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.

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.