I’m about to ring in my seventh year as a resident in France, and I’ve so far celebrated in a variety of ways, ranging from cliché American, to cliché tourist, to cliché French.
I blame the “American year” on my ninth month of pregnancy, when I wasn’t motivated to be anywhere but my bed or with anyone other than my husband and pets. That year I was in bed at midnight watching fireworks on TV, as is so often depicted of tired parents in American movies.
To really celebrate, though, there are a few ways to go about it in Paris…
If you’re celebrating like a tourist, you’ll stumble across Paris all night, after a sumptuous réveillon dinner, bottle of champagne in hand, counting down to the fireworks amidst thousands of foreigners on the Champs Elysées…
If you’re going local, you’re more likely to be shucking oysters, binging on foie gras, and cutting King Cake with a few dozen friends or acquaintances at a house party, dancing the night away dressed to the nines (or possibly in costume) and, frankly, forgetting to watch for midnight, as the French don’t typically do a countdown…
In France, most of the traditions are much like they are back home in that respect… friends, parties, and fireworks. The raw oyster and liver dinner is the only French twist to speak of.
Ah, and the kissing. You might go for a romantic kiss, which happens under mistletoe more on New Year’s than at Christmas here, but, if not, you’re sure to be kissed a few dozen times anyway, as the French love to share les bises, cheek kisses, with just about everyone they encounter after midnight.
How else should you celebrate the New Year in Europe if you want to fit in?
In Spain…
Be sure to wear a new pair of undies, either red for romance or yellow for money… choose wisely.
In Barcelona, top your new underpants with a fun costume; anywhere else, have a mask, party hat, and noisemaker.
Write out your burning desires on a scrap of paper, then set it alight to ensure they come true.
And as the clock tolls midnight, eat a grape for each peal of the bell—skin and seeds included. If you can’t finish before the strikes have ended, bad luck will haunt your year, so eat quickly. As everyone in the country struggles to swallow their mouthful of grapes at midnight, kissing takes a backseat.
As if that weren’t enough of a choking hazard, grapes are chased by a glass of sparkling wine in which you should have dropped a piece of gold, a ring, a coin, or whatever you’ve got handy.
Start the new year on the right foot (literally) by taking your first step of the 1st with the right, and nurse your hangover with a lentil soup, each bean representing a coin, bringing you wealth for the new year.
In Portugal…
As in Spain, don a brand-spanking new pair of skivvies that match the color to your aspirations for the year ahead. You have more choices here than in Spain: blue for luck, red for romance, brown for career, yellow for money, green for health, or white for peace.
Best to have a new outfit, too, but nothing too tight and nothing with holes or rips.
Make sure your last meal of the year isn’t chicken, which signifies happiness flying away. But go for the chocolate dessert, which promises riches to come.
Much like in Spain, grapes are eaten at midnight, but, here, the grapes are dried. When you buy your raisins start thinking ahead, as you’ll need to make a wish as you eat one for each chime of the clock.
If you’re really hoping for prosperity, keep some cash in hand at midnight. To double down on the financial superstition, jump onto a chair and hop on your right foot as you clutch your cash, or put it in your right shoe and then use it for your first purchase of the new year… or maybe throw it toward the center of your home after midnight.
Then bang some metal kitchenware together and make as much of a racket as you can, warding off evil for the year to come.
Finally, turn on all your lights, open all your doors, go outside, and come back in on your right foot.
On the 1st, take a dip in the ocean.
In Greece…
In preparation, deck the house out in bay leaves and pomegranates, paying special attention to doorways. When you get back from mass on the 1st, accompany them with onions.
Spray and be sprayed with holy water on New Year’s Eve to repel evil for the year to come. Try rolling a wheel of bread down your hallway, if it lands face up, good luck is in store.
As midnight tolls, everyone usually sings a special carol. You might hear children singing it accompanied by triangle music. If you do, give them some money.
After midnight, turn off your lights and head outside to take the kalo podariko, the first step of the new year. One member of the household is sent in on their right foot, and the pomegranate on the front door is smashed—the more seeds that spread, the better.
In the early hours of the 1st, share some vasilopita cake and hope to cut the prize slice, containing a coin or charm, granting you luck for the rest of the year. The name means “Basil’s Bread,” after St. Basil, a beloved Greek saint whose people were taxed by the emperor of the time. Having no money, they gave up their jewelry in payment, but the tax was later denounced and the wealth given back. Unable to say whose was whose, Basil famously basked it all into a loaf and cut everyone a piece. Lo and behold, each person received a slice containing their property.
In Italy…
Have one last fire to bid farewell to the past year and use the ashes as a talisman against evil or damage in the house.
Dinner of the eve should always be cotechino e lenticchie, pork sausage and lentils, which represent luck and prosperity for the year to come. Make sure to have some grapes for dessert—if you were disciplined enough to save some from the harvest, you must be wise, so you’ll likewise be frugal with your money.
Again, undies are important, but here they must be red.
Watch your head as you stroll on the 31st, as anything old might be tossed out the window… the underwear will also be tossed out after being worn, but usually just in the trash.
Happy New Year, wherever you ring it in!
Bonne route,
Kat Kalashian
Editor, In Focus: Europe
