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10 New Year’s Colors That Just May Bring You Good Luck in 2024

For an extra dose of good luck, incorporate these meaningful New Year's colors into your holiday celebrations

Confetti near glasses of champagne
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New Year’s colors that bring good luck

Whether you’re hosting a dazzling New Year’s Eve party or having an intimate get-together with close family and friends, take a second to imagine the vibe of the night. Is it festive and colorful? Is it cozy and filled with serene hues? One New Year’s tradition focuses on the power of color, specifically New Year’s colors known to bring good luck over the next 12 months.

Color science isn’t woo-woo nonsense. In fact, colors can evoke various emotions that affect your overall mood, motivation and energy. They can even inspire you to take action heading into the new year, says Angelo Randaci, a horticulturist who studies the meanings of colors and how they’re used.

Incorporating a New Year’s color into your celebrations, food, decor or wardrobe is a great way to bring meaning, beauty, inspiration, optimism and perhaps even a little good luck into 2024.

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Background of Christmas origami in Peach Fuzz colour
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Peach: Community and kindness

Peach is a comforting color meant to evoke warmth and joy, so we’re not surprised that “peach fuzz” is Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2024. Pantone describes this New Year’s color as “a warm and cozy shade highlighting our desire for togetherness with others or for enjoying a moment of stillness and the feeling of sanctuary this creates.” This soft shade of pink with an orange undertone evokes a sense of belonging, which may make your guests feel more comfortable as they play New Year’s games and hang out at your holiday gathering.

painting blue nova
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Blue nova: Adventure

Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year for 2024 is blue nova, a captivating blend of blue and violet that symbolizes adventure and just may inspire you to embark on some uncharted travels in 2024. According to Benjamin Moore, this color’s “depth and intrigue are balanced by an undercurrent of reassurance,” and it takes inspiration from “travels and moments that span beyond routine.” Breaking out of our regular routine sounds like the perfect New Year’s goal to us!

Blush or illuminizer. The concept of fashion and beauty industry. Natural hard light. - Image
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Gold: Wealth and prosperity

Hoping to get out of debt or start a new business venture this year? This bright metallic color symbolizes wealth and prosperity in many cultures and is often seen as the totem of good luck and fortune. Add some gold accessories to your outfit or play with shimmering eye shadow to glam up your makeup.

Bright red: Passion, luck and joy

From fire-engine red and crimson to deep burgundy and warm rust, red hues are linked to passion in love, says Randaci. But this color also symbolizes passion in other areas of life, including new ambition in your career or hobbies. The color is popular in Chinese culture and represents the Lunar New Year, symbolizing luck, joy and happiness.

Female hand with white nail design holding nail polish bottle.
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White: Purity

“In our Western culture, the color white is associated with a sense of purity, cleanliness and freshness,” Randaci says. If you have high hopes for your New Year’s resolutions, this makes it one of the luckiest New Year’s colors to start 2024 with a clean slate. Try an all-white color scheme for your party decor or attire.

Texture of velour fabric is emerald green.
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Emerald: Wisdom

Associated with wisdom, prosperity, fresh starts and growth, shades of green are lucky and fortunate New Year’s colors for those who want to turn over a new leaf (ahem) on Jan. 1. While brighter greens are the hallmark of springtime, darker greens are associated with wisdom learned over the years, which just so happens to be one of the themes of “Auld Lang Syne.”

Blue living room at home
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Ocean blue: Peace

Wishing for peace in your relationships, your home or around the world in the new year? Hoping to embrace moments of peace and serenity? Randaci suggests this serene blue, which conjures up images of the water and sky, two things humans find inherently calming.

Bright yellow: Hope

“Yellow is considered the highest-energy color and evokes feelings of cheerfulness, hope and optimism,” Randaci says. One of the cheeriest New Year’s colors, yellow brings luck with energy and good vibes, sparking new ideas and fun. Make colorful prints of your favorite New Year’s quotes, or light up a room with a neon good-vibes sign.

Silver 2023 number balloons over white background close-up.
Olena Ruban/Getty Images

Silver: Dignity and strength

This shimmery color evokes both strength and dignity through adversity, making it one of the luckiest New Year’s colors for those going through tough times. Silver hair is the hallmark of the refinement that comes with aging, after all! So incorporate the color’s meaning into your Instagram posts and New Year’s captions, especially in pics featuring metallic decor and outfits, shiny disco balls, and even simple messages written in a silvery font.

shades of pink: leaded glass windows above window seat in pink playroom in tutor home
Catherine McQueen/Getty Images

Pink: Happiness

From bubblegum and rose gold to flamingo and Barbie pink, this cheery hue is all about finding your happy. If you don’t feel like revamping your home with paint (though raspberry blush was Benjamin Moore’s 2023 paint color of the year), try adding small pops of pink to your wardrobe or home. This flirty shade has the power to spark small moments of joy in your day.

About the expert

  • Angelo Randaci is an expert in the symbolism of plant colors and the horticulturist at Earth’s Ally.

Sources:

Charlotte Hilton Andersen
Charlotte is an award-winning journalist who covers etiquette, relationships, psychology, health and lifestyle. She has written more than 50 etiquette stories for Reader’s Digest, spearheading the site’s popular Polite Habits and Best Messages series. With a knack for capturing the essence of an interview subject, she also specializes in human-interest and “as told to” stories. In addition to Reader’s Digest and The Healthy, her work has been published in Shape, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, O Magazine, Fitness, Redbook, Seventeen, What to Expect When You're Expecting and more.