Day Twenty-Eight: Bringing in 2012

So I have never really gotten into the whole New Years thing. You would figure a kid who reads self-help books for fun would be all about a holiday that is focused on introspection and self betterment…but it just has never been that big of a deal to me. Perhaps I don’t like New Years because I don’t really like to party. In fact I am pretty sure the only New Years Eves that I have spent in bars were when I was waaaay to young for it to be appropriate.

After writing my Christmas traditions post, I realized that adding some family traditions to our New Year’s celebration (which in year’s past has meant fighting to maybe stay up til midnight) might make the whole NYE thing a little bit more fun. Good thing my wifey is a pretty awesome researcher. This is what she came up with for possible traditions for us:

Food related traditions

Black-eyed Peas- we will be making vegan slow cooker Hoppin Johns based on this recipe.  Eating black-eyed peas on New Years was a tradition that started in the south and is supposed to bring the eater luck through the new year. We found some fairly ridiculous guidelines that you are supposed to eat exactly 365 peas…I don’t think we will be following that one. We are also going to omit the pork jowl that is in the original recipe.

Kale (or green leafy veggies)- Eating leafy green vegetables is symbolizes wealth in the new year…so these girls are going to be munching on Kale chips all day.

Pickled Herring-This is the only New Years tradition that my family had growing up. Every member had to eat a piece of pickled herring at midnight this is apparently a Scandinavian to bring a bountiful catch to your household. This year Allison and I will be subbing pickled herring with fresh Swedish Fish. 

Pork- You are supposed to eat pork on New Year’s because cows stand still and chickens move backwards…but piggies frolic around in a forward motion. We looked at vegan pork substitutes, but decided to skip this one.

Grapes- It is a Spanish tradition to eat 12 grapes at midnight for luck in each month to come. This one seemed easy enough so why not.

Around the house

Stocking up- Some German folk saying talks about filling your larders with food before the new year…I assume that means drop a hundred bucks at Whole Foods to make sure you have yummy healthy food on hand. We also read that you should put some cash in every wallet in the house to instill fortune in the new year.

Nothing goes out- Apparently you are not supposed to let anything leave your house (even trash) on New Year’s day…so we are doing a hardcore organization and cleaning spree tomorrow to start the new year off in a clean sparkly house.

Breakage- Breaking anything on New Year’s day is considered bad luck, so I am going to wrap myself in bubble wrap and sit in a corner for most of the day.

Money- you are supposed to settle your debts before the new year and avoid lending money on new year’s day. Hopefully Al has this one under control because I don’t even know how to log into the bank to pay bills.

Letting the old year out- At midnight you are supposed to open all of your doors to let the old year escape before the new year can enter. Luckily this year we got our fancy efficient heating system, so opening all of the doors for 5 minutes won’t cost 300 dollars like it would have last year.

Other fun stuff

Kissing- Kissing the ones you love at midnight is supposed to strengthen your affections and ties to each other for the next year. While Al did put a ring on me this year, which is probably the strongest tie there is, a little make out session between the grapes and Swedish fish can’t hurt anyone right?

Lucky rocketship underpants- This one is my favorite! I had never heard of a tradition of wearing new undies for new years. The color of the underwear you choose signifies the change you want to happen in the new year. Here is a helpful chart for those of you playing along at home:

Traditions we can’t quite figure out

Piggies- as I mentioned earlier we can’t seem to find an acceptable way to incorporate pork into the day…maybe we will get Libs a pig’s ear…she should start earning her keep around this place.

First Footing-

“The first person to enter your home after the stoke of midnight will influence the year that you’re about to have. Ideally, he should be dark-haired, tall, and good-looking, and it would be even better if he came bearing a gift. Blonde and redheaded first footers bring bad luck, and female first footers should be shooed away for they bring disaster down on the household. Aim a gun at them if you have to, but don’t let them near your door before a man crosses the threshold.” –Dictionary of Superstitions

Okay so the issue here is, we don’t really know any local men. We are ladies, our neighbors who talk to us are ladies…maybe we could lure the mailman in for some cocoa? Would that be weird? I mean I don't want to bring disaster down on my house. So if any local tall dark and handsome men want to swing by on New Years Day and bring us presents…the mail man would appreciate it profusely.

So tomorrow will be all about cleaning, introspecting, and planning for some new ridiculous traditions. I hope you all have an amazing and safe New Years Eve. Tomorrow we will talk about resolutions…yay…behavior change!