Which Greek New Year custom involves smashing a pomegranate at the home’s entrance?

The Greek New Year custom involving a pomegranate at the entrance is called pomegranate smashing.

In this Greek tradition, a pomegranate is smashed against the threshold or entrance of a home, often after the family returns from a New Year church service. The scattered seeds symbolize abundance, fertility, health, and prosperity for the household in the coming year.

Pomegranates have held symbolic importance in Greek culture since antiquity. In Greek mythology, the fruit is especially associated with Persephone and the underworld, while its many seeds helped make it a broader symbol of life and abundance. Modern New Year customs use that symbolism in a domestic good-luck ritual.

The practice is not a universal rule followed identically throughout Greece. Regional customs differ, and families may combine pomegranate smashing with cutting vasilopita, a New Year cake containing a hidden coin. The two customs are related to the holiday but are separate traditions.