In Denmark’s New Year’s Eve tradition, people traditionally throw broken plates at friends’ doors for good luck.
The custom involves saving unwanted or damaged crockery and throwing it against the doors of friends or neighbors on New Year’s Eve. A large pile of fragments outside a home is traditionally interpreted as evidence that the household has many friends and well-wishers.
This practice is often described alongside other Danish New Year customs, including jumping from a chair at midnight to symbolically leap into the new year. Fireworks, festive meals, and the televised New Year’s address from the Danish monarch are also part of Denmark’s seasonal traditions, though individual observance varies.
The plate custom is not a recommendation to damage property or throw objects at people. It is a folk practice associated with doors and crockery, and modern environmental and safety concerns may make it less common than popular descriptions suggest. It is also distinct from simply breaking a plate during a party.