I’ll be ringing in the New Year in France this year… but I’m likely to be asleep well before midnight.
To really ring in the New Year, there are a few ways to go about it here 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…
If welcoming the New Year 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…
Portugal’s traditions are similar to Spains… here, you’ll also 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.
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A version of this article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveler España. This article was translated and adapted from the Spanish by John Newton. The Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid is one of our editors’ picks for The Gold List 2024.