In Denmark, plates are traditionally smashed at friends' doors on New Year's Eve.
The custom involves breaking unwanted crockery and leaving the pieces outside the homes of friends or neighbors. A large pile of fragments was traditionally interpreted as a sign that a household had many friends, because more people had taken part in the ritual.
The practice belongs to a wider group of European New Year customs in which noise, breakage, and discarded objects symbolically drive away bad luck or mark a fresh start. Contemporary celebrations may treat the tradition as historical, playful, or symbolic rather than carrying it out literally.
This custom should not be confused with the Danish midnight leap, in which people jump from a chair or sofa as the new year begins. Nor is it the same as the widespread practice of raising a toast with champagne. Danish New Year's Eve includes several traditions, and the broken crockery is specifically associated with plates or other unwanted dishes.