December 28th 2023.
New Year's Eve is an exciting time of reflection, celebration, and, of course, superstition! Every year, people around the world engage in age-old traditions and rituals in hopes of ensuring a year of good fortune. Here are 11 commonly practiced customs that we find ourselves doing every year.
Kissing at midnight is a fun way to bring in the New Year. Couples and singles alike pucker up at 12 a.m. New Year’s Day believing that it will result in a lavish love life all year long. If you don’t get kissed, then it’s said that you’ll have bad luck in love.
Many people usher in the New Year with a plate of black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread. Supposedly, the peas represent good luck and the greens represent money. The peas, often served over rice, can be seasoned with ham hock, bacon, onions, or salt and pepper. Regardless of how you make it, this is a long-lived Southern tradition that will leave you full and satisfied!
A popular superstition is that what you’re doing at either the stroke of midnight or on New Year’s Day will set the tone for what you’ll be doing all year. That means, if you’re partying, then you should expect to have a good time all year long. If you’re working out, then you’ll probably have a year of fitness.
Wearing something new on Jan. 1 is also said to increase the likelihood that you will receive more new garments throughout the year. While many people get dressed up for New Year's Eve, others take this time to give their home a good cleaning. This is done to represent a fresh new start, getting rid of the trash and clutter.
In the Latino community, the New Year is welcomed in with a bowl of grapes because it’s believed that eating 12 grapes will bring you good luck for each month of the new year. Another common Latino New Year’s Eve ritual is to wear red in order to ensure you have a healthy love life. The yellow underwear, however, is said to grant a year of happiness and prosperity.
It is also believed that the worst thing to do on New Year’s is to cry because it will cause you to shed tears and feel sad for an entire year. In contrast, blowing whistles and making noise when the clock strikes 12 is rooted in the superstition that loud noise will ward off evil spirits and thoughts.
Right before the New Year, many people will pay outstanding bills and settle debts, believing that doing so will grant them luck in their finances. On the other hand, it is also believed that paying back loans or lending money on New Year’s Day guarantees you’ll be paying out all year.
So, whether you practice these superstitions or not, there’s no denying that New Year’s Eve is a special time of year! Each culture has its own unique customs and rituals that they’ve been using to bring in the New Year for centuries, and it’s always a delightful experience to learn about them.
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