One of my most memorable New Year's eves was in Edinburgh (Scotland), where huge crowds gather around the Tron Church on the high street (with bands playing up and down the street, etc, a general festival atmosphere) ... and when midnight comes ... people start kissing complete strangers!<p>I didn't actually realize this until some woman I didn't know came up and kissed me on the lips! A friend noticed my confusion and told me "oh yeah, that's what people do"... :]<p>Maybe it sounds kinda freaky but the atmosphere was very jovial and innocent. Very surprising for the unprepared, but it was a fun night.<p>[This is was in 1993 or so, and a bit of googling suggests that maybe Edinburgh New-Years practice has changed since then though...]