Denmark is especially associated with the New Year's Eve tradition of breaking old plates outside friends' homes.
The custom involves saving unwanted crockery and throwing it against the doors or walls of friends and relatives at New Year's. A large pile of broken plates was traditionally interpreted as evidence of many friends and strong social connections. In some accounts, the practice has also been linked with driving away bad luck.
The tradition is a folk custom rather than a universal Danish requirement. Modern celebrations vary considerably, and safety, housing arrangements, and changing social habits have made the practice less common than its popular image suggests.
People sometimes attribute the same plate-breaking custom to neighboring Scandinavian countries. Customs can cross borders, but Denmark is the country most commonly identified with this New Year's tradition in general-reference descriptions.