What is the traditional New Year’s Eve custom in Denmark of smashing against friends’ doors?

Breaking plates is the traditional Danish New Year’s Eve custom of smashing dishes against friends’ doors.

In the Danish tradition, people throw old or unwanted plates and dishes at the doors of friends and neighbors. A large pile of broken crockery can be interpreted as evidence that a household has many friends and well-wishers. The custom is associated with good luck and social bonds rather than hostility.

The practice is often discussed alongside another Danish New Year custom: jumping from a chair or sofa at midnight to leap into the new year. Contemporary celebrations may preserve these ideas in symbolic or less destructive forms, and many people do not follow every traditional practice.

The tradition is sometimes confused with general European beliefs about noise driving away bad spirits. Denmark’s distinctive detail is the breaking or throwing of plates at the entrances of friends’ homes.