Creepy New Year Superstitions That Will Keep You Up Past Midnight

Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/clock-new-year-2020-celebrate-year-4765007/

Beyond waiting for the ball to drop at the stroke of midnight, have you ever wondered why we do certain things for the year to come? Never mind the weight loss goals and bucket wishlists; there are many cultures throughout the world that have their own superstitions about the new year. But have you ever wondered about the consequences of not doing your superstitious acts? If you're curious, here are some classic superstitions to change your perspective on the new year to come. 

Baking Bread and Banging It On The Wall

If you intend on starting a new hobby for the new year, then why not bake some sourdough bread? As an old Irish New Year's Eve tradition, people would bang loaves of bread on the doors and walls of their homes to ward off angry spirits that may be lurking around. It's reported to send bad luck packing and ensure your family won't go hungry for the rest of the year. 

Make Room For Your Lost Loved Ones - They're Lonely!

Ireland has some traditions that are deeply steeped in spiritual folklore, and another Irish custom is to leave the doors unlocked for them to come in for the new year. Setting up a spot at the table for them also allows them to be welcomed back, especially those lost throughout the year. 

Some variations of this tradition include sleeping in a graveyard for the night to spend some time with your loved ones. Others, which are more on the romantic side, say that sleeping with the picture of your desired loved one will attract their adoration.

Don't Ever Do Your Laundry on New Year's Day

Despite how odd this sounds, this superstition states that doing laundry can lead to a massive load of jinxes that harm your upcoming year. "Don't do laundry on New Year's Day, or a member of your family will be washed away" - well, that's no good. Other variations state that your good luck will drain or that you'll have even more laundry to do throughout the year! 

Other add-ons to this household superstition include using your underwear as a form of fortune telling, looking at the color of your garments to choose your destiny, and making sure that no garbage or household items leave your home that night. However, if you want to clean, you can sweep the floor with a broom to get rid of any negative energy for the year to come. 

Burn Some Effigies For the Holiday Spirit

In Ecuador, burning effigies of politicians, pop culture figures, and other icons help remove the representations of the old year. Throughout the day, men would dress as mourning widows to beg for money and parade throughout the street. Sadly, this tradition started due to an even worse event, during the 1895 yellow fever outbreak, where people stuffed caskets with clothes to purify the year of their lost loved ones. 

Dress Up As a Demon To Ensure A Good Harvest

Dressing up as a demon sounds like a Halloween tradition, but in Japan, young men would dress up as Namahage, or ogre-like demons, to frighten lazy people. By frightening people, households would offer sake and rice cakes to the demon spirit to bring about protection from illness and a good harvest for the new year. 

Now that you've learned what to do or not to do, why not turn those superstitions to life by getting some Horrordome human body props for next year's effigy burn or a professional monster costume to ensure a good harvest for the farmers this year? At HorrorDome, we ensure that you have all of your creepy superstitions intact and ready for your horrific delights.