Plate smashing is the Danish New Year’s Eve custom of breaking old plates against friends’ or neighbors’ doors.
In the tradition, people save unwanted crockery and throw it at the entrances of people they know around New Year. A large pile of broken dishes is interpreted as a sign that the household has many friends willing to visit and wish it well. The custom turns breakage into a playful expression of affection and social connection.
The practice is especially associated with Denmark, although descriptions of how widely it is performed vary by region, family, and period. Modern celebrations may use fewer dishes than older accounts suggest, and some people treat it as a historical or humorous custom rather than a routine national practice.
Danish New Year celebrations also include fireworks, festive meals, and the midnight dessert kransekage, a tower of ring-shaped almond cake. Plate smashing is not the same as the safer custom of jumping from a chair at midnight, which is another Danish superstition said to help people “jump” into the new year.