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7 Ways to Say "Happy New Year" Around the Globe

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7 Ways to Say "Happy New Year" Around the Globe

Not everyone on Earth watches the Times Square ball drop. Check out these New Year's rituals from around the globe.

1. In Mexico, women put on new panties in one of two colors to signify their hopes for the coming year — red for love, yellow for money.

2. In Belarus, single women compete in unusual games, such as lining up piles of corn ans seeing whose kernels a rooster chooses to eat first. The winner is considered most likely to marry in the year ahead.

3. The Japanese throw an office bonenkai, or "forget-the-year party," where bosses let employees get more relaxed then usual (i.e., drink a ton) in their otherwise buttoned-down workplaces.

4. In Rio de Janeiro, crowds flock to the beach to throw flowers into the ocean at midnight.

5. Filipino women wear polka dots — the roundess resembles coins and wealth.

6. Ecuadoreans burn photos and scarecrows to destroy bad memories from the past 12 months.

7. In Denmark, friends smash dishes on each other's doorsteps — those with the most broken plates are believed to have the most loyal friends.

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Kate Schweitzer is the senior web editor of Marie Claire. She loves traveling (even back to her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri ... go Cards!), eating candy, cheating at Scrabble with her husband, and watching basically everything on TV — so much so that she is a writer for Chaos Theory and Handsome Town, two web comedy series from Emmy-winning PhoebeTV. Follow her on Twitter @kateschweitzer!

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Alyssa Vingan is Marie Claire's web editor. She grew up in Virginia, spent her college years in New Orleans, and upon graduation left the Big Easy for the big city. She continually impresses (worries?) her colleagues with her knowledge of obscure models, compulsive collecting of international fashion magazines, and her undying girl-crush on Abbey Lee Kershaw. Follow her on Twitter @alyssavingan!

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Maura Brannigan is Marie Claire's web assistant. A native of the Windy City, she adores live music, grilled cheese, and the perfect pair of patent leather shoes — and, when possible, all three at once. If she's not writing about the latest in culture, she's probably watching reruns of SNL, pirouetting in ballet class, or cheering for her favorite Chicago sports teams. Follow her on Twitter @maura_brannigan!

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