General good luck
Customs people turn to when they wish for General good luck.
29 articles
Display a Caganer to Welcome Good Luck and Abundance / 🇪🇸 Spain
Tuck a caganer into your Christmas display and wish for a year of good fortune and abundance. This Catalan figure turns a peasant fertilising the earth into a surprisingly cheerful symbol of good things growing.
Find the Christmas Pickle Ornament for a Year of Good Luck / 🇺🇸 USA
Find the green pickle ornament hidden in the Christmas tree and welcome a year of good luck. In this playful American custom, the first person to spot it receives good fortune or an extra little Christmas gift.
Cross Your Fingers to Invite Good Luck / 🇺🇸 USA
Cross your middle finger over your index finger when you are hoping for good news. Say “Fingers crossed!” to wish yourself or someone you love a fortunate outcome—this American good-luck gesture is ready whenever you need it.
Blow a Dandelion Wish to Invite Good Luck / 🇺🇸 USA
Close your eyes, picture your wish and gently blow a white dandelion seed head. This childhood good-luck custom sends your hope out with the floating seeds and turns an ordinary plant into a moment of possibility.
Display a Double Distelfink Hex Sign for Family Harmony / 🇺🇸 USA
Display a hex sign with two lucky distelfink birds and wish for harmony at home. This colorful Pennsylvania folk-art design brings a message of happiness and love to an entryway or a room your family shares.
Find the Roscón Figure to Welcome New-Year Good Fortune / 🇪🇸 Spain
Share a roscón de Reyes on 6 January and crown the person whose slice holds the little figure. This Spanish tradition brings good fortune and a playful royal welcome to a family’s first celebrations of the year.
Wish on the First Star to Welcome Good Fortune / 🇺🇸 USA
Wish on the first star you see tonight and welcome good fortune. This American nursery-rhyme tradition begins with the evening sky and a hope you want to come true.
Hang a Teru Teru Bōzu for Sunny-Day Luck / 🇯🇵 Japan
Make a teru teru bōzu the day before an outing and hang it by the window with a wish for sunshine and good luck. White cloth or tissue paper brings this Japanese weather charm into your home.
Eat New Year’s Eve Soba for Health and Long-Life Luck / 🇯🇵 Japan
Eat a bowl of long soba noodles on December 31 and welcome health and a long, happy life. Japan’s New Year’s Eve tradition puts a hopeful meaning into a wonderfully comforting meal.
Pull a Wishbone to Welcome Luck for Your Wish / 🇺🇸 USA
Pull opposite ends of a wishbone with a partner and wish for good luck after the meal. The person left holding the larger piece receives the good fortune of having their wish come true.
Tie Three Knots in a Bonfim Ribbon for Good Luck / 🇧🇷 Brazil
Tie three knots in a Bonfim ribbon and make a wish for good luck with each one. In Salvador, this colourful ribbon turns a greeting into something you can wear.
Hang an Upside-Down Fu to Welcome Good Fortune Home / 🇨🇳 China
Hang a red fu decoration upside down on an indoor wall to welcome good fortune. In Chinese, the phrase for an inverted fu sounds like fortune has arrived: a joyful play on words you can bring into your home.
Give a Marzipan Pig for New Year Good Luck / 🇩🇪 Germany
Give a little marzipan pig at New Year to wish someone good luck. In Germany this edible Glücksschwein puts a cheerful face on a good wish.
Give Four-Leaf Lucky Oxalis for New Year Good Luck / 🇩🇪 Germany
Give a pot of four-leaf lucky oxalis at New Year to wish someone good luck. Its four leaflets make the wish visible the moment the recipient sees the plant.
Face the Lucky Direction and Eat Ehomaki for Good Fortune / 🇯🇵 Japan
Face the year’s lucky direction on Setsubun and eat an ehomaki with a wish in mind. This Japanese sushi-roll tradition wraps up good fortune and lasting connections in a quiet, delicious welcome to spring.
Find a Four-Leaf Clover to Wish for Good Luck / 🇮🇪 Ireland
Find a four-leaf clover and make a wish for good luck. Look for four leaflets that join at the same point on one stalk.
Hang a Horseshoe by the Door to Wish for Household Luck / 🇮🇪 Ireland
Hang a horseshoe over a doorway to wish good luck for your home. In one Irish wedding custom the open end faces up, while a Kerry account places a found horseshoe over the kitchen door.
Make a Diwali Rangoli to Welcome Good Luck / 🇮🇳 India
Make a colourful rangoli by your door and wish for good luck as you welcome people in. At Diwali, patterns on the threshold make an ordinary entrance part of the celebration.
Make an Onam Flower Carpet for Family Harmony / 🇮🇳 India
Make a small pookalam from flower petals and wish for family harmony. In Kerala, Onam’s flower carpets welcome the legendary king Mahabali back to his people.
Set Out a Vishukkani for Good Luck at First Light / 🇮🇳 India
Set a bowl of rice, fruit and flowers beside a mirror and look at it first thing to wish for good luck. In Kerala, a Vishukkani gives the New Year a beautiful first sight.
Give a Red Cornicello to Wish for Protection / 🇮🇹 Italy
Give someone a red cornicello to wish them protection and good luck. In Naples, giving the curved horn is part of the custom.
Share a Pomegranate to Wish for New Year Good Fortune / 🇮🇹 Italy
Share pomegranate seeds at New Year and wish for good fortune around your table. The many red seeds make it a memorable Italian symbol of abundance.
Hang a Korean Good Luck Fish for Protection and a Fortunate Home / 🇰🇷 South Korea
Hang an aekmagi myeongtae fish ornament near your entrance and welcome good fortune home. Korea’s pollock charm carries a wish for protection and blessings; modern handmade versions bring its distinctive shape into everyday rooms.
Put Lentils on the Table to Wish for Prosperity / 🇵🇪 Peru
Put a few lentils on your New Year table and make a wish for prosperity. In Peru, a familiar ingredient can become a small symbol of what people hope the year will hold.
Set Out Round Fruit for New Year Prosperity / 🇵🇭 Philippines
Set out twelve kinds of round fruit on New Year’s Eve to welcome prosperity. At the Filipino midnight meal, a generous fruit platter gives the wish for a fortunate year a place on the table.
Make a Floating Flower Boat for Peace of Mind / 🇹🇭 Thailand
Make a little flower float and set it on water for a moment of peace of mind. Thailand’s Loi Krathong festival gives you a reason to stop and give thanks.
Serve Golden Thong Yip for Prosperity / 🇹🇭 Thailand
Serve a plate of golden thong yip and wish prosperity to the people around your table. The name of this Thai flower-shaped sweet makes it a small gift with a message.
Write a Spring Wish for Good Luck at Hıdrellez / 🇹🇷 Turkey
Write a spring wish and place it beneath a rose to ask for good luck. At Hıdrellez, a folded note can mark what you want to see grow this year.
Eat Twelve New Year Grapes to Welcome Good Luck / 🇪🇸 Spain
Eat twelve grapes with the twelve midnight chimes on New Year’s Eve to welcome good luck. Each grape carries a wish for one prosperous month of the year ahead.