This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.
There are so many traditions and ways to ring in a new beginning. Despite the cable television events, many New Years Eve parties are usually just collections of holiday dinner leftovers, eaten in sparkly dresses. Here are four traditions that may spark your party-planning fantasies.
- Fireworks
Lighting fireworks with your friends can be an electrifying way to celebrate a new year coming. Fireworks are a staple of celebrations, with the loud and bright sparks shooting through the sky, they represent fun times.
From the Fourth of July, to birthdays, to New Years Eve, fireworks are a constant reminder of what we have to celebrate. To me, the beautiful displays symbolize even more.
I think that fireworks represent a new beginning. They’re originally just powder contained within a canister. But when you light them, they’re pushed to become even more.
Under pressure, fireworks become beautiful. This manifests what a New Year represents. When we face challenges, we have the resolve to create new beginnings for ourselves and create our own beauty.
- 12 Grapes
Eating 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve comes from a Spanish tradition to ensure luck in the New Year. The traditional practice is eating 12 grapes off of a skewer to ensure good luck and prosperity, but this tradition has evolved into something new on Tik Tok.
The new trend and tradition is eating 12 grapes under a table, which, according to the internet, brings luck specifically to one’s romantic life. Recently, many Tik Tok girls have stitched their video of eating 12 grapes last year, to videos and photos with their newfound romantic partners that arrived in their lives this year.
If you’re looking for a lover this year, give it a try.
- Breaking dishes
No, not the Rihanna song. Although listening to “Breakin’ Dishes” may be a fun way to announce that 2025 is almost here, actually breaking dishes is a New Year’s tradition that some practice to symbolically start fresh.
Physically breaking something is an act of tangible aggression. With this, it symbolically marks leaving anger in the past year. This is done to help people start fresh and abandon their ill will.
In Denmark, people throw dishes at the doors of their friends, families and neighbors to wish them good luck in the new year, too.
- Resolutions
Writing New Year’s Resolutions is a pretty basic tradition, but in the past few years, it’s evolved. In the past people used to simply make a list of things they’re wanting to accomplish in the next 365 days.
Now, instead of making a list for themselves, people create vision boards, with photos of things they want to accomplish, Pinterest boards capture the vibes they want in the New Year and mood boards set a positive tone for the year.
While it may stem from a very traditional practice, setting resolutions and creating vision boards can be a super fun and cute group activity.
However you choose to spend your holiday, there are so many fun things to try with your loved ones this year.
Happy New Year!