Which New Year's Eve celebration is known in Denmark for people jumping from chairs at midnight?

The Danish New Year’s Eve celebration is known for people jumping from chairs at midnight.

In Denmark, some people stand on chairs, sofas, or other raised surfaces and jump down as the clock strikes twelve. The act is commonly described as “jumping into the New Year,” symbolizing the leap from the old year into the new one. It is a popular custom, not a compulsory national ritual.

Danish New Year celebrations also commonly include fireworks, festive meals, champagne, and the televised monarch’s New Year address. Another Danish tradition involves breaking old plates or dishes outside friends’ and neighbors’ homes, with the fragments historically associated with friendship and good luck.

The chair-jumping custom can create obvious safety risks, so people may adapt it in different ways. It should not be confused with the midnight kiss, which is widespread internationally and is not uniquely Danish.