The Danish midnight tradition involving throwing old plates against friends’ or neighbors’ doors is called plate smashing.
In the custom, people save unwanted or chipped dishes and break them outside the homes of friends and acquaintances at New Year. A large pile of broken plates was traditionally interpreted as evidence that a household had many friends and well-wishers. The practice is associated with festive noise and symbolic goodwill rather than hostility.
Danish New Year celebrations also include champagne, marzipan cake, fireworks, and the monarch’s annual speech. Some people jump from a chair or sofa at midnight, symbolically leaping into the new year. Customs differ between families and regions, and modern environmental or safety concerns can reduce the amount of dish smashing.
The tradition is sometimes confused with throwing rice or confetti, but those are separate celebratory practices. The defining object in the Danish custom is a discarded plate, and the defining action is breaking it at someone’s door.