Some Danish New Year's Eve revelers traditionally break plates at friends' front doors.
The custom involves saving unwanted or old dishes and smashing them against the doors of friends or neighbors around New Year's Eve. A large pile of broken plates outside a home has traditionally been interpreted as evidence that the household has many loyal friends who came to wish them well.
The practice is not universal, and modern celebrations may treat it as a playful or symbolic custom rather than an expected part of the holiday. Danish New Year traditions also include watching the monarch's annual speech, eating festive food, and jumping from a chair at midnight to symbolically leap into the new year.
The plate tradition is sometimes confused with other European customs involving broken crockery or glass. Its Danish version specifically centers on plates and on leaving the fragments at another person's doorway, linking destruction with friendship and good fortune.