Danish people traditionally throw or smash old plates against friends’ doors on New Year’s Eve.
The Danish custom involves saving unwanted plates and crockery, then breaking them outside the homes of friends or family as a playful New Year gesture. A large pile of broken dishes has traditionally been interpreted as a sign that the household has many friends, because visitors have taken part in the ritual.
The practice is associated with Danish New Year celebrations, alongside fireworks, festive meals, and the midnight toast. In modern life, the custom is less universal than it once was, partly because of concerns about cleanup, safety, and damage to property.
Accounts may differ on whether plates are thrown directly at doors or broken nearby, and contemporary families often adapt the tradition. The important cultural object is old crockery, not bottles or valuable tableware. It is also separate from the Danish tradition of jumping from a chair at midnight, which symbolically leaps into the new year.