Denmark traditionally celebrates New Year’s Eve by smashing old dishes against friends’ and neighbors’ doors.
The custom involves throwing or breaking unwanted plates and dishes outside the homes of people one wishes to honor. A large pile of broken crockery was traditionally interpreted as evidence that a household had many friends and well-wishers.
The practice is associated with Danish New Year celebrations, alongside fireworks, festive meals, and the midnight speech by the monarch. In contemporary Denmark, the dish-smashing tradition is less universal than it once was, and many people celebrate without carrying it out.
This custom is sometimes confused with ordinary New Year’s Eve noise-making. Its distinctive feature is the deliberate breaking of dishes, not merely banging pots or setting off fireworks. Safety and environmental concerns have also made the practice less common in modern celebrations.