5 most fun New Year traditions from around the world for manifesting love, travel and good luck

From grapes under the table to suitcase walks, global New Year rituals turn intention into action, offering ways to invite travel, luck, and growth in 2026.

Of all the New Year rituals doing the rounds online, eating twelve grapes under the table has become the one people truly swear by. Rooted in Spanish tradition, each grape stands for a wish for the months ahead. Social media turned it into a yearly obsession because it feels playful, secretive, and oddly powerful. Vision boards can wait. Party plans can pause. People still slip under tables at midnight, grapes in hand. Inspired by that energy, we rounded up the most fun global traditions to help manifest the 2026 you want.

Midnight celebrations feature grapes, suitcases, fruit, and champagne, capturing joyful rituals people follow to welcome luck, travel, and fresh beginnings. (Ai generated)

By Neha Ravi Khandelwal

Neha Khandelwal
Content Lead, HT Travel | Travel & Lifestyle Journalist
With over 10 years of content writing experience, Neha Khandelwal is a lifestyle journalist and the Content Lead at HT Travel. She specialises in destinations, hotels, aviation, luggage, travel gear, and practical guides that help readers plan smarter and travel better. Her work combines first-hand experience, expert insights, and extensive research to create stories that are informative, useful, and easy to follow.

Career Journey & Experience
Neha began her writing career as a freelance journalist in 2010 before entering mainstream media with The Times of India in 2022. She later joined Hindustan Times, where she has written extensively across travel, lifestyle, home, and consumer trends. Her professional background extends beyond journalism. Before moving into digital media full-time, she spent nearly a decade in interior design, managing residential projects from concept to execution. She also trained in visual merchandising with Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons and worked with women-led startups across design and operations. These experiences continue to shape her storytelling, especially in how she evaluates hotels, design-led stays, hospitality spaces, and travel experiences.

A naturally curious learner, Neha has completed beginner certifications in pottery, scuba diving, baking, creative writing, and other creative pursuits. She has read more than 2,000 books, trained in Bharatanatyam for 8 years, and ghostwritten a book on Ladakh tourism.

Subject Expertise
Travel is at the heart of Neha's work. She covers destinations, hotels, airlines, luggage, packing strategies, travel accessories, and emerging travel trends through a mix of reporting, product testing, and conversations with industry experts. A frequent traveller herself, she approaches every trip with a journalist's curiosity and a planner's mindset, focusing on experiences that readers can realistically recreate. From choosing the right cabin bag to decoding hotel openings and destination trends, her writing prioritises practical advice over promotional claims. Her background in interior design also gives her a distinct perspective on architecture, hospitality design, boutique hotels, luxury stays, and thoughtfully designed spaces.

Education & Professional Background
Neha holds a Master's degree in Interior Design. Her early experience in interior design, visual merchandising, and design operations gives her a unique understanding of aesthetics, functionality, and user experience, adding depth to her coverage of hotels, resorts, and travel spaces.

Editorial Philosophy
"As an avid, research-driven traveller, my goal is simple. To answer the questions you actually have before booking a trip. I cut through the promotional noise with honest reporting and expert insights. Making travel planning seamless, smart, and reliable so you always know where to go next."

Read moreRead less

Manifesting adventure: The suitcase walk

Across parts of Latin America, the New Year begins with an empty suitcase and a quick walk outside. The idea is simple. Act like the travel you want is already booked. At midnight, wheels roll across pavements, doors open, and neighbours laugh as suitcases click-clack along the street. It feels silly in the best way. This ritual is about showing intention through action. You are not just hoping for stamps in your passport. You are moving as if they are already on the way. Manifestation 101 but travel edition!

Manifesting luck and abundance: Seeds and circles

In Turkey and Greece, smashing a pomegranate at the front door is a dramatic start to the year. The more seeds scatter, the more abundance is said to follow. It is messy, loud, and impossible to ignore. That chaos is the point. It celebrates plenty in its most physical form.

In the Philippines, the mood is calmer but just as meaningful. Twelve round fruits fill the table, one for each month ahead. Polka dot clothes often join the celebration, echoing the same circular theme. Circles symbolise continuity and steady flow. One ritual shouts its wishes. The other whispers them. Both focus on wealth, just in very different tones.

Manifesting personal growth: The leap and the ash

In Denmark, people climb onto chairs and jump off at midnight. It is called a leap of faith for a reason. You leave the past year behind on that chair and land ready for something new. It is playful, physical, and full of release. Laughter usually follows, which feels like a good omen on its own.

Russia offers a far more intense approach. A wish is written on paper, burned, mixed into a glass of champagne, and then consumed before the clock finishes striking. It is bold and deeply symbolic. You are not just wishing for change. You are taking it in, quite literally. These rituals focus on inner shifts and personal resolve.

From grapes under the table to a suitcase walk around the drawing room or garden, these rituals all circle back to the same feeling. Belief. Choosing to start the year with hope, intention, and a little bit of fun. The ritual itself matters less than the mindset behind it. Trusting that the coming year holds good things and permitting yourself to look forward to it without doubt.

Similar articles for you

Countdown to Christmas 2025: 2 delicious soaking-based Christmas cake recipes you can make at home

5 vegetables you can grow in your balcony this winter: How to harvest fresh spinach and methi in 30 days

How to use wallpapers instead of paint to elevate your home's walls: Tips from a decor expert

How to style a throw blanket: Ideas to add instant cosy vibes at home during winter

The author of this article holds a Master's Degree in Interior Design and has spent over a decade in research, teaching, and designing homes from scratch.