Italians are named for practicing various New Year traditions. The traditions are both culturally and superstitiously connected. They perform various traditions very strictly to attract fortune and kick off bad luck. New Year is celebrated all over the world, but the traditions vary from country to country. The Italians also have their own kind of traditions that are deeply rooted into their culture. The traditions observed by Italians are little different than others and we present them all here for you. If you are planning to ring in the New Year in Italy, you will want to know Italian New Year Traditions. You can observe these traditions all by yourself if you wish to on this New Year to be at benefit of them.
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Italian New Year Traditions
Italians follow the New Year traditions whole heartedly. They believe that the traditions if practiced sincerely would bring them luck, prosperity and wealth in the coming year. With the same belief they practice various superstitious traditions on the New Year with great hope. From eating different foods to wearing different attires, the list goes on with interesting stuff. If you want to give the Italian traditions a try you must first check them out here. We have covered all the traditions that the people of Italy abide by sincerely. Have a read and enjoy.
1. Eat Lentils
The very first tradition that we would like to talk about is food. There are way too popular traditions in Italy that are observed by millions of people across the country on the Eve as well as the day. There was this New Year’s Tradition in Italy where eating lentils at midnight is said to bring good luck. Lentils are linked with longevity. The exact reason is because they are long lasting in nature. There is also another belief that say lentils symbolise prosperity because they resemble ancient gold coins. Other than lentils Italians also consume grapes at the strike of midnight. Also, you can eat pomegranate on the New Year’s Eve when you are with your partner as it symbolises fertility and loyalty.
2. Red Undergarments
It is said that wearing red underpant on the New Year’s Eve will ward off negativity and will improve happiness and love. This tradition tracks back to ancient Romans who used to wear red clothes on the New Year’s Eve to avoid blood shed and war. However there’s a litigation to this tradition; which is, your underwear has to be brand new and a gift from others. The luck is not going to knock your door if you are wearing your old underpants.
3. Throw The Old Things Out
Throwing the old things out of the window is also an Italian tradition. Mostly people throw out crockery out of their windows on the New Year which symbolises that they are throwing out the waste things i.e., getting rid of evil during the year to give fresh place for new things.
4. Kiss Under a Mistletoe
Kissing under the mistletoe is also one among the New Year’s Eve Italian Traditions we are going to talk in here about. The mistletoe resembles protection and love and so kissing will drive away the evil spirits and aid them in going on good grounds.
5. The First Person You Meet on The Midnight
If you want to predict how your New Year is going to be for you, you can follow this ancient tradition in Italy. On the New Year’s Day, the first person you meet will decide your luck for the coming year according to Italians beliefs. If you meet an old person on the New Year’s Day, your New Year is going to be full of surprises. If you meet a doctor, priest or baby, you might meet with bad luck.
6. Carry Your Wallet When You Leave Your House
On the first day of the year, when you move out of the house make sure to carry your wallet with you. According to the Italian New Year’s tradition, on January 1st if you leave the house with money in your pocket, you will not suffer financially all throughout the year. So this time make sure to place your wallet in your pocket when you plan to leave your house.
7. Catch The Sight of Fireworks
Another very popular Italian New Year’s Day Traditions is watching the fireworks in the midnight. Fireworks is a very beautiful sight to catch and almost everyone loves to watch them. Especially around the time of New Year, people watch fireworks as a part of tradition in most of the places. One such place is Italy where watching fireworks itself is a New Year tradition. As soon as the clock strikes midnight the sky will be filled with colorful fireworks. In Italy, you will get to watch mesmerizing fireworks in Naples and the Amalfi Coast.
8. Have a Huge Dinner
Having huge dinner on the New Year is another food related tradition followed by Italians. This tradition is a popular one among the traditions present here and Italians make certain to have huge dinners for the New Year’s. This is a popular New Year’s Eve Food Traditions in Italy that Italians follow with heart. All the family members in the house sit for a dinner together and different tasty dishes are served.
9. Throw Some Treats
In order to have a sweet year exchange jars of dates and figs in honey along with a bay branch. By doing this you are inviting good fortune into your lives. even today this tradition is in use and people especially of Naples exchange figs with Laurel leaves. This is actually a very simple tradition to observe on the New Year.
These Italian New Year Traditions are practiced by Italians very sincerely as they believe that the practices would bestow luck and prosperity upon them. If you like these traditions and as well wish to follow them for this New Year do give them a try. Also share with us your experiences on practicing the traditions. Don’t forget to bookmark our website – NEWYEARWIKI.COM and stay tuned for our next broadcast.