As 2019 approaches people from different cultures and nationalities around the world will be following various traditions and superstitions in a bid to make next year a particularly prosperous one for them. If you're looking for a little bit of extra luck to help you to make your fortune in the next 12 months these are the rituals you might want to try.

In Scotland New Year's Eve is called Hogmanay and some of the rituals associated with this night can be traced back hundreds of years. Many Scots still spend New Year's Eve cleaning the house from top to bottom as part of seeing out the old year and bringing in a fresh new one full of opportunities. Folklore also has it that it's bad luck to go into the new year with debts, but mortgages and credit card bills make this ritual trickier to follow these days.

Filipinos like to dress in polka-dot covered clothes on New Year's Eve, because the roundness of the dots signifies prosperity. They also fill their pockets with round coins as well as leaving coins out all over their homes. Money doesn't feature on New Year's Day, however. Filipinos try to avoid starting off the year spending. If they don't splurge on the first day of the year they believe that they have a better chance of managing their money well for the rest of the year.

Latin Americans pay particular attention to the colour of their underwear on New Year's Eve. Wearing yellow underwear as the clock strikes midnight is supposed to bring you wealth and prosperity. Wearing red underwear is supposed to bring you passion and love. You need to choose between the two when you dress on December 31st or, if you're feeling extra lucky, wear a combination of the two!

Spaniards try to eat one grape for each stroke of the clock at midnight on New Year's Eve and then wash them all down with a glass of Cava. It's not as easy as it sounds, people practice for it for weeks beforehand. If you do manage to succeed folklore has it that you will have a year of prosperity.

The Chileans also try eating a grape for every bell strike at midnight. They also wear the yellow underwear for good luck, but in a twist to the tradition they wear it inside out until midnight and turn it the right way around after. They also place a gold ring in a glass of champagne and leave it there while they drink from it. They hope that by doing all of these rituals that they will receive good fortune in the new year. If you're trying this, just be careful not to swallow the ring.

The Danes prepare for the new year with a special New Year's Eve meal. This typically consists of a starter of boiled cod with mustard sauce, followed by a main dish of pork and a dessert called kransekage. This pudding is made of marzipan rings stacked in a tower and is supposed to bring in a new year of health and prosperity.

A long-standing tradition in Ireland involves banging bread on the walls and doors of your home to bring in the New Year. The reasoning behind this ritual is that it rids the home of bad luck and brings in good luck. Some also believe that it will ensure that the home is full of bread, often a euphemism for money, in the new year.

In Norway the tradition is to make a dessert of rice pudding with an almond hidden within it for the New Year's celebrations. Tasting the sweetness of this dish is thought to help guarantee a sweet year ahead. The really lucky person, however, is the one who gets the almond in their portion. He or she is believed to have a really fantastic and prosperous year ahead. This isn't a time to pass on the rice pudding.

Just before midnight on New Year's Eve, Russians write down their wishes for the forthcoming year on a piece of paper. They burn this paper with a candle and they mix the ash that is left behind in a glass of champagne which they then drink. For the wish to come true all the champagne must be drunk during the 12 chimes of midnight.

Romanians believe that you start the new year the way that you end the old one. So if you have no money on New Year's Eve you will continue to have no money on New Year's Day and beyond. To guarantee a prosperous new year Romanians ensure that their pockets are stuffed with money on December 31. They just have to hope that there are no pickpockets about.

Peruvian folklore has it that you can tell what your fortune will be in the new year from three potatoes: one peeled, one half peeled and one unpeeled. All three potatoes are placed under a cushion on a chair and at midnight on New Year's Eve you select one potato at random. If you pick the peeled potato you will be poor in the new year. If you get the half-peeled potato there will be no change in your fortune in the new year. If you get the unpeeled potato riches are coming your way.

In a bid to ensure an abundance of food and riches in the new year in Estonia, people eat seven, nine or even 12 meals on New Year's Eve. These are seen as lucky numbers. It's thought that indulging in all 12 meals will give you the strength of 12 people to see you through the new year. You don't have to finish everything on each plate though, it's polite to leave a little behind for your ancestoral spirits.

Zampone e lenticchie or pigs trotters and lentils is the dish traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve in Italy. Pig’s trotters have a high fat content and this symbolises abundance. According to Italian folklore, eating lentils brings good luck and prosperity. Indulging in this meal should bring greater prosperity in the new year than the last one.

To bring in a year of abundance and good fortune the Swiss eat rich creamy ice cream and then throw balls of ice cream on the floor on New Year's Day. From chocolate chip through to pistachio, any flavour goes. This is certainly a popular tradition amongst the Swiss canine population, who get to help with the clear-up.

Austrians exchange lucky charms on New Year’s Day. These are supposed to bring good health, good luck and wealth. Charms shaped like horseshoes, four-leafed clovers, chimney sweeps and pigs are particularly popular. Sometimes these charms are edible and made of chocolate or marzipan.

In Greece it is customary to give and receive gifts on New Year's Day. The saying goes that if you receive a present on the first day of the new year you are more likely to have a prosperous year. Greeks also eat a New Year's Day cake called vasilopita. This has a coin hidden within it that is said to bring good fortune to whoever is lucky enough to get the slice with it in.

In the southern states of America it's a tradition to eat Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. This savoury dish of rice and black-eyed peas served alongside collard greens is supposed to bring good fortune to all who consume it. The black-eyed peas symbolise coins and the green veg are the colour of the American currency. If nothing else it's a tasty meal.

Chinese New Year doesn't fall until February 16 2018, but it's one of the biggest festivities in the Chinese calendar and it's packed full of rituals, many of which revolve around the colour red. Red is traditionally believed to increase wealth and ward off evil. On Chinese New Year people wear red, decorate their homes with red and give red gifts and red envelopes of money to each other.

Chinese New Year is also a major festival in Malaysia and as part of the celebrations everyone tucks into yee sang, or prosperity toss salad. This raw fish salad is believed to bring good health and wealth for the upcoming year. Red is also believed to bring luck here too. Many Malaysian couples exchange red underwear decorated with gold at New Year. Underwear has a big role in New Year celebrations all over the world!

While not on New Year's Eve itself the French keep the party going and have a new year tradition on January 6. Technically part of the Christian festival of Epiphany, the French tuck into a Galette des Rois or "King cake", which has a tiny ceramic figure baked inside called a fève, meaning 'bean'. The person whose slice contains the lucky charm gets a crown as king and can give orders for the rest of the day. If that isn't lucky, then we don't know what is!