COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Central Ohio is full of traditions. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 0.3% of Columbus residents are Indigenous, so more than 99% of the city can trace heritage back to another country. As central Ohioans gear up for 2025, consider ringing in the new year with celebrations from the many heritages in and around Columbus. European traditions More than one-fifth of Ohioans can trace their lineage to Germany, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. A whopping 22.4% of Ohioans self-report as having German heritage. In Franklin County, 17.7% of residents say they have German lineage. The next most common heritage is Irish, with 12.4% of Ohioans and 11.5% of Franklin County residents reporting Irish heritage, followed by English (10.5% of Ohioans) and Italian (5.8% of Ohioans). Central Ohio restaurants that closed in 2024 According to an English-German website, Germans celebrate Silvester, or the New Year, with plenty of fireworks and lentil soup. The holiday combines St. Silvester’s holiday with the New Year celebration, which both take place on Dec. 31. To celebrate with German neighbors, buy a Bleigiessen set and melt a small metal figure over a candle using a spoon. Pour the molten metal into cold water and use the shape to tell your future for the year ahead. To celebrate like the Irish, consider banging loaves of bread on the walls to get rid of pesky bad luck and to attract plenty of food in the new year. According to Good Food Ireland, keep an eye on who walks in the front door after midnight for an indication about how 2025 will turn out. If a dark-haired man is the first to cross your doorstep, expect good luck for the next year. However, if a red-haired girl is the first in the home, prepare for a run of bad luck. In Italy, traditions of wearing red on New Year's date back to Roman times, according to Italy's tourism department. People are encouraged to attract luck by eating a pork sausage called cotechino with lentils, or by throwing things out of a window to leave weight behind in 2024. According to Project Britain, some British New Year's traditions may be familiar, as they sing the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne," a popular midnight tune in the U.S. as well. Across the U.K., people link hands or cross their arms to sing the song when the clock strikes 12. African traditions Just under 5% of Franklin County reports sub-Saharan African heritage, per the U.S. Census Bureau. Sub-Saharan Africa includes 48 of Africa's 54 countries, but the state of Ohio reports Ghana, Ethiopia and Somalia among the most common African heritages in Columbus. Eatery serving pan pizzas and stuffed cookies opens its doors in Gahanna According to the Community Refugee and Immigration Services, Columbus is home to the second-largest Somali population in the U.S. According to UNESCO, Somalia’s New Year is celebrated with a three-day festival called Istunka, a mock battle between the populations on both sides of the Shebeele River running through the city of Afgooye. Although the Somalian New Year is in August or September, the festival shares its name with traditional Somalian stick fighting, which is also part of the mock battle. In Ghana, the new year is rung in with Kakamotobi, or the Fancy Dress Festival, a masquerade that stretches from Christmas to January. Local to central Ghana and the Winneba people, it is a colorful festival with brass band music, according to Ghana Web. Children dress up in white costumes decorated with brightly colored designs and a human-like mask before standing along traffic stops and asking for money. According to Absolute Ethiopia, Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year, takes place on Sept. 11 annually because of the Ethiopian calendar. Celebrations often last a week and involve young girls singing a song called Abebayeosh, young boys making paintings and lighting bonfires to symbolize a new season of sunshine. Ethiopian New Year celebrations involve feasts and dancing. Asian traditions According to the state of Ohio, 6.7% of Franklin County is of Asian descent, including a large Middle Eastern population. According to Westerville, Ohio's Arab American population is the eighth-largest in the U.S, and 1.4% of Franklin County claims Arab heritage. Among the most common heritages are Indian, Chinese and Filipino populations, and central Ohio's Arab population is primarily made up from Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon. These Ohio bills shaped LGBTQ+ rights in 2024 The Chinese New Year is one of the most well-known cultural celebrations of the new year, and it occurs over 15 days between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 annually, according to Britannica. Chinese New Year is celebrated with plenty of fireworks, firecrackers and the color red to scare off the monster Nian, who would attack villagers at the beginning of each year, according to Chinese legend. People also hang glowing lanterns, hold nighttime parades and enjoy dragon dance processionals made up of dancers holding long, colorful dragons. In India, the new year of the Hindu lunar calendar typically falls in late March or early April on the western calendar. To celebrate, people make colorful flags by tying silk scarves to bamboo sticks and decorating them with flowers, leaves and candy garlands, according to Outlook India. In the Phillipines, family members gather for a midnight feast, media noche, and display 12 round fruits to bring in wealth and prosperity, according to Filipino-American chef Marlynn Schotland. Kurdish Arab populations celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian or Persian New Year festival. According to the U.N., this calendar rings in the new year on the first day of spring and is celebrated by more than 300 million people annually. According to the National Museum of Asian Art, people celebrate with the Haftseen table, which includes at least seven items relating to new life or renewal, each starting with the letter "s." For instance, a Haftseen table will see sib, or apples, for fertility and beauty, along with sekkeh, or coins, for wealth. Central and South American traditions According to the Ohio Department of Research, 4.4% of Ohioans and 6.4% of central Ohioans have Hispanic heritage. Mexican and Puerto Rican lineage is the most common, and Ohio's growing Haitian population is well-known after making headlines during the 2024 presidential election. Across nations, many Latin countries adopted the tradition of eating 12 grapes as the clock strikes 12 for good luck from the Spanish, who colonized most of South America. According to Latin Times, Mexicans enjoy a feast on New Year’s Eve before midnight, ending with pan dulce, a cake with a lucky coin baked inside. Whoever gets the coin in their slice will be the luckiest person in the New Year. Opening the doors at midnight to usher out bad energy is also encouraged, and throwing coins outside and then sweeping them inside is said to bring prosperity. Intel Foundry scholarship supports Ohio STEM students As a territory of the U.S., migration from Puerto Rico is not immigration, but Puerto Rican heritage reflects 26% of the central Ohio Hispanic population, according to state research. According to Discover Puerto Rico, people on some parts of the island throw buckets of water out their window to drive away evil spirits. Another way to keep evil forces at bay is to fall backward into the waves as the clock strikes 12. According to the University of Maryland, Haiti is often considered a Latino country even though it is not a Hispanic country, as it is in Latin America but was colonized by the French, not the Spanish. New Year’s Day is a double celebration in Haiti, where Jan. 1 is also Haitian Independence Day. According to Lumiere d’Education, a Haitian nonprofit, Haitians celebrate by making joumou, a squash soup that was originally only permitted for slave owners in Haiti to eat, so Haitians eat joumou to celebrate their freedom. The soup is traditionally made with calabaza squash, beef, peppers, herbs, pasta and vegetables and is made to be shared.