cleaning before midnight. This practice stems from the belief that a clean home helps purify the space and prepare it for a fresh start in the new year. We could all use that!
Watch the Sunrise
Watching the first sunrise of the new year is called "hatsuhinode" in Japan. This practice is thought to bring good fortune for the year ahead, and many people rise early to find a picturesque spot, such as a beach or hill, to enjoy the view.
Make a List of Resolutions
Believe it or not, New Year's resolutions are said to have been around since ancient Babylonian times. So, when writing out this year's goals, remember that for approximately 4,000 years, people have been working toward achieving their resolutions.
Jump Seven Waves
In Brazil, it's considered good luck to start the new year by jumping over seven waves. You get one wish for each wave, so be ready with your list for 2025!
Have a New Year Movie Marathon
Looking for a low-key tradition to kick off the new year? Snuggle up on the couch with your loved ones and watch the best New Year's movies that capture the spirit and heart of the holiday.
Put Mistletoe Under Your Pillow
Mistletoe isn't just a Christmas tradition. The Irish believe that if you put a sprig of mistletoe, holly, or ivy under your pillow on New Year's Eve, you'll dream of your future love.
Carry an Empty Suitcase
Want to go places in 2025? Take a cue from the Colombians, who walk around the block carrying empty suitcases on New Year's Eve to bring a year filled with travel.
Watch Fireworks
Across the world, fireworks are a central part of celebrating the new year. But where did the tradition begin? Well, historians point to seventh century A.D. in China where the big bangs were used to ward off evil spirits. You can find displays across the country to enjoy on NYE or light your own. In some cultures, different colors even correspond to various types of luck, including love and health.
Smash a Peppermint Pig
Have you heard of the tradition of the Peppermint Pig? It all began in the 1880s with candy makers in Saratoga Springs, New York. To bring good health, happiness, and prosperity in the new year, place the candy pig in a velvet bag and smash it with a small hammer, then eat a piece of peppermint. This one will be fun for the whole family!
Bang Some Bread
You've heard of breaking bread, but how about banging it? Families in Ireland have a New Year's tradition of banging loaves of Christmas bread against the walls and doors to ward off evil spirits and pave the way for a healthy and prosperous new year.
Host a Party
Sometimes the most fun is had in the comfort of your own home surrounded by friends and family! If that's your idea of a good time, throw a party to usher in the new year with New Year's Eve decorations, the best New Year's Eve drinks, and of course, exciting New Year's Eve games.
Get more New Year’s Eve Party Ideas.
Find Round Objects
Round items are all the rage on New Year's Eve, especially in the Philippines! Because the circular shape symbolizes money and wealth, it's the more the merrier! According to this tradition, you can wear polka dots, carry coins, and eat round foods like donuts, bagels and cookies to boost your funds for the next 12 months.
Carefully Choose Your First Guest
In Scotland, a tradition known as first-footing will supposedly determine whether your household has good luck or misfortune for the rest of the year. For prosperity in 2025, superstition says the first person to enter your home at midnight should be a tall, dark-haired male. He should also bring symbolic gifts like coins or black buns. It's worth a shot, right?
Watch the Times Square Ball Drop
The New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square has been a tradition since the early 1900s. While celebrations in Times Square date back to 1904, it wasn't until 1907 that the crystal ball made its big debut. Since then, the spectacle has been a staple of New Year's Eve celebrations, with hundreds of thousands of people flocking the streets, and millions watching from home. To learn more about this year's event, click here.
Toss a Coin
Similar to throwing change and making a wish, many Romanians believe that tossing a coin in the river on New Year's Eve will provide good luck for the whole year. So, gather your pennies and bring on the good fortune!
Rebecca Norris is a full-time freelance writer living in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over the past 10+ years, she’s heavily covered a range of lifestyle topics, including travel, home, beauty, style, wellness, and celebrity news. She is a graduate of George Mason University, where she earned a B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. When she's not writing, she can be found strolling with her Jack-Chi, Cash, sipping iced matcha lattes, indulging in delicious cuisine, perusing farmer’s markets and antique sales, collecting colored glass, getting lost within the pages of a book, and exploring new bucket-list cities.
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