7 Global New Year Traditions that Bring Good Luck

Looking for some ways to bring good luck upon you and your family in 2019?

At Kids Party Characters we’ve always found the best formula for luck is combining a little hard work with a positive attitude towards people and life, but hey, it can’t hurt to layer on a few of these traditions that are celebrated around the world.

At best, you may be pleasantly surprised at the things that seem to fall into your lap in 2019. And at the very least, you’ll have a little fun.  

1. Lentils 

You’ve certainly heard of the black eyed pea tradition that’s common in the southern parts of the United States, but for many who live in South American countries, it’s lentils.

According to the tradition, if you’ll eat at least a teaspoon of lentils on New Year’s Day, you’ll find increased wealth in 2019.

Who knows why, but it’s so easy to do that it’s hard to justify NOT doing it, just in case!

2. Sweeping and Cleaning

This is a common tradition in many parts of the world, including China and parts of Latin America. 

Under most traditions, you should sweep the house to clear out the metaphoric “trash” in your life, and generally clean and declutter the house to rid it of any junk, and open your life up for new and good things in the coming year.

You’ll have to decide which side of the tradition you fall on here, as there are some that advocate the decluttering of the house but will advise against sweeping so you don’t sweep the luck out of the house.

You’re probably safe to go ahead with the broom though, since most of us aren’t feeling that there’s any “luck” contained on our dirty floors.

Either way, your new year will be served well by buying a new broom for your house on January 1. Or so they say . . .

3. Burn a Life-Size Figure

In parts of Mexico and Latin America, it’s common to construct a life-size dummy and burn it at midnight. 

In some countries, the tradition involves a scarecrow stuffed with newspaper. In Mexico, the figure can be your least favorite politician, an evil cartoon or movie character, or just a generally grumpy- looking figure.

If this sounds like a little too much work for you, but you’re a fire fan, you can write down things you want to get rid of in your life in 2019 on slips of paper and simply burn them in a bowl.

Whatever you decide to burn, you’ll be closing out the old and unwanted, and starting afresh with new opportunities for good.

4. Wear White and Jump the Waves  

Unless you’re close to the ocean this one won’t work out, but it’s interesting enough to include, and may give you reason to add a holiday trip to the ocean to your bucket list.

In Brazil they wear all-white outfits on New Year’s Eve to symbolize peace and renewal.

At midnight, go where the sand meets the sea and jump seven waves so the goddess of the sea will open new paths in your life. Just be sure to face the sea with each jump, or the goddess will be angered and reverse your good fortunes. 

5. Jumping Off Chairs 

You may want to try the tradition that’s common in Denmark of jumping off a chair at midnight if you’re looking for a solid start and change of fortune in 2019.

The logic is that you want to make sure you have your feet are up in the air at midnight so you’ll land on solid ground to start the coming year, leaving any bad luck from 2018 behind.

6.  Drop a Scoop of Ice Cream 

While this sounds like a bad idea, in Switzerland tradition has it that if you’ll drop a scoop of ice cream on the floor at midnight it will bring you abundance in the new year. (Perhaps enabling you to buy lots more ice cream).

This is another one that’s harmless enough to give a try, just in case. And, if you’ll sweep the floor first, you’ll surely have no problem convincing the kids to eat that ice cream anyway!

7.  Latin America Rituals

Here’s a collection of some other traditions found in various Latin American countries that are fun and easy and worth trying because it just can’t hurt.

— Bring good luck in 2019 by eating 12 grapes at midnight — preferably between 12:00 and 12:01 — or throwing 12 pennies at your front door while you stand outside. For those who are a little more adventurous, some traditions call for throwing pots of water at the front door at midnight rather than pennies.

— Want to travel more? Roll an empty suitcase around the block to increase your 2019 travel. If you’re afraid what the neighbors might think, go with the Colombian version of this one and roll the suitcase around your house.

Who knows, maybe you'll be jumping those waves in Brazil this time next year.

— Finally, hopefully you’re reading this before the stores close because if you’ll wear new yellow underwear on New Year’s Eve it will increase your chances for success and money.  If you’re looking for love or relationships, try pink or red underwear.

Celebrate With Kids Party Characters

Happy New Year from all of us at Kids Party Characters. Thanks so much for your support this year, and we look forward to serving you even better in 2019 by continuing to add to our collection of over 200 characters and other activities your child wants to make his party a dream come true. 

We’ll also be adding new franchises in 2019, so look out for a Kids Party Characters coming to your area, and if you don’t see one, get on the phone with owner Cheryl Jacobs to learn more about starting your own Kids Party Characters in your city.

Cheryl’s made this a fun and easy business to start, so don’t worry if you have zero experience.

If you’re already near a Kids Party Characters, be sure to take this final opportunity to put a deposit down on your party by visiting KidsPartyCharacters.com today so that you can lock in either a 15% discount or free upgrade to the next package when it comes time for you to book the party.

Also be sure to join us on Facebook for daily updates about all the happenings at Kids Party Characters, as well as our best tips and strategies for working at home and raising happy and healthy kids.