New Year’s Eve Celebration: Good Luck Rituals and Traditions, Plus a Champagne Sabering Primer

Dec 31

Kiss, 😘 Kiss 😘

The most well-known New Year's Eve ritual is the kiss ~ whether it be a lover or a stranger on the dance floor, kissing another at midnight has been the way to wish someone good luck for the new year since the days of ancient Rome. The Midnight Smooch is believed to insure your love will last all year long.

And there’s more good luck traditions and rituals…

Lucky Fashion Color?

What is a lucky color to consider when putting together your ensemble for New Year’s Eve?

Green: hope and growth for a year of new beginnings

Green evokes nature and renewal, a message of positivity perfect for New Year's Eve.

Pink is said to manifest romance. 🩷
Gold: prosperity and success for 2024

No New Year's Eve is complete without a touch of gold, a symbol of wealth and abundance.

Good Luck For More Money

Speaking of all things shimmery, it’s said that to attract more money in the year ahead, put coins in your shoes. This tradition makes me think that you’ll end up with blisters though, so you can consider if it’s good luck or bad.
A safer bet to increase your financial portfolio is to Wear Red Underwear. Can’t go wrong with this ooh, la, la racy ritual.
And I love this one because I love polka dots any time of the year. It’s said that wearing happy dots, which look like coins, will bring wealth, abundance, and success in the new year.
And a lot more fun than throwing lentils for abundance and then keeping them in a bag in your wallet. I don’t know about you, but these old-timey rituals strain the modern sense and sensibilities.
A more attractive and subtle way to spark financial success is to burn a yellow candle.

Let yourself off the hook on New Year’s Day

Don't clean your house! According to Chinese lore, tidying on New Year's Day is thought to clean away the good luck you've stored up for the new year. Looking for an excuse not to tidy up? Here you go.

Seriously, you're not supposed to sweep the house or even do your laundry.

Give yourself a break on New Year’s Day.

The no-cleaning superstition doesn’t stop with your abode.

To insure luck, it’s said that one shouldn’t even bathe on New Year’s Day.

The mere act of showering is seen as washing your fortune away and dramatically reducing your chances of prosperity in the year ahead.

Not the Grapes of Wrath ~ The 12 Grapes of Luck

Each grape represents a wish for each month of the upcoming year. The key is to consume them quickly, making a wish with each grape. This ritual is believed to attract abundance and happiness for the next twelve months.

If you’re at a loss for grapes, I’d consider drinking a glass or two of very good wine!

Sprinkle some sugar outside your door to bring on the sweet success of good luck.
An Irish superstition is that hitting bread on your doors and walls can fend off evil spirits and bad luck. Oh, my!
What Foods to Avoid

Don't Eat Lobster, Crab or Chicken. Why?

Lobsters walk backwards; crabs walk sideways; and because chickens have wings, your good luck could “fly away.”

Thought: Stick with the pig because he always moves forward. Or go with beef steaks.

And you can’t go wrong with anything Plant!

We usually go for Surf & Turf but I can’t take any chances this year. 😬

Bill often says that I have two kinds of luck: No and Bad!

Champagne and New Year’s Eve

But what you can bet on for the best New Year’s Eve tradition is to drink to your good fortune with a glass or two of champagne.

What brand to drink? The answer is as varied as your personal taste, style, and budget allow.

For me, I love these brands: (in no particular order ~ Dom Perignon, Louis Roedere Cristal Veuve Clicquot (may be my most favorite, especially because a woman, Madame Clicquot, who dared to lead the company after her husband died. There’s a lot of wonderful history with Madame Clicquot.)

And then there’s more of my everyday champagne and a sparkling wine: Champagne Palmer & Co, La Caravelle (yes/oui, from the iconic Gotham restaurant, owned by André and Rita.) And lastly (here) is the great Raventos i Blanc Sparkling Wine.

So now that you have your champagne chosen and nesting on ice ~ let’s play a little Bubbly Game.

Have you ever Sabered your bottle of champagne?

I did it once. It was thrilling. You will see the look of sheer astonishment on my face captured in a video. It’s priceless…

Enjoy this YouTube short of my sabering initiation as instructed by the champagne brand, Nicolas Feuillatte out on the streets of Gotham.

Sabring a champagne bottle started in France where it was said that Napoleon’s army would open champagne bottles with their sabers during Napoleon’s victory celebrations across Europe.

So, what are the secrets to sabering a champagne bottle? Here they are, according to the St. Regis hotel:

A young vintage champagne with pressure still on the cork is optimal for sabering. Do not try to saber prosecco or sparkling wine, unless you want to possibly shatter a bottle and wind up in the emergency room. champagne bottles are thicker and you should only attempt to saber champagne.

Prepare the bottle by chilling it between 45-48°F or 7-8°C for 24 hours to lower its pressure and vibration.

Set the bottle upside down in an ice bucket approximately 20 minutes before opening.

When ready, reveal the cork by removing the foil in its entirety. Then, unwind and discard the wire basket.

Carefully point the bottle upwards at about a 30-degree angle. Find one of the two vertical seams running up the bottle, and quickly slide the blade of the saber along the body towards the neck.

Do Not hesitate. Take one long, quick swoop of the blade along the neck of the bottle. Be committed. I was initially too shy/scared, but you need to be deliberate and confident.
The force of the blade as it hits the lip of the bottle’s neck will break the glass. I had thought I was just hitting the cork off but no ~ it’s the entire bottle neck.