Five weird New Year's Eve traditions around the world
31st December 2013
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The new year is traditionally a time for celebration, reinvention and looking to the future. Naturally, the most apt way to celebrate that is to spend your New Year's Eve throwing appliances off a high-rise building. Come with us on a journey through some of the weirdest ways the world celebrates the New Year.
1. Johannesburg, South Africa
Yes, this is they of applicance chucking fame. Residents of the down town Hillbrow area stockpile caches of old fridges, sofas and microwaves on the roofs of buildings to throw off at midnight. According to this department of health report, they also fire guns. Lovely.
2. Spain
In Spain, revellers try to eat twelve grapes at midnight, one with each chime of the clock. If you manage to cram in all twelve, you can look forward to a year of prosperity. I think TNS can safely say that we'll take our chances - we prefer our grapes fermented into wine, thank you very much.
3. Argentina
Dress how you want, but make sure your pants are new and pink if you want a lucky 2014 – according to those crazy Argentines at least. Italians and Brazilians also traditionally wear red and white underwear respectively, so take your pick.
4. Scotland
There aren't many occasions on which we'd recommend letting a tall, dark stranger into your home in the middle of the night; New Year's Eve is one of them. According to the Scots, if he's bearing whiskey and coal, he'll bring you good luck for the rest of the year. Then again, according to the Scots, Irn Bru is a drink and not a mildly abrasive cleaning agent.
5. Ecuador
Teenage Ecuadorian boys use the new year to indulge their feminine side, dressing up as viudas (widows). After stuffing their clothes with pillows to create some womanly curves, they then proceed to block up the streets of the capital city, begging for money.
Why not get in touch via the comments and tell us what the weirdest New Year tradition you have is? (Hootenanny excepted, of course.)
1. Johannesburg, South Africa
Yes, this is they of applicance chucking fame. Residents of the down town Hillbrow area stockpile caches of old fridges, sofas and microwaves on the roofs of buildings to throw off at midnight. According to this department of health report, they also fire guns. Lovely.
2. Spain
In Spain, revellers try to eat twelve grapes at midnight, one with each chime of the clock. If you manage to cram in all twelve, you can look forward to a year of prosperity. I think TNS can safely say that we'll take our chances - we prefer our grapes fermented into wine, thank you very much.
3. Argentina
Dress how you want, but make sure your pants are new and pink if you want a lucky 2014 – according to those crazy Argentines at least. Italians and Brazilians also traditionally wear red and white underwear respectively, so take your pick.
4. Scotland
There aren't many occasions on which we'd recommend letting a tall, dark stranger into your home in the middle of the night; New Year's Eve is one of them. According to the Scots, if he's bearing whiskey and coal, he'll bring you good luck for the rest of the year. Then again, according to the Scots, Irn Bru is a drink and not a mildly abrasive cleaning agent.
5. Ecuador
Teenage Ecuadorian boys use the new year to indulge their feminine side, dressing up as viudas (widows). After stuffing their clothes with pillows to create some womanly curves, they then proceed to block up the streets of the capital city, begging for money.
Why not get in touch via the comments and tell us what the weirdest New Year tradition you have is? (Hootenanny excepted, of course.)
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