Free Printable New Year Traditions Around the World
The youngest kids get the lantern festival, the dragon dance, and the New Year's swim, all with big shapes and happy kids. Preschoolers can color the twelve grapes, the kids ringing a temple bell, wax pouring, and the lucky cake with a coin.
Older kids get more detail with the ball drop on a skyscraper, the fireworks over a bridge by the sea, and a family jumping off chairs into the New Year. For every page, kids can look up on a map where the tradition comes from. Coloring time turns into a little trip around the globe.
In Spain, people eat twelve grapes as the clock strikes twelve at midnight, in Times Square a glowing ball drops from a skyscraper, and in Denmark many people jump off chairs into the New Year. In Greece, families bake vasilopita, and whoever finds the coin in their slice is said to have a lucky year. In Japan, temple bells ring 108 times, in China the New Year is celebrated in January or February with lanterns and dragon dances, and in Germany, wax pouring has replaced the old custom of pouring lead.
🎨 Color Tips: New Year Around the World
| Area | Color | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lanterns and dragon | Red, gold, orange | Red and gold are lucky colors for Chinese New Year and look stunning together. |
| Grapes | Green, purple, dark red | Mixing grape colors makes the bowl colorful and helps kids count each one. |
| Sea and New Year's swim | Turquoise, navy, white for splashes | Cold blues show just how brave those winter swimmers are. |
| Wax shapes | Yellow, red, blue, green | A different color for each poured shape looks like real colorful candle wax. |