Discover New Year fortune-telling traditions across Europe: Finland’s tin-in-water, Bulgaria’s banitsa with hidden notes, and echoes in Germany and Austria.
As the New Year arrives across Europe, people—much like elsewhere—reach for a glimpse of what lies ahead. The methods vary: some turn to molten metal, others to festive dishes with messages slipped inside. Quirky as they are, these rituals do more than entertain; they fold into the fabric of family celebrations.
Here are the New Year fortune-telling traditions still alive in Europe—and what people read into them.
In Finland, on New Year’s Eve, people practice one of the country’s best-known local rituals. A small piece of tin (sometimes aluminum or wax) is melted and poured into cold water. The sudden chill throws it into curious shapes. That’s when the fun starts: by reading the contours, people try to guess what the coming year might bring.
If a heart appears, it points to love; a tiny boat hints at travel. Interpretation is in the eye of the beholder, and the point is the shared delight.
In the past, people used lead; today it’s replaced by safer materials.
Though the custom came to Finland from elsewhere in Europe, it has become especially popular there, and many families still keep the ritual every New Year.
In Bulgaria, the future is read through food. The holiday table features banitsa, a pie made with layers of dough. Inside, small notes with wishes or playful forecasts are tucked in advance.
Each person receives a slice with a surprise. Sometimes a coin is hidden inside; whoever finds it is promised luck for the whole year.
The notes might point to anything—success at work, good health, love, or a trip. It’s a lighthearted game that draws everyone in and delights children and adults alike.
Similar to the Finnish ritual, versions of metal-pouring have appeared in other parts of Europe, including Germany and Austria. There, too, people once poured molten lead into water and interpreted the resulting shapes. The custom is less common now, yet in some places it’s still remembered and brought out for the holidays.
At first glance, these fortune-telling games are simple fun. In reality, they express a wish to step into the new year with hope. People laugh, trade predictions, and mull over what might happen. That shared curiosity draws families closer, brightens the mood, and makes the celebration warmer.
Many of the traditions have also adapted: metal often gives way to wax, the jokes tucked into pies are chosen with age in mind, and superstition yields to gentle humor and kind wishes.