From Barcelona’s twelve lucky grapes (and red underwear) to Vienna’s Pummerin bell and Blue Danube waltz, our Hox neighbourhoods know how to do midnight. For starters, did you know about Amsterdam oliebollen and North Sea dives, Edinburgh’s Loony Doo or Rome’s Tiber plunge? Read on, to find out what the New Year’s tradition is in your fave Hox city…
New Year’s Eve tastes like oliebollen and appelflappen, sounds like a citywide fireworks chorus (with official displays where private fireworks are restricted), and feels like community – games, toasts and the beloved Top 2000 on the radio. On 1 January, thousands sprint into the North Sea for the Nieuwjaarsduik (cold dive) at Scheveningen. Brrr.
At midnight, Barcelonians race the clock with twelve grapes (one for each chime) to lock in luck for the year ahead. Red underwear (often gifted) is worn for extra fortune, some drop a gold ring into their cava for prosperity, and sunrise means churros con chocolate before the party finally winds down.
Hogmanay is Scotland turned up to eleven: a torchlight procession through the Old Town, a huge street party and a mass sing-along of Auld Lang Syne at midnight. New Year’s Day brings the spirited Loony Dook dip in the Firth of Forth – best followed by shortbread, black bun and a warming dram.
Good fortune gets a playful forecast with lead-pouring fortune telling – now typically done with tin or wax – where cooled shapes hint at the year to come. Expect clinking glasses of Sekt, fireworks lighting up the sky, and plenty of cosy at-home gatherings to welcome Neujahr with friends and family.
Paris keeps it simple and chic, with oysters and champagne for le Réveillon, a late-night feast that glides into the small hours. As the clock strikes twelve, the baiser de minuit – a kiss at midnight – seals the moment, and boulevards buzz with well-dressed revellers, starting the year en fête.
Brave locals mark New Year’s Day with a plunge into the Tiber – an icy, spirit-lifting tradition that turns heads on the riverbanks. After the countdown and midnight toast, expect espresso-fuelled mornings, church bells in the distance and a leisurely stroll through Trastevere to start the year the Roman way.
From living rooms across the city, all the way to Times Square, the countdown builds to the iconic ball drop, a midnight kiss and a shower of confetti. Fireworks crackle, flutes of bubbly clink, and resolution lists get made, as the New Year rolls in.
When the mighty Pummerin bell of St Stephen’s tolls at midnight, Vienna answers by waltzing into January to the tune of The Blue Danube. Lucky charms – marzipan pigs, chimney sweeps and four-leaf clovers – trade hands, while the city’s Silvesterpfad (New Year’s trail) serves music, dancing and mulled cheer until late.
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