6 New Year's Traditions You Can Steal

Visit Your Grandmother

Songkran, the Thai New Year's festival, is most famous for the massive water fight that takes over the country's public spaces, but the throwing of the water grew out of a quieter tradition: visiting older relatives and signaling respect by sprinkling their hands with a few drops of cooling water during the hottest season. If you want to make sure your elderly relatives and friends know you're thinking of them, offer to pick up groceries, send treats or simply give them a call. Want a conversation starter? Ask them to describe the wildest New Year's Eve party they ever went to—and prepare to see them in a whole new light.