From the kiss under the mistletoe, to eating lentils, from throwing broken dishes out of the windows to fireworks…New year’s traditions always accompany the end of a year and welcome the start of a new one!
There are those who throw dishes out of their windows as a sign of good omen, and those who burn puppets and scarecrows to distance back luck. Fireworks, which are nowadays typical of most Italian cities and are considered to be a sign of happiness, had once the purpose of pushing away bad spirits. Going outside with some pocket money on the first day of the new year will bring you fortune: in fact, according to the tradition, if you meet someone aged or a hunchbacked, you will have an extremely wealthy and lucky year!
In Italy tables are dressed up for this festive moment with loads of delicious traditional food, first of which is cotechino (pork dish) with lentils. In every part of the world, when midnight arrives people raise their glasses and welcome the new year!