New Year‘s day may start the moment the clock strikes midnight on December 31, but  celebrations to usher in the New Year in different parts of the world couldn’t be more unique. Take Ecuador, for instance. There, citizens parade around town with scarecrows built to look like politicians and cultural icons and at the stroke of midnight, these are burnt in order to cleanse the New Year of evil.

Here are some of the most creative New Year’s eve traditions from around the world.

Spain: Eating Grapes For Good Luck

In Spain locals eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight to honor a tradition that started in the late 19th century. Back in the 1800s, vine growers in the Alicante area came up with this tradition as a means of selling more grapes toward the end of the year, but the sweet celebration quickly caught on.

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Scotland: First Footing

In Scotland the day before January 1 is so important that there’s even an official name for it: Hogmanay. On this day, the Scottish observe many traditions, but easily one of their most famous is first footing. According to Scottish belief, the first person who crosses the threshold of your house after midnight on New Year’s Day should be a dark-haired male if you wish to have good luck in the coming year.

The Netherlands: Chowing Down On Olie bollen

The reasoning behind this Dutch New Year‘s eve tradition is odd, to say the least. Ancient Germanic tribes would eat pieces of deep-fried dough during the Yuletide so that when the Germanic goddess Perchta the Belly Slitter tried to cut their stomachs open and fill them with trash, the fat from the dough would cause her sword to slide right off.

Russia: Planting Underwater Trees

For the past 25 years, it has been a Russian holiday tradition for two divers, aptly named Father Frost and the Ice Maiden, to venture into the frozen Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake, and take a New Year Tree, typically a decorated spruce, more than 100 feet below the surface.

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Brazil: Throwing White Flowers Into the Ocean

If you happen to be in Brazil on New Year’s Eve, don’t be surprised to find the oceans littered with white flowers and candles. In this South American country it is commonplace for citizens to take to the shores on New Year’s eve in order to make offerings to Yemoja, a major water deity who is said to control the seas, to elicit her blessings for the year to come.

Greece: Hanging Onions

No, this New Year’s eve tradition has nothing to do with vampires. Rather, the Greeks believe that onions are a symbol of rebirth, and so they hang the pungent vegetable on their doors in order to promote growth throughout the New Year. Greek culture has long associated this vegetable with the idea of development, seeing as all the odorous onion ever seemingly wants is to plant its roots and keep growing.