Kissing someone at the stroke of midnight is a New Year's Eve tradition, but why do we do it?
According to German folklore, the first person you encounter, and your interaction, sets the tone for the rest of your year. If you have an argument with the first person you see, so it goes the rest of your year. No one wants to argue for a year, so the tradition of giving the first person you see a kiss was meant to set yourself up for happiness. Also, kisses are supposed to strengthen the ties of relationships you want to maintain for the future.
So what happens if you don't kiss someone for New Years? Superstition says that it means a year of loneliness. (Or a year of you doing whatever you want, whenever you want, depends on how you look at it.)
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