Danish New Year’s Eve revelers traditionally smash old plates against friends’ or neighbors’ doors.
The custom involves throwing unwanted crockery at the entrances of people one wishes well. A pile of broken plates outside a home is traditionally interpreted as evidence that the household has many loyal friends. It turns household objects that might otherwise be discarded into a noisy expression of friendship and goodwill.
This practice is separate from Denmark’s midnight tradition of jumping from a chair or sofa into the new year. Danish celebrations also feature the televised New Year’s address from the monarch and the dessert-like marzipan ring cake called kransekage. The plate-smashing custom is often described as old, but its exact origins and how widely it is practiced today vary by place and generation.