The Luck and Lore of New year

Midwinter and the lead-up to January has often been seen as a liminal season, suspended between rest and retreat and the unknown promise of the year ahead. Across Europe, centuries-old customs reveal a shared desire to welcome what lies ahead with a little extra luck, prosperity and protection.

In Edinburgh, Rome and Munich, those hopes have taken wonderfully different forms.

Edinburgh: Who will cross the threshold?

Few places do New Year quite like Edinburgh. Hogmanay fills the city with anticipation as crowds gather along Princes Street, waiting for the countdown to begin, linking arms and mingling voices for a lusty rendition of Auld Lang Syne, the beloved adaptation by Scottish bard Rabbie Burns.

Even the timing has its own tradition: The Balmoral clock, famously kept three minutes fast to help travellers catch trains from nearby Waverley Station, is reset on 31 December so that it strikes ‘twelve’ in perfect synchronicity with the fireworks bursting across the skyline. 

And then, in homes across Scotland, first-footing begins. The first person through the door after midnight is traditionally believed to bring luck for the coming year, often carrying whisky, shortbread or coal, representing hospitality, sustenance and warmth. 

From The Balmoral, the whole spectacle is wonderfully close, and an evening at the hotel’s celebrated Hogmanay Ball is perhaps the opportune moment to put your best, or first, foot forward into the New Year.

Rome: A little taste of prosperity

In the Eternal City, the New Year has long been an invitation to tempt fate. The ancient Romans had their own way of courting good fortune: on the eve of the new year, they are said to have given a scarsella, a small leather purse containing lentils, with the hope that they would turn into coins in the months ahead. Today, the lentils themselves are eaten – often alongside cotechino, a rich pork sausage associated with abundance – as one of Italy’s most enduring New Year traditions.

The old symbolism has survived in other forms, too. Red, often associated with prosperity, is still worn on New Year's Eve, often beneath the evening’s finery, as a talisman for love, vitality and good fortune. The rules vary – in some versions it should be new, gifted or even discarded afterwards – but the sentiment remains the same: out with the old, in with the lucky.

At Hotel de la Ville, that spirit of celebration can be taken to Cielo, the rooftop bar overlooking Rome’s historic skyline. As midnight approaches, raise a glass above the rooftops and watch the city light up below, perhaps with a pinch of Roman superstition on your side.

Munich: Predicting the year ahead

For centuries, the turn of the year has been a moment for looking forward in Germany, with a little help from folklore. One of the most intriguing traditions is Bleigießen where molten lead is dropped into cold water, its strange new shape read as a glimpse of what the coming year might hold – a ship could suggest travel, a heart romance and a ring marriage.

Today, safer wax and tin versions keep the ritual alive, their curious shapes offering a playful glimpse, or at least a little room for interpretation, of what the year ahead might hold.

Elsewhere, good fortune takes more familiar forms. Around Munich, pigs, four-leaf clovers and chimney sweeps appear as symbols of luck, while Krapfen – the city's jam-filled doughnuts – bring something sweeter to the festivities. And when midnight comes, the sky erupts with fireworks, carrying an older belief that noise could frighten away the spirits of the old year. 

At The Charles Hotel, the ritual of seeing in the New Year could take a more personal turn. Gather friends for dinner and cocktails in the Monforte Royal Suite, then watch Munich sparkle from the terrace. There may be no way to truly know what the year will bring, but there is something appealing about beginning it exactly as you mean to go on: together.