What midnight tradition in Denmark involves jumping from a chair into the New Year?

The Danish midnight tradition of jumping from a chair is called jumping into the New Year.

At midnight, some people in Denmark stand on a chair, sofa, or other raised surface and jump down as the clock strikes twelve. The action is popularly understood as symbolically leaping from the old year into the new one. It is a lighthearted household custom rather than a formal national ceremony.

Danish New Year's celebrations also include sparkling wine, festive meals, fireworks, and the televised New Year's address by the monarch. Another widely reported custom is throwing or smashing old plates and dishes at friends' or neighbors' doors, although its popularity and practice vary between households.

The chair-jumping tradition is sometimes described as a superstition, but accounts differ on when it began and how universal it is. The safest description is that it is a recognizable Danish New Year's custom practiced by some celebrants, not an obligatory act performed by everyone in Denmark.