In a Danish New Year’s Eve tradition, people traditionally jump off a chair at midnight for a lucky start to the new year. The action symbolizes leaping into January and leaving the old year behind.
The custom is usually performed at home just as the clock reaches midnight. It is often combined with other Danish celebrations, including fireworks, festive meals, and the midnight broadcast of the monarch’s New Year’s speech. The chair jump is a playful household ritual rather than a formal public ceremony.
Descriptions sometimes call the object a sofa or simply furniture, but the standard account identifies a chair. The tradition should also be distinguished from Denmark’s separate custom of throwing old plates at friends’ and neighbors’ doors, which is associated with expressing affection and friendship.