I lived in Denmark for 20 years, and never once saw, nor heard about this. My daughter just did a Kahoot at school and it came up. Google says it is a thing e.g.
[https://medium.com/@456anusharao/smashing-tradition-exploring-denmarks-affectionate-plate-shattering-ritual-on-new-year-s-eve-60ca113b5b49](https://medium.com/@456anusharao/smashing-tradition-exploring-denmarks-affectionate-plate-shattering-ritual-on-new-year-s-eve-60ca113b5b49)
Is this a recent development, or something that a few people did, which now is sounding like it is the main thing happening at new years

by Tjalfe

28 comments

  2. It is more making noise. In ye olden times plates would be smashed yes but I don’t think anyone does that anymore. The noise is supposed to keep evil spirits and demons away

  3. Ever since the movie “Min Søsters Børn I Egypten” from 2004, where they accidentally smash dinner plates during the dinner scene where then everyone else follows up, thinking it’s a danish customary tradition, it has since then become something that most families with smaller kids do in denmark at special occasions like christmas and new years

  7. Nah, but only because we have dogs…

    (Og ved ikke om jeg kan finde flere ottekantede tallerkener… Ikke ligefrem udbredt.)

  8. That news story reads like it was hallucinated by a chatbot. It will probably become and old tradition soon, though.

  11. 37 years on this earth 99.9999% of them here in Denmark. never ever ever heard of that. ever. – we do drink a lot though. so maybe I just forgot?

  13. Never heard about it before, but we do jump down from chairs at midnight in some places.

  14. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of some sort of tradition where you smash some plates, but I’ve never seen anyone do it. Especially not in Denmark.

  16. It is an old tradition related to weddings and/or new years eve. Thowing around old plates, pots and pans to make a lot of noise and scare off evil spirits. Hardly anyone does it though…

  17. Sounds like one of these nonsensical modern “traditions” that people make up to try to feel special.. Same as the one about drinking 18 shots on your 18th birthday or throwing cinnamon on unmarried people.

  19. Waste of ressources, waste of cleaning time,
    Never ever saw or heard of it as a thing before.
    Only by accident.

  21. People used to make noise on New Year’s Eve to scare away trolls and demons. Some may have smashed pottery, but I believe it was more common to use a rumlepotte or ratchets or to bang on pots and pans without breaking them. In some places, a person would also dress up as the julebuk (a bit like the English Mari Lwyd) and crash the parties with loud and lewd behavior.

    I don’t think anyone has done this the last 100 years.

  23. I’ve never heard of it. I’m 57 years old and I grew up in Denmark.

  24. “Medium” isn’t by *any* means a trustworthy source.

    It’s not a news site. It’s not a scientific site. It’s a social media, and people who post on it make shit up.

  25. It’s a thing people stopped doing, what, 100 years ago or earlier.

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