Besides getting sloppy drunk and kissing everybody in the vicinity at the stroke of midnight, celebrants throughout the ages have observed numerous New Year’s traditions and superstitions. Many of the superstitions associated with the event bear the common theme that activities on that day set the pattern for the year to come. Others have to do with warding off evil spirits or attracting luck.
Because January 1 is the first day of the new year, we have drawn a connection between what we do on that day and our fate throughout the rest of the year. Here are some of the ways we attempt to guarantee a good outcome:
Kissing at midnight: We kiss those dearest to us at midnight not only to share a moment of celebration with our favorite people, but also to ensure those affections and ties will continue throughout the next twelve months.
Stocking up: Here is a tradition where bare cupboards on the first day can indicate a lack of prosperity. Fill up the pantries and freezers, and make sure you’ve got some cash in your wallet. By the same token, the new year should not be started in debt, so checks need to be written and mailed off prior to January 1st. Personal debts should also be settled by then. Sounds like good advice regardless of the date.
Nothing goes out: Not even the garbage is to leave the house on the first day of the new year. If you have presents to deliver on New Year’s, leave them in the car overnight. Don’t even shake out a rug or take the empties to the recycle bin. Some people soften this rule by saying it’s okay to remove things from the home on New Year’s Day provided something else has been brought in first.
Food: A tradition common to the southern states dictates that eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day will attract general good luck (financial in particular) to the diner. Some choose to add other Southern fare (such as ham hocks, collard greens, or cabbage) to this tradition, but the black-eyed peas are the key. Other lucky foods include lentil soup (because lentils supposedly look like coins, i.e. wealth), pork (because poultry scratches backwards and in the dirt, a cow stands still, but a pig roots forward, meaning those who eat pork will likely be moving forward in the new year), and sauerkraut (probably because it goes well with pork).
Work: Make sure to do something related to your work on the first day of the year, even if you don’t go near your place of employment that day. Limit your activity to a token amount, though, because to engage in a serious work project on that day is very unlucky.
In other words, don’t do anything on the first day of the new year lest you want to be doing that all year long. Wear something new on January 1 to increase the likelihood of receiving new garments during the year to follow. Don’t pay back loans or lend money on the first, or you might be doing that all year long. Don’t break anything and don’t cry. But do make lots of noise at midnight to scare away evil spirits!
Be safe and Happy New Year!
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